Finalists Announced for the 63rd International Festival of Cante de las Minas

On August 10, 2024, in La Unión, the finalists of the 63rd International Festival of Cante de las Minas were officially announced. This announcement came after a night of flamenco performances by Paco Severo and the festival’s official guitarist, Antonio Muñoz.

Cante (Singing) Category:

Eight performers have been selected for the Cante category:

• Gregorio Moya Lara (Ciudad Real) – Minera, Taranta, and Malagueña
• Francisco Javier Heredia Hernández (Jaén) – Taranta
• Jesús Corbacho Vázquez (Huelva) – Minera, Taranta, Malagueña, and Guajira
• Iván González Carpio (Sevilla) – Minera, Cartagenera, Malagueña, and Siguiriya
• Ana Isabel Rodríguez Rosado ‘Anabel de Vico’ (Sevilla) – Cartagenera
• José Plantón Heredia (Córdoba) – Taranto and Petenera
• Andrés Amador Giménez (Almería) – Taranto and Siguiriya
• José Antonio Romero (Cádiz) – Alegrías

Of these, Gregorio Moya, Jesús Corbacho, and Iván González will compete for the ‘Lámpara Minera’ prize.

Flamenco Guitar Category:

• Jonatan Giménez García ‘Joni Jimenez’ (Madrid)
• Marcos Gago Pino ‘Marcos de Silvia’ (Cádiz)

Both are vying for the ‘Bordón Minero’ award.

Flamenco Dance Category (‘Desplante’ for Female Dancers):

• María Vázquez Aguilar ‘María Canea’ (Huelva)
• Junko Hagiwara ‘La Yunko’ (Kawasaki, Japan)
• Laura Santamaría Busonera ‘Laura Santamaría’ (Nice, France, residing in Sevilla)

Flamenco Instrumentalist Category (‘Filón’ Award):

• Juan Lorenzo Moya Maleno (Ciudad Real) – Piano
• José Luis López Hernández ‘El Marqués’ (Madrid) – Cello

Special Jury Award:

• Enrique ‘El Extremeño’ has been honored with the Special Jury Award for dance accompaniment.

The festival’s grand final will take place at 10:00 p.m. in the Old Public Market. The International Festival of Cante de las Minas is organized by the Cante de las Minas Foundation, with support from the Municipality of La Unión, the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, the Institute of Cultural Industries (ICA), Costa Cálida Region of Murcia, and the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music under the Ministry of Culture. The event is also sponsored by La Verdad, La7, Repsol, So-La-Na Entertainment, Grupo Elsamex, Fundación CajaMurcia, Caixabank, Grupo Avanza Servicios, Acciona, El Águila, Cajamar, Inmesur, Levante, Tecsumaga, and Suministros Mayor.