The University of Navarra celebrates from May 18 to 21 the VIII Edition of the Encuentros Pensar el Flamenco, a space of discussion and reflection open to connoisseurs and those interested in this art, but also to those who want to approach this discipline for the first time.

Born eight years ago from the hand of Ekhi Ocaña, director of the University Choir and Orchestra, the Encuentros Pensar el Flamenco have managed to establish in Pamplona a quotation that has already become a cultural reference.

This year, the Encounters pay tribute to Paco de Lucía, whose work, which revolutionized flamenco on the international scene, has become, for his contemporaries and successors, source of inspiration and flow of creation.

Among the activities planned, on Wednesday, May 20, the documentary "Paco de Lucia: the search", premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival and winner of the Goya Award for Best Documentary, will be screened at the Theater of the Museum of the University of Navarra. Its director, Curro Sánchez, son of the artist, will be in charge of presenting it.

Complete program (pdf)

- February was the first anniversary of your father's death. What does it mean to you to pay tribute to him in various activities within the framework of a cycle on flamenco?

I think you never fully appreciate the magnitude of a living genius and the bequest of their music. It is not until these people leave that you realize how much they are missed, both in society and in the institutions. The truth is that it is being very nice to see all the affection that is being shown to his person.

- Paco de Lucía is considered the best guitarist in history. What did he learn from his father as an artist? And as a person?

What has marked me the most as an artist is the way he had of following his instincts, of being guided by his intuition, always fed by a previous knowledge .

At the level of staff, I keep a thousand anecdotes and memories of those 4 years of shooting the documentary "Paco de Lucia: the search". It was a fantastic time that brought us together and allowed me to get to know the character and the person much better. But I can't stay with a specific question either, because in the end when it's about your father, you already know him, you don't discover anything new either, you confirm things from your childhood.

- You haven't discovered anything new, but do you think that the viewers of the documentary "Paco de Lucía: The Search" will discover things they didn't know about the artist?

Undoubtedly. People who have not yet seen the documentary will find Paco to be much more fun, endearing, approachable, normal, than what was thought of him. Many have had an image of him as a tormented artist who lived in his cave creating music. It is true that he had that facet, but he also had a very human and funny side.

- A documentary that will be screened this Wednesday, at 7.30 p.m., at the Museum Theater. What has Curro Sánchez sought with this documentary?

On the one hand, we wanted to show the friendlier, funnier, closer Paco that we had always known, but that people did not know: to show the human being.

On the other hand, we wanted to focus on the more universal Paco. Other documentaries have been made about him and they are very good, but framed within a more flamenco universe. We wanted to go a step further, and go to the universality of Paco, interviewing artists who are not only within flamenco, but also outside, such as Alejandro Sanz, Carlos Santana or Rubén Blades.

And finally, from the universal to the more intimate, which is to try to reflect an artist as tormented as Paco, creating is complicated, and we wanted to film that moment in his life.

- Over the course of 4 days, people of different ages will be able to enjoy flamenco through different artistic disciplines. Do you think that flamenco has an age to be appreciated or is it a music for all audiences?

There are people who, as soon as they enter contact with flamenco, fall in love with it and do not let it go. There are those who have suckled it since childhood, and have been learning to love it and understand it in depth. But there are also those who need a lot of patience and many hours, and even then they will never love it completely. So I think it depends on the sensitivity of each one.