| Music
Tomatito presents 'Soy flamenco'

It is the last work of this internationally renowned flamenco guitarist. Tomatito, the artistic name of José Fernández Torres, was born in el barrio de la Pescadería de Almería in 1958 in a gypsy family of musical tradition. With 10 years old he debuted as a backing guitarist in the Peña el Taranto.

Throughout his career he has shared the stage with the greatest of music, from Frank Sinatra and Elton John to Chick Corea, and recording with pianist Michel Camilo and guitarists Joan Bibiloni and Larry Coryell. He has won a Latin Grammy for best album of flamenco in 2010 with Sonanta Suite.

But if there are two artists who have marked Tomatito artistically they are Paco de Lucía and Camarón de la Isla, with whom he played the last 18 years of the singer’s life. Both are again present in his most recent work, Soy Flamenco (2013), in which Paco de Lucia collaborates and which rescues unreleased recordings by Camarón. The album closes covering a theme of Beyond the Missouri Sky  by Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny, which Tomatito has titled Our Spain.

Tomatito presents Soy Flamenco, in octet format, within the framework of Flamenco is Time, a musical cycle that takes place in Palma de Mallorca during the months of July and August to promote flamenco culture. This festival is celebrated also in Oslo, with a program of concerts the months of September, November and December 2013. Flamenco was declared by UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

Besides concerts, the cycle also includes master classes and photo exhibitions (see schedule on the festival website).