Submitted by Fernando Jiménez, Feb 15, 2008 03:35

Let's keep the record straight. A certain portion of the general public does adore Yerbabuena (drop the "Ms.", it's a nickname not a surname), but for flamenco insiders she has only one dance, the soleá, and it's magnificent. Everything else falls squarely into (using words from the article) "corny formulas as crowd-pleasers", "amateurish attempts to modernize by using popular music" and "incongruous borrowings from other dance styles".

A large majority of serious flamenco followers routinely avoid her shows, and the very name "Yerbabuena" has become synonymous with a type of contrived, theatrical, pseudo-flamenco dance that triggers groans.

Fernando Jiménez

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