After having been involved in the flamenco community in Vancouver since 1993, I quickly came to realize that flamenco was not just another form of music.

I remember the feeling I had the first time I listened to Paco de Lucia's famous rumba - "Entre Dos Aguas" in Iran about 20 years ago. Quite simply, I was blown away by it. So beautiful, so dynamic! More than anything, it was a high quality, yet easy listening piece of music that didn't require a flamenco-tuned ear for its enjoyment.

For someone who doesn't know anything about flamenco, listening to certain forms of flamenco, especially cante jondo (deep songs), can be a turn off at first, as was the case with me. But depending on your level of involvement, it can turn out to be the most rewarding element that defines flamenco. My introduction to this art form, as with many, was through its most commercial form (i.e. the Rumba); after that, it is a personal journey and depending on your level of desire to pursue the "arte" more seriously, one can drown themselves in the imense sea of its complexity, simplicity, purity, truth, and passion for years to come!

Flamenco is a way of life, like the title of Duquende's album "Mi Forma de Vivir" and not just another art form. People who want to learn flamenco cannot approach it like other classical forms of art. Whether you are pursuing dance, singing, and/or guitar and other intstruments, if you have a good teacher, classes simply teach the mechanics; not the soul. That is a personal journey that takes place outside of the classroom and independently. While you you need to be good technically in order to execute the expressions properly, technical expertise without the soul makes one a performer, an entertainer, a technician! But once both elements come together and they start to co-exist simultaneously, the person becomes flamenco! There is big difference...

I truly learned about the cante (singing) by being introduced to the works of one of the greatest flamenco singers of all times - Camaron de la Isla who died in 1992. His ability to transmit flamenco was so powerful that even for someone like me who didn't understand a word of Spanish at first, it was so moving that it has had me addicted to it since I was first introduced to it. Of course, who better to accompany this great singer on the guitar other than Paco de Lucia himself. What happened between the two of them between 1968 and 1992 was nothing but pure magic. Two geniuses who revived, evolved, and enriched flamenco through their masterpieces one after another until Camaron died and left everybody in a void state. To this date, the world of flamenco is still searching to fill that void. For many of the latter years of his life, Camaron was accompanied by yet another pillars of the flamenco guitrar, Tomatito. Camaron with the help of Paco de Lucia and Tomatito created a new school of flamenco that not only made flamenco international, but created such an impact on the level of flamenco's artistic expression that if you are a not from Andalucia and reading this, it is becasue of them. They were the ones that expressed flamenco in such a way that allowed flamenco to escape people's homes in Andalucia and to become popular enough to be presendted on the various stages in Spain, Europe, and eventually every other country in the world. We owe all this to them.

This web site is a result of my pure sense of passion towards the art of flamenco and has evolved through the help, support, and inspiration of many people including my close friends Elysia, Tosh, Elvira, Perrico, Emad, Ali (my nephew), Selina, George, Jake, Kourosh, Robert, Paco, Jose, Kasandra la China, Lolita and Lucky to name a few.

The goal of this web site is to provide a rich environment on the various aspects of flamenco I understand the most and I will do the best to remain true to flamenco. Because of this, it is very important for me to get feedback from you on what you like to see on the site so that I can make this site more comprehensive and in touch with people.

A million thanks to my mother (Malak which means Angel in Persian) and my sister Nasrin (which is the name of flower in Persian) for their unlimited support throughout my life and of course my other nephew, Parham.

I often get asked: "You are from Iran; What does flamenco have in commmon with the Iranian culture?" My answer to that is: What does flamenco have in common with Japan that has over 300 flamenco dance academies in Tokyo alone? What does flamenco have in common with the Spanish culture of Latin and South American countries other than the language? In fact, there is very little in common between the flamenco culture and Latin/South American cultures, yet you can find people who are interested in flamenco there as well. Did you know that the Gypsies (Roma) who now live in Southern Spain and Southern France, were originally from India who settled in Iran (formerly known as Persia) over 1000 years ago for several hundred years? Did you also know that they were invited by King Bahram of Persia (Sasanid Dynasty) as a response to the realization that the poorest people in his nation could not afford to hire musicians for their festivities? It is worth mentioning that this group of migrants, which according to texts, were between 10,000-12,0000 people, were given land, grain, cattle, and the basic necessities for sustaining their lives in return for the provisioning of their art free of charge to the people of Iran! Soon after the Arab invasion of Persia during the Sasanid dynasty and the introduction of Islam, some members of this tribe left Iran and started their migration west-ward and eventually ended up settling in Southern Spain were flamenco was born. The rest are still in Iran and are called "Luri" tribe. So, there is a very direct, strong, and historic relationship between the people who created flamenco and Iranian culture, and the influence of the Persian culture in the dance (minus the footwork as far as we know), singing, rythms, and the musical modes used in modern flamenco are all indicative of this. Other cultures have also had significant influences in the formation of flamenco as we see and hear it today including the Moors who had invaded Spain for close to 800 years! In recent years, Jazz and Blues have found a comfortable place in flamenco compositions as well. In conclusion, flamenco has become a global art form today and in it, every culture can find someting that they can relate to. That is why we all do flamenco!