Festival del Cante de las Minas La Unión

This is an international flamenco festival held every year in la Unión

The Festival del Cante de las Minas has been held since 1961 and takes place at the beginning of August every year in the old market hall, known by locals as the “Catedral del Cante” in La Unión.

The festival is gaining stature year by year as it gradually becomes more international, attracting participants from abroad to compete for the coveted miner’s lamp and the other prizes which form part of the competitive element of the festival.

There are two distinct parts to this festival: the gala nights at the beginning of the week which feature major stars in the flamenco world, as well as those who are breaking barriers and are well on their way to becoming the big names of the future and the competition nights which conclude the festival. Heats for these take place in the months preceding the festival, and from 2015 onwards, will include heats in other countries where flamenco is also hugely popular. It’s a surprise to many that Japan has more flamenco schools than Spain and India is another country in which flamenco is flourishing. Although Spain is inextricably linked to flamenco, the roots of this unique form of music lie with the wandering Romanies who gathered their own influences from central Europe and the East, the rhythms of flamenco more akin to the structures of oriental music than its Western counterparts.

Participants in the festival compete in the fields of singing, ( with several different classes) dance, guitar and flamenco instrumental, three nights of semi-finals concluding with the grand final on Saturday night and prize-giving.

In addition to the galas and competition the festival embraces a wide range of cultural activities, exhibitions,  conferences and educational sessions, aimed at those with an interest in flamenco, and the town itself is filled with music in the streets and tapas as the music continues long into the night after each of the performances in the old market hall.

As a reflection of its status the festival has been granted the status of “International tourist interest.”

The link between La Unión and flamenco goes back to the mining history of the town and the mass migration of miners who moved here from Andalucia seeking work during the 19th century. They brought with them their Andalucían flamenco tradition, which gradually took on its own identity as thousands died in the miserable and gruelling conditions of the mines.

Over the years the “Cantes Mineros” and “Cantes de Levante” developed  their own unique forms, the tarantas, mineras, cartageneras, levanticas and  murcianas an expression of the suffering endured by those working in the mines of not only Cartagena-La Unión, but also in other nearby mining areas including  Linares-La Carolina, Almería and the Sierras de Gador.

As mining endured a crisis period from the 1850’s lasting into the 20th century, the numbers of miners working in the traditional fashion dwindled until the future of these mining songs was under threat and in 1961 La Unión was visited by Juanito Valderrama, a popular singer of his era who urged the locals to protect their heritage and stage a singing competition in order to promote their heritage of mining songs. Spurred on by his passion for their music a group of residents received the backing of the council and the first Festival Nacional del Cante de las Minas de La Unión was held in October of 1961, a festival which has continued to attract flamenco enthusiasts from across the world, to become one of the most prestigious and fiercely fought festivals in Spain.

Tickets are quite steep as the artists performing are generally top names in the flamenco world, but those wishing to explore flamenco as flamenco novices are advised to come along on the first night of the week when winners of the previous year’s competition perform again and entry is free : It’s an excellent way to gain a measure of the music which will be performed during the week. Alternatively, just come along and enjoy a spot of tapas and the music in the outdoor Café cantante set up in the plaza outside the old market place.