The XLII edition of 'Festival de las Minas' will pay homage to la Paquera de Jerez

The event, to be held in August 2002, will also dedicate a special
section to Japanese Flamenco followers

Flamenco-world.com

The XLII edition of Festival de las Minas, to be held between 7th and 17th August 2002 in La Unión (Murcia province), turns our attention this year to Jerez and Japan. With regard to the hometown of the bulería, the event holds in store a tribute to one of its legends: Francisca Méndez Garrido, better known as La Paquera de Jerez. Besides a chance to see the cantaora singing live on stage and the festival's own ceremony paying homage to her work, the festival sees the launch of a book containing previously unpublished material, in recognition of her artistic career. With regard to the land of the rising sun, the festival aims to show the passion for Flamenco which can be found in Japan, bringing to Spain some of the figures who work as professional Flamenco artists there.

La Paquera de Jerez (Photo: Anahí Cármody)

Juan Valderrama, Manolo Sanlúcar, Pilar López, Fosforito or Mario Maya are just some of the catalogue of Flamenco greats who the 'Festival Internacional de Cante de las Minas' has paid tribute to in the more than forty years that it has been running. This year another name is added to the list, that of Francisca Méndez Garrido, La Paquera de Jerez (born Jerez, Cadiz province, 1934). The event's forty-second edition, running from 7th to 17th August in La Unión, province of Murcia, will feature a ceremony paying homage to the cantaora.

José Joaquín Hernández, the festival's director, explains, "the Festival de Cante de las Minas has made this homage ceremony a regular feature, because we felt a need to publicly show gratitude to the most distinguished performers, those who have left their indelible mark on the history of 'el arte jondo' (authentic traditional Andalusian singing)". Aside from the ceremony being held for La Paquera at La Union Town Hall and a recital during the gala scheduled for 13th August, a book will be launched "with previously unpublished contents, both pictorial and literary".

The cantaora from Jerez has recently returned from her first trip to Japan, a country which, "coincidentally this year will have a strong presence at our festival. In keeping with our global vision, we like to be a home to artistic manifestations of Flamenco in cultural environments other than our own", comments Hernández. The event's director adds that "a country which, like Japan, feels true passion for our 'arte jondo', and has demonstrated that with quality and total commitment for several decades, can't be absent at an international event like ours". The event will feature contributions from Flamenco guitarists and dancers who are the products of the numerous dance academies located in the land of the rising sun - among others, performers of internationally recognised prestige such as Kiyoko Katori, Michico Shima, Keiki Sato, Yasuko Nagamine or Yoko Komatsubara.

Picasso

As a further sign of its spirit of universality, the Festival de las Minas has chosen this year a painting by Pablo Picasso for its posters. With the choice of the painter from Malaga to lure its public, the event continues to demonstrate its fondness for the vanguard of modern Spanish art, as it has shown in previous editions with the work of great artists like Sáez, Conesa, Cop, Celdrán, Bernal, Bechtold, Gaya, Chillida, Canogar, Saura, Niebla, Caruncho, Tapies, Barceló or Miró. All of these artists were featured in the launch, at last year's event, of a complete collection of the festival's posters which, under the title 'Los Carteles del Festival', have been on show all over the world.