More than three hundred people attended the 2025 edition of the event on the morning of Saturday, November 8th. National Awards of Flamenco that grants the Chair of FlamencoAndalusian Folklore and Studies of Jerez, an event that brought together numerous art personalities at the Atalaya Museums in this city jondo, society and culture.
The gala, hosted by journalists Blanca Vega y Salvador GutierrezThe presentation of the eleven awards given in this edition alternated with live musical performances.
They were the guitarist Santiago Lara and Beigbeder OrchestraDirected by Jose Colome, who raised the curtain on this edition, to perform the third movement of Concerto Number 1 for Spanish Guitar and Orchestra Symphonic Garrotín, accompanied by the percussion of Carlos Merino.
Then Maria Jose Garcia-PelayoThe mayor of Jerez highlighted the importance of these awards, which originated in 1964: “The City Council is always willing to support exciting projects like this one. In a year in which we are submitting our candidacy for European Capital of Culture, we must say loud and clear that we have a great future ahead of us, but that we know how to preserve our traditions and take care of our people.”
During the presentation of the Jerez Cups, awards given to artists from Jerez, the emotional meeting between Angelita Gomez, teacher of Leonor Leal, to whom he presented the silver wine-tasting cup, and the one of Enrique Soto with his cousin Luis 'El Zambo'Interestingly, his predecessor in the award. Also the one from José Quevedo 'Bolita', presented by the mayor, who dedicated it to her colleague Miguel Salado"He is a guerrilla fighter," he said.
Also moving was the tribute paid to Fernando Belmonte through his students, Eva Ruiz-Berdejo, Fernando Galán and Miguel Téllez, three of the members of that mythical Ballet Albarizuela which toured Spain and even Japan in the 80s. The Spanish classic, benamorIt served to pay tribute to the artist, who died in 2023.
"More than three hundred people attended the 2025 edition of the National Awards on the morning of Saturday, November 8th." Flamenco granted by the Chair of FlamencoThe Jerez Association of Andalusian Folklore and Studies brought together numerous personalities from the arts at the Atalaya Museums. jondo, society and culture»
The gala continued with the rest of the awards: Mayte Martín (National Award of Cante), Juan Manuel Canizares (National Guitar Prize), Ana Maria Bueno (National Dance Award), Cristina Cruces (National Research Award), Jose Maria Castano (National Dissemination Award), Juan Villar (National Master's Degree Award), Eulalia Pablo (Special Research Award) and Calixto Sanchez (National Honorary Award).
In her speeches, she highlighted Cristina Cruces' dedication "to all flamenco women," and also the kind words of the masters Ana María Bueno – whose award was presented by the former director of the National Ballet, Jose Antonio Ruiz– and Calixto Sánchez, who thanked the Chair for recognizing their careers.
The remaining performances stood out Miguel Lavi (who remembered the Roma people on their 600th anniversary) and Nono Jero, who made corridos and seguiriyas, Felipa del Moreno, brilliant for alegrías and tangos with the guitar of Antonio Higuero and palmas de Dani Peña y Ali of the Tota, and the veteran status of Jose Mendez, who also recalled, along with Higuero, the Méndez lineage.
The event also included a moving video tribute to all the artists and personalities from the world of flamenco deceased during these last two years, since the awards are biennial, and ended, thanks to the Manolo Sanlúcar Foundation, with the theme Song of AndalusiaIn another tribute from the Chair, this time to the guitarist from Sanlúcar. The piece was performed Lidia Hernández accompanied by the Beigbeder Orchestra.
It should be remembered that the National Awards of Flamenco They were created by the Chair of FlamencoThe awards were established in 1964 and have since been granted to the most emblematic artists on the scene. flamencoat Antonio Mairena a The Paquera via Antonio El Bailarín, Paco de Lucía o Paco Ceperoamong many others. The 2025 edition was the twenty-eighth.
The Copa Jerez, for its part, was created in 1967, coinciding with the birth of the Fiesta de la Bulería, also born from the inventiveness of the Cátedra, and whose main objective was to safeguard the flamenco from Jerez.
For this occasion, the institution has had the collaboration of the Jerez City Council and the sponsorship of Fundación Unicaja, Solera Motor, Williams & Humbert and Clínicas Beiman.
