{"id":12061,"date":"2019-02-04T16:10:07","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T00:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=12061"},"modified":"2019-02-04T16:10:07","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T00:10:07","slug":"the-state-of-competitive-flamenco-contests-have-grown-and-evolved-as-the-art-form-has-changed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/the-state-of-competitive-flamenco-contests-have-grown-and-evolved-as-the-art-form-has-changed\/","title":{"rendered":"The State of Competitive Flamenco: Contests Have Grown and Evolved as the Art Form Has Changed"},"content":{"rendered":"
BY TH\u00c9R\u00c8SE WASSILY SABA | FROM THE WINTER 2018 ISSUE OF CLASSICAL GUITAR<\/h6>\n

The highlight of the summer flamenco festival season in Spain is the Cante de las Minas International Festival, now in its 58th year. Held in the town of La Uni\u00f3n in the region of Murcia, with a strong connection to mining, the prizes of the Cante de las Minas (\u201cflamenco singing of the mines\u201d) have names such as the L\u00e1mpara minera<\/i> (miner\u2019s lamp); Mar\u00eda Jos\u00e9 Carrasco (above, right) won that award this year as the best flamenco singer.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, after the 1922 Concurso de Cante Jondo in Granada\u2014the first national competition for flamenco singers, originally organized by Manuel de Falla, Federico Garc\u00eda Lorca, et al\u2014and other competitions of the 1920s, there were very few concursos<\/i> (competitions) again until the 1950s, when they began to flourish.<\/p>\n

In August 1952, the first Gran Concurso de Alegr\u00edas was held in Cadiz, and even recorded by Radio Nacional Espa\u00f1a\u2014under General Franco (1936\u20131975), flamenco was considered to be a useful tool for promoting the international image of Spain. However, as with all the country\u2019s art forms, it was tailored to suit the needs of the authoritarian regime; of course, that\u2019s another story. In 1953, a second edition of the competition was held\u2014the II Concurso Nacional de Alegr\u00edas y I de Cante Popular Andaluz, which also featured a competition for popular Andalusian songs. No further competitions were held.<\/p>\n

El Concurso de Cante Jondo de 1922, by Antonio L\u00f3pez Sancho<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1956, <\/b>Co\u0301rdoba held its first national competition, the Concurso Nacional de Arte Flamenco de Co\u0301rdoba. The acclaimed singer Antonio Ferna\u0301ndez \u201cFosforito\u201d won the first prize, the premio absolute<\/i>. The Co\u0301rdoba concurso<\/i> was held every three years after 1956, continuing until 1992. However, in the time between each event, there were selection rounds held in such locales as Huelva, Malaga, Cadiz and Seville\u2014all in 1957\u2014and Jaen, Granada, Almeria, and Co\u0301rdoba in 1958. This gives some idea of the level of organization and seriousness with which the Concurso Nacional de Arte Flamenco de Co\u0301rdoba competition was held. They wanted to achieve a certain standard of performance, so it was not unusual to see the word \u201cdesierto<\/i>\u201d in the results, that is, no contestant reached the required level to be awarded the prize. In these first years, legendary cantaores<\/i> such as Sernita de Jerez, Curro de Utrera, Juan Talega, Fernanda and Bernarda de Utrera, and La Perla de Cadiz began to win prizes in the competition. <\/span><\/p>\n

The 1962 edition of the Co\u0301rdoba concurso <\/i>saw the reappearance of the Concurso Nacional la Llave de Oro del Cante (\u201cGolden Key for Singing\u201d). The first Llave de Oro del Cante had been awarded to El Fillo in the 1860s in Seville, the second to Manuel Vallejo at the Teatro Pav\u00f3n in 1926\u2014a gap of around 60 years. In that 1926 edition, each of the competitors was required to sing three particular flamenco forms: siguiriyas,<\/i> ton\u00e1s<\/i>, and soleares<\/i>. The siguiriyas<\/i> and soleares<\/i> had to be sung in three different styles within those forms, and for the ton\u00e1s<\/i>, each sang a ton\u00e1s<\/i>, ton\u00e1<\/i> grande<\/i>, martinetes<\/i>, and debla<\/i>. Beyond that, each cantaor<\/i> was required to sing two further cantes<\/i> of their own choice. By the 1965 edition of the Co\u0301rdoba Concurso, the categories of toque<\/i> and baile<\/i> were included for the first time.<\/span><\/p>\n

