Ana Brenes, Cristina Candela & Raphael Brunne | Flamenco
Ana Brenes, fresh off her debut album, leads the cante with roots deep and vision wide. Cristina Candela brings dance forged on international stages. Raphael Brunn anchors it all with a guitarist’s instinct decades in the making. Flamenco as it was meant to be.
7:30 PM to 8:30 PM (First Set)
9:30 PM to 10:30 PM (Second Set)
Admission: $20: Cover at Mezzanine.
Featuring:
Cristina Candela / Bailaora
Raphael Brunne / Guitar
Ana Brenes / Cantaora
About Cristina Candela:
Since 2007, I have been working as a flamenco dancer. My experience spans a variety of settings, including tablaos like El Patio Andaluz in Barcelona, and international tours in Malaysia and Singapore with Chalachi. I’ve contributed to companies such as Maria Carrasco Cia and Apuchelando Cia in multiple roles: dancing, choreographing, and producing.
I’ve also engaged in fusion projects, notably with Anlage Cia in Granada, and in artistic-educational initiatives. For instance, I served as part of the ambassador group for the “Voices of Tomorrow” project under the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation.
My involvement in the arts extends to film. I’ve acted, danced, and worked in production for several short and independent films.
My interests encompass all aspects of performing and audiovisual arts. I’m as fascinated with the spotlight as I am with behind-the-scenes work. From a young age, I’ve been driven by a desire to create – to dance, choreograph, design scenographies. My foremost aim is to express my vision of the world as clearly as possible.
To this day, the words of Pina Bausch echo in my mind: “Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost.”
About Ana Brenes:
Ana Brenes is a cantaora, composer, and educator, one of the most personal and daring voices in contemporary flamenco. Her singing moves between the purity of traditional flamenco and contemporary experimentation, weaving a language of her own with both reverence and audacity. YouTube
Trained at ESMUC and a faculty member at Taller de Músics, she was named Flamenca of the Year in 2019 and in 2025 received the award for Best Cantaora of Catalonia at the Concurso Nacional de Cante Yunque Flamenco. LH Magazin
She is the creator of La Prenda Roja, a project merging flamenco with electronic music, and a founding member of Laboratoria, a feminist multidisciplinary performance collective. She collaborates with Albert Pla in RumbaGenarios and performs as cantaora in guitarist Chicuelo’s Gran Gala at the Palau de la Música Catalana, alongside artists like La Tana and Karime Amaya. She is part of FlamencoQueer and a regular performer in Federico García, a theatre production by Pep Tosar.
In April 2024 she performed in La Salida, choreographer Ruben Molina’s production at the Théâtre des Ateliers in Paris, and in December of that year gave two sold-out recitals in Paris for Flamenco en France. Her international career has taken her to stages in New York, Canada, and Korea, as well as England, France, Russia, Ecuador, and Saudi Arabia. FlamencoenfranceLH Magazin
She voiced the soundtrack of Marta Romero’s documentary Toda una vida and appears in Laura Ferrés’ feature film La Imatge Permanent, nominated for a Goya Award. With DJ Mëstiza she released the singles El Pañuelo and Origen, the latter featured in the 2023 Aguas Lanjarón campaign. That same year she opened the Premi d’Honor de les Lletres Catalanes gala at the Palau de la Música, sharing the stage with Jordi Savall and Xavier Díaz-Latorre.
In April 2026 she released her debut album Mientras Camino, a work conceived as a continuous narrative where each flamenco style accompanies a different stage of life, from birth to grief, composed entirely by her.
About Raphael Brunn:
Raphael Brunn is a flamenco guitarist and composer born on December 19, 1973, in Hackensack, New Jersey, into a family of performers whose roots span juggling, dance, and trapeze. Raised in an environment where performance was a way of life, he developed an early sensitivity to rhythm, beginning his musical path on the bass guitar at the age of ten.
At fourteen, Raphael moved to Europe to join his father, a renowned juggler and acrobat whose work had long incorporated live flamenco music. Through this connection, Raphael was immersed from an early age in the flamenco world, gaining exposure to respected artists such as El Manzanita, El Recortao, and Pepe Márquez, among others.
His debut as a flamenco guitarist took place during the opening festivities of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, marking the beginning of a professional path deeply tied to the tradition. Over the years, he has performed alongside many of the artists who influenced his development, including collaborations with El Farruquito and El Torombo in the production Incognito in Frankfurt, Germany.
Now based in New York City, Raphael Brunn continues to perform with a range of flamenco artists while developing his work as a composer. He is currently working on his second album.