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Thursday, August 17th.
XV Festival de Cante de Las Minas. La Union.
A hard-worked contest
Greater effort made by the participants in the second day of the contest
of Las Minas
Antonio Reyes
It was curious the way in which this contest was born, now getting paid back
for its efforts: Juanito Valderrama, with the sense of honest modesty which characterizes
him in the days after his great success, asked the public not to ask him more
for his famous "coplas", and to pay greater attention to the "cantes" of his hometown.
That call was grabbed by a group of aficionados from La Union, who liked those
half-forgotten styles in that half-abandoned town. In that town we have now reached
the fortieth edition (never has any contest reached such a number, even if the
one in Cordoba is older), and in this edition we have to make a special mention
of the hard work of accompaniment performed by the official guitar players, Paco
Javier Jimeno y Rosendo Fernandez.
The night began with the powerful voice of Bonela Hijo, which is an appropriate
voice for unusual "cantes" from his region such as the "malagueña" of Baldomero
Pacheco or those "jaberas" with a convulsive breath; also from Malaga came Paqui
Rosales, with her sharp voice of a "aficionada" (fan) of the "taranta" and the
"granaina". "In throne of La Union / in a night of spree…": thus began
his "minera" Manuel Grande without much lustre, being somewhat freer in the "solea"
from Alcala.
David Pino
As the cantaor from Cordoba David Pino also performed a "malagueña"
on a high note, he left little room for different nuances before singing another
two more varied "cantes": a hidden "mirabras" and a contest-winning "seguiriya".
The "malagueña" chosen by Manuel Cordero from Seville was the one of
the Canario, which is more moderate, and he closed the night "por seguiriyas".
Manuel Cordero
Just before that had sung the two non-Andalusian voices of the night: Maria
Toledo (who sang a "cartagenera" with an undermined cliche and hard-worked "mineras"),
and Javier Conde, from Caceres, who at the age of eleven is perhaps the youngest
contestant in the history of the festival; he played a "taranta" on the guitar
which was lacking in force which he then compensated for with the "farruca" airs
from the Niño Miguel.
Hiniesta Cortés
In the section of dance of the contest, the night presented Para concursar
en baile esa noche, Hiniesta Cortes of Seville, who appeared on stage supported
by the always excellent "cantaores" (flamenco singers) Enrique el Extremeño
and Segundo Falcon, who escorted her in a funny "taranto" with its whirling of
"tangos" and with a "solea" in the middle with "salto de bata" (flailing of the
dress) included.
"Mineras" on laser
A little time before the contest took place the presentation made by Francisco
Rodenas about the "cafes cantantes" (singing cafes) of La Union, in which he thoroughly
went through the early years of these cafes during the last 30 years of the 19th
century. In the same session, there was a presentation of an album with the twelve
"cantes" which won prizes in the contest last year, corresponding to the fourth
volume of the series ‘Cante de las minas’. The CD begins with the "minera" which
gave the "lampara" (first prize) to Antonio Porcuna "El Veneno", who
then continues "por serranas", and the CD ends with the special prize for young
cantaores won by Rocio Bazan "por tangos"; three prizes were won by Jesus Chozas
with a "cartagenera", a "taranta" and a "levantica", two were won by Miguel Ortega,
the same as Nene de Santa Fe; the trace of Raul Cortes and that of Niño
Seve, who won the prize for the flamenco guitar, called the "Bordon Minero",
serve to complete this great document of what happened during these days in 1999.
Luis Clemente
Translation: Pekka Odriozola
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