La Uni\u00f3n already had a long tradition of flamenco. The discovery of valuable minerals in the area had brought a great migration of workers from Andaluc\u00eda during the 19th century and they brought flamenco with them, so the area had a huge number of caf\u00e9s cantantes<\/i> during a period stretching roughly from 1850 to 1920; sometimes called La Edad de Oro de Flamenco<\/i>\u2014the Golden Age of Flamenco. The caf\u00e9s cantantes<\/i> offered a small stage on which the flamenco artists could perform; their walls were covered with mirrors and posters advertising the latest bullfights in the Plaza de Toros. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas was established in 1961, with the first held in the Cine Meri. By the 18th edition, the event had moved to a big public market building, now referred to as the \u201cCathedral of Cante.\u201d The competition was initially for cante <\/i>only, but over the years more sections have been added, so that in 2018, they held the 39th Concurso de Guitarra Flamenca and the 25th Concurso de Baile Flamenco for flamenco dance. The newest section of the competition is the Concurso de Instrumentalista Flamenco, first held in 2009. The list of possible instruments includes violin, flute, saxophone, piano, keyboards, percussion instruments (including castanets), electric guitars or electric bass, synthesizers\u2014basically any instrument other than the flamenco guitar\u2014reflecting the great broadening of flamenco\u2019s musical tools of expression.<\/p>\n

This year, Agust\u00edn<\/span> Carbonell (\u201cEl Bola\u201d) won the prestigious \u201cBord\u00f3n\u201d award for the best flamenco guitarist for his minera<\/i> and buler\u00edas<\/i>. Luis Medina Blanco won the second prize for his minera<\/i> and Fandango de Huelva<\/i>. The family tree of El Bola includes many prominent flamenco guitarists; he is a great nephew of the legendary Sabicas, and also traces his lineage to Ram\u00f3n Montoya. As a guitarist, he feels this connection so strongly that he has researched the life of Montoya and in 2015, published a book called El Sue\u00f1o de Ramon Montoya<\/i>, including a recording. Now in its second edition (2017), the book has been revised and expanded in collaboration with guitarists Manolo Sanl\u00facar and Victor Monge (\u201cSerranito\u201d) and flamencologists Jos\u00e9 Manuel Gamboa and Faustino N\u00fa\u00f1ez. The accompanying CD has also been expanded from the original nine tracks to 22 and now includes many historic recordings of Montoya accompanying the cante<\/i> of Ni\u00f1a de los Peines, Ni\u00f1o Medina, Pepe Marchena, La Rosa, Encarna Salmer\u00f3n, and Juanito Valderrama.<\/p>\n

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Agust\u00edn Carbonell (\u201cEl Bola\u201d), winner of the Bord\u00f3n for best guitarist. \u00a9Jayam Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

El Bola himself has lived and traveled in different parts of the world (Brazil, London) for short bursts and now is back in Spain. Born in 1967, his early years were spent in Madrid in the flamenco circles there; so much so that he was part of the \u201cflamenco football team\u201d that played weekly and included such distinguished musicians as guitarists Paco de Luc\u00eda, Juan Manuel Ca\u00f1izares, and Enrique de Melchor. In fact, Paco was playing football on a beach in Canc\u00fan with his children just before he died.<\/p>\n

Below, Luis Medina at the 2016 Concurso Nacional de arte Flamenco de C\u00f3rdoba:<\/em>
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