Lara Wong, a flautist and bansurist, has forged a unique path by combining traditional flamenco with the flute, bansuri, and electronic beats. The Vancouver-born musician, who has Chinese and Japanese Canadian heritage, initially wondered if her ethnicity might affect her ability to secure gigs in Spain. Currently residing in Madrid, Wong notes that there are few Asian flamenco musicians in the city.
“Sometimes, it felt like people might see me as an exotic novelty—a Chinese person playing flamenco,” Wong shares over Zoom with Pancouver.
However, her concerns were alleviated in 2021 when she won the Filon first prize for best flamenco instrumentalist, becoming the first non-Spaniard to receive the award in the festival’s 62-year history.
“This award definitely helped dispel my doubts,” Wong says.
On Friday, September 20, Wong will perform with flamenco guitarist Melón Jiménez at the Vancouver International Flamenco Festival, held at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island. The event will feature a preview of their upcoming album, Confluencias, along with flamenco dancer Deborah La Caramelita and percussionist Davide Sampaolo.
“This is not your typical flamenco music,” Wong explains. “We mix various influences, so it’s quite different from the traditional flamenco you might expect.”
Confluencias diverges from traditional flamenco by excluding singing and minimal hand-clapping. Instead, the album focuses on flute, guitar, electronic elements, and the bansuri—an ancient side-blown flute from India.
“Our music is inspired by Indian sounds,” Wong continues. “The bansuri is incredibly versatile, resembling many other folk flutes.”
Many tracks on Confluencias were written over the past few years, with Wong composing melodies that Jiménez transforms into new, imaginative arrangements.
“This album is a significant shift from my debut solo album, Rosa de los Vientos, which was more traditional,” Wong notes. “This project incorporates electronic music and leans towards world music.”
Following performances on Galiano Island (September 14) and Salt Spring Island (September 15), Wong and Jiménez will continue their Canadian tour, which includes stops in London (September 28), Waterloo (October 2), Toronto (October 6), and Ottawa (October 10). They will also perform in Montreal (October 9), where Wong studied jazz and classical flute at McGill University. The duo previously performed at TAIWANfest Toronto in August.
Wong recognizes that she is breaking new ground with her career. Despite her Chinese and Japanese heritage, she plays an Indian instrument while working in Spain’s flamenco scene.
“I had a bansuri in my closet for about ten years before picking it up at La Caramelita’s suggestion,” Wong reveals. La Caramelita, who has roots in India and Malaysia, wanted to blend Indian dance with flamenco and needed a bansuri player. Wong now plays the bansuri with a renowned tabla percussionist in Spain.
Bansuris come in various sizes and are not diatonic, requiring different instruments for each scale. Smaller bansuris have a bright, happy sound, while larger ones produce a deep, resonant tone, allowing Wong to evoke different musical traditions, including Japanese and Celtic influences.
“I also love Moroccan music, and depending on the bansuri, it can sound like a Moroccan flute,” Wong adds.
Her passion for flamenco began in childhood when a piano teacher introduced her to a piece by Spanish composer Enrique Granados. The rhythmic, raw quality of the music captivated her.
“I fell in love with that piece,” Wong recalls. “My teacher mentioned it had flamenco influences.”
For Wong, flamenco offers an authentic way to express herself, contrasting with the more conventional sounds of Western orchestral music. “The excitement and dramatic nature of flamenco are what I love most,” she says.
Wong currently lives in Madrid’s Chinatown district, which has a growing Asian population. While she encounters some racism and ignorance, she notes that her experiences have been relatively mild.
Fluent in Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, and English, Wong sometimes faces surprise from others regarding her career choice given her heritage. “Even from Chinese people, I hear comments about my profession,” she says.
Wong’s mother, a Japanese music lover, and her father from Hong Kong, who works in film, have always supported her. Her paternal grandmother was a painter and her paternal grandfather a writer.
“I was fortunate not to grow up in an environment where success was solely defined by financial gain,” Wong reflects. “My parents have always been very supportive.”
With relatives in Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan, Wong finds the label “Chinese” somewhat confusing. “To me, Chinese refers to those who speak Cantonese or Mandarin, or any language connected to China,” she explains.
Occasionally, people claim to detect Japanese or Chinese influences in her flamenco music. Although Wong enjoys Japanese music, including Okinawan folk sounds, she acknowledges incorporating techniques from the Japanese Shakuhachi flute into her playing.
“There are indeed subtle influences,” Wong admits.
