A world-renowned flamenco guitarist takes the stage at Revere High School’s auditorium. One of the few female flamenco guitarists in the world, Revere alumna Marija Temo sings while she strums her namesake guitar. Students sing and clap to a beat, following Temo’s lead.  The two halves of the room clap out different sequences as Temo sings along to guide them.

Eighth grade students from Revere Middle School, as well as high school students in AP Spanish and Spanish IV, attended Temo’s Flamenco Amazement program on January 3. They received the chance to hear Temo perform flamenco singing and guitar and explain her journey in flamenco. The presentation also included an interactive element. The students participated in a clapping and singing activity and learned flamenco hand and wrist movements.  A few students even learned a flamenco dance from Temo and performed it with her on the stage. Revere Middle School eighth grade Spanish teacher Heather Tilson helped organize the opportunity for Temo to sing and play guitar at Revere. Temo has done her flamenco program at Revere for at least eight years. Temo explained how she decided the setup of the Flamenco Amazement presentation and why she decided to incorporate an interactive element to the presentation.

“A lecture is good; a performance is good, but if I can combine that lecture and performance and get audience participation for them to learn the hand claps, . . . a little dancing [and] a little singing, then they’d get a sense of what flamenco is as an audience,” Temo said.

Spanish teacher Heather Tilson has extensive knowledge about flamenco because she attended many flamenco performances when she lived in Spain. She has also taken students to flamenco performances while on trips to Spain. Tilson explained flamenco music’s importance in Spanish culture.

“It’s [Spain’s] national dance and music, so it’s a big part of their culture,” Tilson said.

Tilson met Temo when Temo came home to Richfield to visit family. Tilson asked Temo if she would perform for students at Revere; Temo has done flamenco presentations at Revere at least eight times since. Tilson explained her favorite part of Temo’s flamenco presentation.

“[Temo] does such a good job explaining the different elements of flamenco, and I like how she gets the crowd involved to participate,” Tilson said.

The entire eighth grade and students in AP Spanish and Spanish IV attended Temo’s presentation.  According to Tilson, the Flamenco Amazement presentation provides a rare opportunity to bring flamenco to Revere. AP Spanish student Leah Espinal saw flamenco performed live for the first time at the Flamenco Amazement presentation. Espinal gave her perspective on Temo’s performance.

“I thought that it was excellent. . . . She was obviously very well-rounded; she could play instruments and dance and sing, and she really embodied Spanish culture, so I thought it was really cool,” Espinal said.

In addition to performing flamenco-style music for the students, Temo shared her experiences and journey in flamenco. Now a well-known flamenco guitarist, Temo became acquainted with the field of flamenco early on in her life. When Temo was six years old, her neighbor, a professional flamenco dancer at the time, offered her the opportunity to take flamenco dance classes. Temo called this time “the beginning of a major spark of interest  for [her.]”  Temo said she then became captivated by flamenco guitar and asked her parents for a guitar and for lessons. Temo began taking classical guitar lessons at age nine then started flamenco guitar lessons at age eleven. She continued her involvement in music throughout middle school and high school by taking guitar lessons while also participating in choir. When Temo was fifteen, her flamenco guitar teacher, Bruce Catalano, suggested that she join a semi-professional flamenco dance company called Fairmount Spanish Dance Company in Novelty, Ohio. After becoming a part of this company, Temo met flamenco master Teo Morca, the guest artist at a week-long workshop in Ohio. Morca invited Temo to his All Flamenco Dance Workshop in Bellingham, Washington. Temo continued to work with Morca for ten years. After touring and attending workshops with Morca, Temo played guitar as an accompanist for flamenco singer Manolo Leiva for around twenty years.

Temo’s studies and experience in guitar allowed her to work with a luthier, or maker of stringed instruments, to customize a guitar that accommodates two different styles of music. Trained in both classical and flamenco guitar, Temo worked with luthier Tom Rodriguez to develop a guitar that she could use to play both styles. Temo had dreamed of owning a guitar that she could use to play both flamenco and classical music, and Rodriguez made the guitar that helped her achieve this goal. Rodriguez used feedback from Temo to build models of guitars until he had perfected the flamenco-classical guitar. Rodriguez decided to name the flamenco-classical guitar after Temo, calling it the “Marija Temo” Model flamenco/classical hybrid ™ .

Temo, who has practiced flamenco music for the majority of her life, explained her passion for the artform. She noted that flamenco differs from other types of music because of the emotion that the palos, or song forms, require from the performer.

“The music calls upon you to deliver, and what you have deliver is that emotional aspect . . . you have inside,” Temo said.

Espinal also noticed the expression of emotion that Temo exhibited through her flamenco music. Espinal spoke on her favorite part of the presentation.

“I like[d] when she did a song that was depicting a lot of emotion and just hearing her be able to sing so powerfully yet also play the guitar so skillfully. That was just an incredible thing to get to experience because I’ve never seen anyone do that before,” Espinal said.

Marija Temo returned to her alma mater to share her passion for flamenco with a new generation of Revere students. Since Temo herself learned about flamenco at a young age, she said that she wanted to expose students to this artform as well. After experiencing Temo’s flamenco performance, many students left Revere High School’s auditorium with a new appreciation for a Revere alumna and for a unique type of music.