The fulfilled dream of a Flemish Quixote in New York

With bright eyes and a smile that will take weeks to fade, bailaor Carrete de Málaga is on cloud nine.

At 82 years old, he has managed to fulfill his great dream.

"All my life I have been dreaming of acting in New York," he explains from his house in Torremolinos.

He recounts it while still floating, almost without believing that on April 8th he took to the stage at the Skirball Center, in New York's Greenwich Village, as a guest artist for cantaor Miguel Poveda and within the program of the twentieth edition of the Flamenco Festival.

He got a huge applause.

The entire theater stands after 12 minutes of dancing for tarantos.

The unique moment was recorded by the same cameras that followed the artist throughout his journey through the Big Apple, including a street performance in Washington Square, and the images will be part of the documentary.

, directed by Jorge Peña from Malaga.

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Reel, the Fred Astaire of Malaga

The biography of the artist, whose real name is José Losada Santiago, is from a movie.

His father was arrested moments after he cut her umbilical cord with pruning shears.

His mother, nicknamed La Carreta, gave him a wide berth in the street.

There he danced since childhood in exchange for a few coins or a piece of bread.

He cleaned boots in the port, stepped on his first tablaos when he was ten years old.

He was welcomed by El Niño de Almería and his wife, Pepa Vargas,

.

With Los Vargas he performed in 1955 at the El Remo club, on La Carihuela beach, where years later Brigitte Bardot would rest from her filming on the Costa del Sol. He did his military service in Ceuta, lived in Santa Mónica (Los Angeles), acted at Anfield Road (Liverpool) and the Royal Palace of Norway.

✨️ Simply amazing.

Don't words.

Another historical moment that we will never forget.

The perfect present for our 20th anniversary #FlamencoFestivalNewYork @MiguelPoveda @nyuskirball @ACEcultura @spaincultureny @spaincultureus @KJCC_NYU pic.twitter.com/YAGX6bSOA3

– Flamenco Festival (@flamencofest) April 9, 2022

He danced with Antonio Gades, Antonio Ruiz Soler, Camarón, Carmen Amaya.

Torremolinos was her home since the 1960s. She lived through the golden age of the town, accumulating anecdotes with Evita Perón, Frank Sinatra, Sean Connery and Anthony Quinn.

The nights had no end.

"From Madrid to heaven... and from Torremolinos to hell," says Carrete, who has also given dance lessons in the last two decades.

Paco Roji wrote a biography of him in 2009 titled

.

"He is an artist's artist, someone who should have been recognized a long time ago," says the flamenco expert, who accompanied him on his adventure in the United States.

Carrete de Málaga (center), strolling through Manhattan. Paco Roji

Throughout this intense life journey there was always one constant: his dream of dancing in New York, which was born from seeing Fred Astaire at the Rialto cinema in Malaga, where Carrete took refuge from the cold as a child.

He believed then that the North American actor danced bulerías and he imagined himself triumphing in that distant city full of stars.

It has been now, thanks to the filming of the documentary

, when this gypsy Fred Astaire – as he is now known in his homeland – has been able to fulfill his longing.

“I had a huge illusion that I thought would no longer come true.

And he has been wonderful”, insists who says that he was “paralyzed” when the 850 people who filled the theater stood up to applaud him.

“And I thought: if nobody knows me here”, remembers the flamenco, who did not change the time of his watch during the trip to feel at home.

He “heartily” thanks Miguel Poveda for his invitation and also the generosity of Tim Ries, saxophonist for The Rolling Stones, who accompanied him in a street performance in Washington Square.

"People stopped to see us, it was an incredible experience," he underlines.

Tim Ries, saxophonist of the Rolling Stones, accompanies Carrete during a street performance in New York. PACO ROJI

The trip has also been unforgettable for the director of the documentary, Jorge Peña, who had never imagined arriving in New York when he met the bailaor in a very unique way.

He went five years ago during a performance at his parents' golden wedding anniversary.

"It was very exciting," he remembers.

"He danced and shouted the name of Paca, my grandmother, who helped him when he was a post-war street child," explains Peña.

And so he was encouraged to tell the story of that artist, whom since then he accompanies here and there to build the project, which he fell in love with the production company Elora Films.

Also shot in Malaga, Torremolinos and Venta de Zafarraya, the title was a gift from Estrella Morente, who in his interview for the documentary tells that his father, Enrique Morente, wanted to make a Flemish Quixote starring Carrete, although he didn't have time.

The cantaora is one of the voices in the film, in which artists such as Israel Galván, Miguel Poveda or Antonio Canales also take part.

Also Rocío Molina, winner of the National Dance Award in 2010, who reflects in a single sentence what the film's protagonist means for dancing: “He's more modern than me”.

Another unforgettable night of #FlamencoFestivalNewYork

by @MiguelPoveda

and the second showing of

'In Concert' 😍

Another iconic night with flamenco superstar @MiguelPoveda and a big surprise: the iconic 'Carrete', Fred Astaire from Málaga at @nyuskirball pic .twitter.com/urSmEoKa1S

– Flamenco Festival (@flamencofest) April 9, 2022

Peña's team ―recent winner of a Silver Biznaga at the Malaga Film Festival in the Cinema Cocina section― walked with their cameras through Brooklyn, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and Broadway.

The great skyscrapers of Manhattan became giants during filming that Carrete has defeated, fulfilling his dream, but also reflecting his vision of success, the great theme of the film.

"He, who has gone from the street and being hungry to achieving incredible artistic recognition, conveys that success is smoke, that the most important thing is to live the life he has led with absolute freedom," says Peña, who explains that his work he also talks about a Spain on its way to disappearing, which only remains in the memory of characters like the bailaor from Malaga.

The documentary reflects the spirit of survival, generosity and dreams, like the one that Carrete has fulfilled, applause included, in New York.

"Too bad he couldn't go when he was young, at 30 years old, to make a mess", the bailaor concludes jokingly, letting himself be carried away by laughter as he does by flamenco on stages from which, probably, no one will take him down .

Pure energy for those who are already planning tours of France and the United States.

Quixotic challenges for a character from another era with a lifelong passion for dancing.

😍 At #FlamencoFestivalNewYork, flamenco goes beyond the stage, conquering the streets.

Thanks to the maestro 'Carrete' from Malaga for giving us this magical moment together with his incredible cast in the Big Apple #FlamencoFestivalNewYork #Flamenco #Carrete # 20Anniversary pic.twitter.com/gfU7o01zHP

– Flamenco Festival (@flamencofest) April 9, 2022

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