The Flamenco Jam by Cristina Candela is a living, ever-evolving project that brings the vibrant spirit of flamenco into dialogue with the creative pulse of New York City. Curated, directed, and performed by Cristina Candela, a Spanish dancer and multidisciplinary artist, the jam transforms DROM, one of the East Village’s most iconic live music venues, into a space of artistic freedom, improvisation, and cultural fusion. It’s not just a concert, it’s a celebration of diversity, emotion, and spontaneous creation, where music and dance become languages of connection.
This unique jam is also the perfect stage for giving artistic expression to the city’s cultural richness and to Cristina’s own musical and creative drive. Over its editions, it has welcomed outstanding artists from multiple traditions: from Cuban rumba, musicians such as Roger Consiglio and Máximo Valdés, bringing the deep rhythms and warmth of Havana; from the world of flamenco, figures like José Moreno, a dancer, percussionist, and choreographer whose presence can be felt across nearly everything that happens in the flamenco world in the United States; Ricardo Sánchez, a guitarist of exceptional sensitivity and power; and Diego “El Negro” Álvarez, a Latin Grammy–winning cajón master who bridges flamenco, jazz, and Latin roots. From the jazz scene, the jam has featured artists such as Kali Rodríguez, a Cuban trumpeter who has performed with Wynton Marsalis and Chucho Valdés, Tim Ries, the Rolling Stones’ saxophonist and a leading force in contemporary jazz, and Itai Kriss, an acclaimed Israeli flutist and composer blending Middle Eastern and Caribbean sounds.
Each edition of Candela’s Flamenco Jam turns DROM into a creative laboratory, a space where tradition and innovation collide, where flamenco’s soul meets the rhythm of New York, and where every night is unrepeatable, daring, and unmistakably alive.