Most children have no problem answering this question
in a multiplicity of ways, which change from year to year.
As adults we may look back and trace career paths built
from kaleidoscopic arrays of choices, tangents,
opportunities and life experiences. Relatively few can
claim a single-minded linear professional trajectory from
youth to maturity, and fewer still would describe their
work as a calling.
María Benítez was called to dance.

Growing up in Taos, María was raised by her
Chippewa/Oneida mother, Geraldine Harvey,
an accomplished educator and the first Native American
at the University of Wisconsin to earn a Masters Degree
in Education. Her parents met at a small college in
South Dakota shortly after her father arrived there from
Puerto Rico. Josue Diaz, María’s father, presently lives in
New York City. Geraldine and Josue separated when
María was quite young and María, an only child, grew up
on the Indian reservations where her mother taught.

Young girls are often encouraged to study ballet in
order to develop poise and elegance, and Geraldine
determined that María would benefit from this classical
foundation. Accompanying one of her close friends to a
Spanish Dance class out of curiosity, María was drawn
to the art form that would lead her around the world.
Ballet, despite its grace and gravity-defying movement,
paled in comparison to the raw energy and exhilaration
of Flamenco.

With true maternal concern for her daughter’s future
success and security, and the wisdom of her own
professional experience, Geraldine counseled María
that a career in teaching would be a prudent path.
María, immersed in the dramatic and creative expression
of dance, left home at the age of 18 to pursue further
study in Spain. She joined the María Rosa Spanish Dance
Company in Madrid, one of the most visible and outstanding
companies at the time. Touring throughout Spain,
North Africa, Portugal and South America, she gained
enviable experience and began her rise to prominence.
She was featured as a soloist in a musical theater company
led by Paquita Rico, a famous Spanish singer;
the Paquita Rico Company was backed by some of
Spain’s most powerful impresarios of the time. María was
fortunate to work with some of Spain’s most highly
respected choreographers, including Alberto Lorca
and Victoria Eugenia.

Flamenco, with its live musical accompaniment and
staccato rhythms, is probably the most familiar type of
Spanish Dance. María seemed to have boundless energy
for continual training and demanding performing schedules
which included a lot of touring and television work.
Her work not only encompassed Flamenco but also the
more classical Spanish Dance forms, often performed with
castanets to the recorded music of masters such as
Albeniz and Granados, as well as regional folk dances from
the Spanish provinces.

During her time in Spain she met and married Cecilio Benítez,
who worked in the technical aspects of the performing arts.
In 1966 they decided to relocate to the United States and
settled in Taos with their young son Francisco. After all the
excitement and demands of their previous experience,
they soon found that they desired different challenges and
left northern New Mexico in 1969 to teach at Verde Valley
School in Sedona, Arizona for four years. In 1977 they moved
to New York City.

Life was a struggle for the young family, but María and Cecilio
had plenty of talent and determination; they formed
María Benítez Teatro Flamenco, adding dancers and musicians
and choreographing productions. The hours were long, and
María learned the joys and tribulations of managing a company
from the ground up. With a growing reputation for innovation
and excellence, they began an intensive round of tours which
took them as far away as Berlin, The Hague, Rotterdam,
Amsterdam and Vienna. María estimates that her company
performed live for well over one million people in
approximately 1600 venues nationally and internationally,
including major festivals and concert halls. The Company
also appeared on television with Perry Como, and María was
featured in a PBS production of El Amor Brujo. Other PBS
specials included Flamenco! and Estampa Flamenca.
Approximately 6 million additional viewers enjoyed
these presentations.

Sought after by opera companies, theaters and symphony
orchestras for her choreographic expertise as well as her
passionate and distinctive dance interpretations,
María performed on prominent stages with luminaries of
theater, opera and dance. For 38 years her summers were
also spent dancing and teaching in Santa Fe, where María
and Cecilio formed the Institute for Spanish Arts (ISA) to
preserve, strengthen and disseminate a rich and diverse
Spanish heritage as expressed through music, dance,
visual arts and other art forms.

ISA has received generous National Endowment for the Arts
grants in support of touring, new works and for its Children
and Youth programming, including after-school programs,
summer workshops and professional development.
The program focuses on underserved Hispanic youth and works
to instill an appreciation for their culture through Flamenco
and Spanish guitar classes. ISA’s successful workshops in dance
and music have also inspired in-school programs for children
ages 5-14. The McCune Foundation, the Thaw Foundation and
others have lent their support for her educational and training
programs as well as her youth performing company,
Flamenco’s Next Generation. Their discipline, focus and
commitment bode well for the future of this lively and
inspiring art form.

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