Taut sinews and toned muscles opened Cante de las Minas 2014

The annual flamenco festival in La Unión kicked off with an explosion of raw sexual energy

The Cante de Las Minas Flamenco Festival in La Unión is once again underway, filling the municipality with music and visitors, providing a welcome boost to the local economy. Ticket sales have been buoyant in spite of the economic crisis, with the main 3 acts of the festival, Miguel Poveda, Sara Baras and Estrella Morente complete sell-outs, in spite of the hefty price tag for these important galas, with tickets still remaining for the competition nights which follow.

These competitions are the heart and soul of the festival, yielding the stars of the future, indeed many of those who now return as international artists gained the important recognition which helped to push them up the flamenco ladder by winning the categories for guitar, dance, percussion or cante at La Unión.

The opening night of the festival is always free entry as the artists who won these prizes the previous year return to perform at Las Minas, usually with a new confidence having embarked on international tours as artists in their own right and for those who watched them win the previous summer it’s always a joy to see how much they’ve developed in just one year.

For those dipping a toe into flamenco waters it’s a good choice, ( as well as being free entry!) as each of the artists who perform have reached an exceptional standard and offer an interesting cross-section of skills, and although as the festival increases in importance so does the length of the opening speeches, those who attended on Thursday were treated to an explosive dance performance, an accomplished and empathetic rendition of cante and an interesting instrumental conclusion, the guitar class last year without a winner as the judges felt none of the contestants had come up to the required standard.

The evening began with the mandatory pregón, given by veteran broadcaster Luis del Olmo, followed by a presentation to the Indian Ambassador in Spain, Sunil Lal, in recognition for the work  undertaken by his country in the growth of the Cante de las Minas Festival and its participation in a joint initiative to bring Asian artists to the festival. This was followed by an absorbing and beautifully performed rendition of Tintinnabulum by the Coral Argentum in honour of the visit by the Ambassador.

Then it was down to business and first up was the winner of the Desplante, (dance) Eduardo Guerrero, who brought the crowd to its feet following an explosive, powerful and sexually charged dance performance. Guerrero has intense presence and perfect balance, a dancer who uses his body as a tool to sculpt sensually erotic poses quivering with tension and suppressed power, fingers curling as an extension of taut sinew and toned muscle, circling the stage like a fighter waiting to explode into action, a testosterone charged bull, a sharp-eyed eagle ready to snatch its prey, a lithe and hungry wolf waiting for his opportunity.

There are many flamenco dancers who are able to turn out technically perfect performances, but next to Guerrero, which ironically translates as warrior, they are little more than pastel puppets, lacking that sweat soaked tension, infused with untamed and untouchable sexuality which makes a good flamenco  dancer such a potent and mesmerising force and provides such mesmerising entertainment.

And Guerrero can only be described as magnificent. If you see his name on a festival cartel, go, whatever the price, you won´t be disappointed: he certainly left a few attendees a little hot under the collar after his performance on Thursday night.

Next up was Jeromo Segura, winner of the Lámpara Minera, on cante, with a mainstream voice and good technical control delivering comfortable soleá and cantiñas, accompanied on guitar by Jesús Guerrero, and minera and fandango minero accompanied by Rosendo Fernández followed by bassist Pepe Bao, winner of the Premio Filón for best instrumentalist, a virtuoso bassist satisfying the late night audience with his fusion of flamenco bass, rock and jazz. Two great artists, delivering two great performances.

Those with a little energy left by 02.30am in the morning when the performance finally concluded propped their eyes open with a reviving dish of  tapas and a couple of beers, a mandatory part of a night at Las Minas, ready for a week of glorious galas and fierce flamenco completion in the week ahead, and those who didn´t go missed out on a fabulous night of free flamenco.

Click for programme, Cante de las Minas 2014