Los Ricos
LOS RICOS
LOS RICOS features the “golden couple” of Flamenco, dancer Sonia Olla and singer Ismael Fernandez. Partners in life as well as on stage, they perfectly transmit the intimacy, power, and intensity of Flamenco, with Olla’s precise, lightning-fast steps and the deft swirls of her gorgeous, long-trained bata de cola dress responding to every nuance of Fernández’s evocative voice. Whether in an intimate quartet setting or with their powerful seven piece troupe, the emotions and spectacle of LOS RICOS have captivated audiences around the world.
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Tour Information
Los Ricos will be touring in the United States and throughout the world in 2026-2027.
LOS RICOS is the vision of the “golden couple” of Flamenco, Baillora (dancer) Sonia Olla and Cante Singer Ismael Fernández. Partners in life as well as on stage, they refer to themselves as “los ricos,” a term of endearment between them that celebrates the wealth and treasure they have found in flamenco and in each other. Noted for the depths of their rapport, the pair perfectly transmits the intimacy, grace, power, and emotional intensity of flamenco, with Olla’s precise, lightning-fast steps and the deft swirls of her gorgeous, long-trained bata de cola dress responding to every nuance of Fernández’s evocative voice.
For the 2026-2027 season, LOS RICOS will offer two different programs. For more intimate halls they perform as a traditional quartet, with Sonia and Ismael complemented by flamenco guitar and the cajon, an ancient rhythm instrument invented for use in flamenco music. For larger halls, Sonia and Ismael perform with their powerful seven-piece contemporary troupe, featuring two dancers and two singers backed by guitar, percussion and piano.
Flamenco emerged in southern Spain around the turn of the 20th century, born of the rich cultural interaction between the region’s Andalusian folk culture, which drew heavily from both Islamic and Jewish traditions, and the musical traditions of the gitano (the Spanish name for the people and culture elsewhere known as gypsy or Roma). Central to the power of flamenco is the concept of duende, a moment of such profound emotional expression that time, and the barrier between audience and performers, disappears. Sonia Olla and Ismael Fernández create this powerful atmosphere whether in a traditional tablao café or on the world’s grandest stages.
Bailaora (dancer) and choreographer Sonia Olla grew up in Barcelona, listening to recordings of old-time flamenco with her father. When she found a flamenco school in her neighborhood, she says, “From that moment, I knew I wanted to dance and told my mother. Since then, I haven’t taken off the shoes.” Like many of today’s best flamenco musicians and dancers, Olla completed her studies at conservatory, in her case at the famous Instituto de Teatro y Danza in Barcelona. She has danced around the world as a featured artist with some of flamenco’s greatest stars.
Cantaor Ismael Fernández is a singer of uncommon talent, carrying on the skills and repertoire passed down through generations of his family. With gitano roots on both his maternal and paternal sides, he grew up performing flamenco as a member of the legendary La Familia Fernández. He still performs at international flamenco festivals with this acclaimed family ensemble. Ismael Fernández won the prestigious National Contest of Córdoba in 2004 and, like Olla, he has performed worldwide with a who’s who of flamenco artists.
Ismael and Sonia have toured the world with Flamenco legends including Antonio Canales, Farruquito, Maria Page, La Farruca and more. Flamencos at their roots, their collaboration with pop-icon Madonna for her “Rebel Heart Tour” propelled them into collaboration with other genres. From the pop of Madonna and Ricky Martin to jazz with Wynton Marsalis to opera with Isobel Leonard and the Metropolitan Opera, LOS RICOS are able to infuse music with their own special rhythmic take on the music.
LOS RICOS have toured in Asia and the Caribbean, and have performed in clubs in New York City, Flamenco Festivals across North America from Santa Fe NM to Edmonton CA, and the company performed in Cuba’s International Festival of Dance. The couple performed as special guests for his Excellency the Ambassador of Spain in Washington DC. Recent venues include The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Le Poisson Rouge, the Rose Nagelburg Theatre, Baruch Performing Arts Center (NY) and Instituto Cervantes (Chicago) and Jazz at Lincoln Center. They perform in various Flamenco and World Music festivals across the United States. Their recordings are a mix of Flamenco-infused covers, collaborating with producer Rudy Perez and original music. Their first full album will be released in 2026.
LOS RICOS currently reside in New York City where they have their own studio, the House of Flamenco, and offer the only Spanish Flamenco classes available in the city. As Sonia says, “our purpose is to give everything that we have to fans of flamenco.”
(Special thanks to the National Council for Traditional Arts for contributing to this bio).
