By Cayman Compass Contributor Christopher Tobutt
On Thursday evening, 15 Jan., the George Town Public Library became more than a concert hall. It transformed into a living grove of sound, where shadows and sunlight danced across the branches of flamenco’s soul.
The concert, part of CayMusicA’s ‘Music at the Library’ series, opened with Ashley Spencer, a young guitar student who offered a poised solo guitar performance. Her presence reminded the audience that flamenco’s future is already stirring in Cayman’s youth. Then the Nathan Herrera Trio took the stage, led by Herrera, Cayman’s own flamenco guitarist and composer.
Taking up guitar at 15, he later earned a degree in performance and composition, refining his artistry. His career has reached international stages, from cultural festivals to Cannes and National Geographic. On this night, his guitar spoke in many tongues – mournful, fiery, playful – each phrase bending light, shifting from shade to brilliance in a heartbeat.
Beside him, Will Murray, a young English guitarist, brought elegance and bite. His classical grounding and flamenco rhythm shone, especially in ‘Corralera’, the Argentine folk-inspired piece by Cacho Tirao, where his solo revealed an emerging virtuoso.
Luis Eden, the Cuban percussionist, gave the music its heartbeat. His cajón thundered and flicked with Havana’s pulse, folding Afro Caribbean traditions into flamenco’s restless drive.
Later, California-based guitarist Caroline ‘Caro’ Espinoza joined for the finale, her artistry shaped by study in Spain after winning first prize at a Sevilla competition.
The programme unfolded as a journey through flamenco’s many faces. ‘A mi Tía Julia’, a rumba dedicated to Herrera’s great aunt Julia – herself a respected Caymanian composer – carried the joy of heritage, its danceable spirit blending Caribbean rhythm with flamenco drive. ‘Ecos de la Sierra’ fused the elegance of a European waltz with the improvisational fire of bulerías, melodies flowing like water until rhythm snapped them into urgency. ‘Vientos de Cambio’ offered a modern rumba, its Latin American harmonies suggesting transformation and renewal. ‘Nocturne’ whispered romance, Cuban and Brazilian influences softening edges into tenderness.
The repertoire reached outward: Antonio Lauro’s ‘Vals Venezolano No. 2’ swayed with folk lyricism, while ‘Far Tortuga’, a guajira, evoked nostalgia and exile, its Cuban roots blending with Spanish harmony. ‘Entre el Silencio’, a taranta, plunged into depths of solitude and resilience, born of Spain’s mining regions. ‘Favela Cubana’ shimmered with Afro Latin rhythm, while Vicente Amigo’s ‘Limón de Nata’ brought modern flamenco fire. Each piece was a window into flamenco’s porous soul – sorrow, rage, joy, tenderness, defiance, delight.
The evening built toward celebration. With Espinoza onstage, the Nathan Herrera Trio launched into Chick Corea’s ‘Spain’, bridging flamenco and jazz with a nod to Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’. What began as reverence erupted into a joyous jam, musicians grinning as if swept up in a wave they could barely contain.
The encore that followed was pure delight – rhythm and melody bursting like sunlight breaking free of shadow.
On this night, the Nathan Herrera Trio gave Cayman a gift: a reminder that music is a mirror of the soul, always moving, always alive.
Christopher Tobutt is a freelance journalist who has written for various publications in the Cayman Islands since 2003.