Jota: Beyond Flamenco

Jota, the new film from legendary Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura (Carmen, Tango) captures the vivacity and charisma of the jota, a waltz-like castanet dance with its origins in Saura’s home province of Aragon.

Saura has long been using cinema to depict the social fabric of Spanish society and its many cultural iterations, and his recent filmography has been specifically concerned with dance and music. Saura’s productions highlighting flamenco, tango, and fado have enthralled audiences with their beauty and simplicity. The film invites young and old to dance and bear witness to the jota as a living and breathing tradition.