La Fundación Cante of the Mines has officially opened the call for competitions for its 64th edition, which will turn La Unión into the world capital of flamenco of the July 30th to 9th August 2025. Artists may register until June 1st in the categories of cante, guitar and dance, while the deadline for instrumentalists flamencos will be extended until July 1.
Any artist of the genre, whether professional or not, can enter the competition, as long as they have not won any of the top awards in previous editions. The selected artists will face one of the selective tests that will be held throughout Spain over the coming months, from which the semifinalists will be selected, who will meet in La Unión on August 6, 7, and 8. The Grand Final will take place on Saturday the 9th, revealing the new names who will take home the trophies. TheMining lamp (highest award in the category of cante flamenco which includes the cash prize of €15), Bordon Minero (highest award in the flamenco guitar category), displantation (highest award in the dance category, both male and female) and vein (highest award in the instrumentalists category) flamencos).
Awards in category cante flamenco
L AwardáMining lamp, which will include the awarding of the trophy of the same name, the Festival's highest award, and will be endowed with the amount of fifteen thousand euros (€15).
Single prize of Cartagena endowed with three thousand euros (€3.000). Single prize of Tarantas endowed with three thousand euros (€3.000). Single prize of Murcianas and others cantes miners (taranto, levantica, fandango minero, cantes at dawn…), endowed with the sum of three thousand euros (€3.000).
Single prize for the Cantes of Malaga, Granada, Cordoba and Huelva, and others cantes derived from the Andalusian Fandango (malagueña, granaína and media granaína, fandangos from Granada, Huelva and Lucena, verdiales, rondeñas, jaberas, jabegotes and other types of regional or local fandangos, of proven significance in the context flamenco) endowed with the sum of three thousand euros (€3.000).
In the category of Cantes lower Andalusians, contestants will be eligible for a single prize for tonás, siguiriyas, soleares, bulerías por soleá, cañas, polos, ligeras and serranas, endowed with the amount of two thousand euros (€2.000), in addition to another single prize, endowed with the amount of two thousand euros (€2.000), for those participants who choose cantes such as Bulerías, cantiñas, tangos, tientos, peteneras, farrucas, personal fandangos and, where appropriate, other forms of cante proposals by the contestants, whose classification within this section is considered pertinent by the judging panel.
Finally, those contestants who at the time of the start of the contest had not reached the age of 25 years, and not having won in any of the aforementioned categories, will opt for the Special Award for Young Singers endowed with the sum of two thousand euros (€2.000).
«Artists may register until June 1st in the categories of cante, guitar and dance, while the deadline for instrumentalists flamencoThe competition will run until July 1. Any artist of the genre, whether professional or not, can participate, as long as they have not won any of the top awards in previous editions.
Awards in the flamenco guitar category
In the guitar category, participants will be eligible for the following prizes:
First Prize for Guitar, endowed with the sum of six thousand euros (€6.000) and, where appropriate, the trophy Bordon Minero, to the best guitarist, according to the jury's criteria.
Second Prize for Guitar, endowed with the sum of two thousand euros (€2.000) and an accreditation diploma.
Awards in the dance category flamenco
In the dance category, participants will be eligible for the following prizes:
First Prize for Dance, endowed with the sum of six thousand euros (€6.000) and, where appropriate, the trophy displantation, to the best dancer, according to the jury's criteria.
Second Prize for Dance, endowed with the sum of two thousand euros (€2.000) and an accreditation diploma.
Awards in the instrumentalist category flamenco
In the instrumentalist category flamenco, participants will be eligible for the following prizes:
First Prize for Instrumentalist, endowed with the sum of six thousand euros (€6.000) and, where appropriate, the trophy Filon, to the best instrumentalist, according to the jury's criteria.
Second Prize for Instrumentalist, endowed with the sum of two thousand euros (€2.000) and an accreditation diploma.
Special jury award
The jury may award a special prize to the best accompanying artist in the dance and instrumental competitions, endowed with the sum of one thousand euros (€1.000).
Mariano Conde Guitar Award
El Guitar Award 'Mariano Conde' bursts into the LXIV edition of the International Festival of Cante de las Minas as a bridge between the artisan tradition and the new generations of flamencoMariano Conde, luthier to workshop in Madrid since 1915 and recognized worldwide for the excellence of its guitars —the newspaper El País He defined them as "the Stradivarius of the flamenco»—, allies itself with the contest to reward to talents of 16 to 25 aus (in any of the competition categories) that demonstrate "technical excellence and soul in the touch", offering one of their magnificent guitars, with that brilliant sound characteristic of the firm, valued at more than four thousand euros.
From carbide to spotlights
El International Festival of Cante of the Mines was born in 1961 en The Unionn (Murcia), epicenter of Spanish mining in the 19th century, where the cantes of the mines –Cartageneras, tarantas, Murcianas– emerged as a lament of the workers in the face of the harshness of the subsoil. CanteThe Miners and Levante festivals, originating from the massive migratory flows that throughout the 2010th century constituted large demographic and urban concentrations in the mining districts of Linares-La Carolina, Almería and the Sierras de Gador, and the Sierra de Cartagena-La Unión, were declared an Asset of Intangible Cultural Interest in XNUMX. Its first edition, promoted by a group of residents passionate defenders of the traditions of La Unión, and the City Council itself, sought to prevent these unique tonás from falling into oblivion. TheMining lamp, the trophy symbol of the festival, was inspired by the carbide lamps that illuminated the galleries, and today is considered the Nobel Prize in flamenco.
The competition is the reason for the existence of what is considered the 'best Festival of flamenco of the world', a benchmark in the genre thanks to the prestige it has earned throughout its career. Its boards have featured winners such as Pencho Cros, Pitingo, Mayte Martín, Miguel Poveda, Rocío Márquez, Miguel de Tena, Juan Habichuela 'Nieto', Ricardo Fernández del Moral, Patricia Guerrero, Lucía 'La Piñona', Eduardo Guerrero, Alba Heredia, Abdón Alcaráz, Borja Évora, Sergio de Lope and Jesús Corbacho, among many others.
Registrations
Registration can be done online, through this link: https://festivalcantedelasminas.org/bases-de-los-concursos-2025/
There you can also download the registration form, which you can fill out and mail to the Foundation. Cante of the Mines (Calle Mayor, 55 · 'Casa del Piñon' Building, 2nd floor – 30360 La Unión).
