MIDLAND - The Hispanic Cultural Center is bringing a little bit of Spain to the Basin. For the first time, they're offering the area's first flamenco class.
"There's a lot of coordination as far as hands, feet and a little bit of skirt work," Flamenco Instructor, Andrea Hernandez Gonzales, said.
"No one judges you, even if you trip and fall," Flamenco Student, Selena Melendez, said.
San Antonio native Andrea Hernandez Gonzales teaches the flamenco class every week at the Hispanic Cultural Center in Midland.
"I've been dancing since I was three years old and had my shoes that were like this big and my first castanets were this big," Gonzales said. "It's something different. Completely different that they've never been exposed to Spanish flamenco before."
Flamenco is a form of Spanish folk music and dance originating in Andalucía in Southern Spain. The dance is partnered with a Spanish guitar and singing.
"Here it's basically Mexican culture, so when you start bringing in different Hispanic cultures, which is what our job is here at the center, bringing the flamenco was just a little piece," Charlene Romero McBride, Director of the Hispanic Cultural Center, said.
"No matter what background someone comes from, it's good to know about different cultures of the world and for children to know their roots," Gonzales said.
For students with some experience - or no experience at all - it's a way to transform, let loose and dance.
"It teaches me coordination, but it's also because, like, so I can be more open and free because I'm really just not that much of an open person," Melendez said.
"I love learning flamenco so I can teach my family in Spain how I learned to dance a Spanish dance in the United States," Flamenco student, Karen Santos, said.
The center's first flamenco recital is in May.
For more information or if you'd like to give it a try, visit
