Tomares did not skimp on the jury. He had a great lineup to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his festival and it served as a lure to fill the Count's Gardens. The entire venue was sold out. It had been announced on social media, but many fans came to the door to beg for a ticket. More than 1,300 people thrilled to a top-notch cast from 10:00 p.m.—their punctuality was astonishing—until 3:00 a.m., when the closing ceremony was held.
Antonio Ortega He masterfully presented a rhythmic and concise evening of awards, alternating with performances. Israel Fernandez relapsed into the lukewarmness of cante, Diego del Morao he bent it, drawing the ears to his guitar, Maria Terremoto swept across the proscenium –overwhelmingly flamenco–, Manuela Carrasco She reaffirmed her scepter as goddess of dance and the end of the party seemed long to me, judging also by the absences in the parade, since a large part of the audience left.
They honored the presenters who have hosted the festival over the past fifty years. Antonio Novella, President of the Peña Flamenca from Tomares, awarded the silver pin to those who were able to attend to receive it: Manuel Curao, Alfonso de Miguel, Manuel Cerrejón and Antonio Ortega. The Peña Flamenca Torres Macarena –represented by its current president Jose Antonio Troya– as dean of the peñas from Seville, who once helped Tomares with its first statutes, perpetuated the commemoration of the half-century in a Triana ceramic work that he gave to the people of Tomares. And Novella was surprised and moved to receive the gold insignia of his own entity.
Israel Fernandez
Marcos Carpio y The Pirulo They fused the base of the beat with the magnificent percussion of Ane Carrasco accompanying the singer Israel Fernández, who was tuned to Levante as a garnish for the first performance. Despite the annoying excess of decibels and the reverb, qualities such as his speed of voice, his intonation, his wide range of tonal registers and his creativity shone through. In the bulería por soleá he excelled in the variant of The Twin or the auction by Paquirri, which always brings back memories of Fernanda from Utrera. In his tientos tangos he demonstrated his skill in playing with cadences and tempos, more brilliantly in the second part. His exit to seguiriya bore his signature. He continued to find new twists to the lament. I liked him better in the worried de Joaquin Lacherna who sang Thomas Pavon than in the rest. And the male lacked weight. He placed the compass cante with bulerías in the corners he wanted, dominating. Then he closed with fandangos remembering The one from Calzá y The GloryIn my opinion, everything was 'well sung', with outstanding abilities, but rooted in lukewarmness or coldness, even though his dedication and good disposition were evident.
Diego del Morao's guitar shielded him, doubling his quality. The Jerez native's soniqueta surpassed him without any intention of taking center stage. But Diego is very Diego. And he stole my ears, discarding the cante on several occasions. He splashed albariza terruños with blows of the bass, disrupting the staff with the offbeats, the strumming, and the deep falsetas that he played with jinque. Neat, flamenco and with plenty of rhythm, he showed off in an impeccable accompaniment signed by his surname.
"Diego del Morao sprinkled albariza terruños with blows of the drone, he dismantled the staff with the offbeats, the strumming and the deep falsetas that he played with jinque. Neat, flamenco and with plenty of rhythm, he showed off in an impeccable accompaniment signed by his surname"
Maria Terremoto
He did not come one-handed either. Nono Jero, which wrapped its shimmering strings around María Terremoto's confident voice. He played cleanly, with substance, and forcefully in the closing notes, emphasizing the spaces with ease. Diego Montoya y Cantarote They pointed out the paths of the sound to the palmas. Ané repeated on percussion. María sang to the fullest. She swept over the timbers, starting with trilla from the moment she climbed the stairs. Her first charge already raised the hairs on the back of my neck. She crowned it with a moaning, sighing, sighing air. She fitted her Jerez-like style into the bulería por soleá and went off with Rosalia from Triana to the mines of Egypt. To Utrera with La Serneta. He later paid tribute to Pastora, culminating bravely by Paquirrí. Tremendous was his interpretation of the revolt of The Lame Man from Malaga, already etched in my memory of fond memories. She delivered it between taranta and taranto, with great poise, an undeniable hallmark of her performance. What some sing as filler, María made great. She perfumed it with scents of cloves and cinnamon the seguiriya, hurting in each of the thirds. And at the end he delivered gañafones with the special days of Santiago and Santa Ana. Picarona was sung in the tangos of Pepico, those of The Girl with the Combs or those of The Repompa, among others, taking off the hat she'd been wearing from the start of her performance. She let her hair down and the audience applauded the gesture, tired of her constantly having to put her outfit back in place. She put the lock on her bulerías recital, singing and dancing to impress everyone. At the start, she looked at The Paquera. And from there to triumph, strolling wherever he wanted, until closing with La Lola goes to the ports without using the PA system, filling every corner of the gardens with his thunderous voice.
María is 'just a girl', barely over twenty. It's true that she seems to border on shouting, without ever becoming strident. But her youth and power are not conducive to other qualities. And that's how I love her.
"María Terremoto put the lock on her bulerías recital, singing and dancing to the point of being a hit. She looked good at the start with La Paquera. And from there, she triumphed, strolling wherever she wanted, until closing with La Lola, she went to the ports without using the PA system, filling every corner of the gardens with her thunderous voice."
Manuela Carrasco
The salt from the cantiñas was scattered with their palmas Diego Montoya and Cantarote. Jose Carrasco did the same with the drawer. Peter Sierra He played amazingly well, inspired by the dancer's soot and the fat bells she has. Enrique the Extremaduran in the throat, which erect him as the highest authority of the cante backwards, imposing her unique personality on the legacy of those who want to learn how to put soul into the voice and then serve it at the feet of the dance. From cantiñas, alegrías, and romeras, they moved on to the solemnity of the soleá. Manuela's soleá, The goddess, who at 1:30 in the morning raised her arms and stabbed time there, cutting off breath with her expression. The shawl moved tightly, tension in each figure, a succession of poses that dismembered the essential moments of pain… A handful of gypsy gestures, arms where they should be, feet just when needed, and walks carried out with gallantry. The elegance, the pellizco, the trapío, the gypsy spirit, and the truth of the dance without posturing or rehearsals that restrict feelings to a few marked closings that count bars. That and much more is Manuela. Here the tempo is dictated by the cante of Enrique, who treads the mysteries of the quadrature with the eyes of a blind man. Masterful –of masters– is this artistic couple that will go down in the annals of the history of flamencoThey gathered around each other, arms draped over each other's shoulders and around each other's waists, bidding farewell to the night. Sublime.
End of party
The festival could have ended there. It was more than enough. But the finale is enjoyable, even if it dragged on. And it wasn't that there was too much, because it brought together highly talented festival-goers on stage, such as Luis Peña, Choir of the Kings, Miguel Angel Heredia, Zamara Carrasco y The Little Breast al cante, with the guitar filled with the rhythm and depth of Raul The Pearl, who played the tune again to eat his fingers.
"A handful of gypsy gestures, arms where they should be, feet just when needed, and walks carried out with gallantry. The elegance, the pellizco, the trapío, the gypsy spirit, and the truth of the dance without posturing or rehearsals that restrict feelings to a few marked closings that count bars. That and much more is Manuela.
Luis squandered the art he absorbed as a child with The Funi, Paco Valdepeñas o Juan del Gastor, singing and dancing with the age he brought tucked away in his jacket. One of the best. Coral tastefully recalled echoes of Fernanda and Bernard, Gaspar de Utrera o Luis de la PicaMiguel Ángel Heredia put the honey in his mouth and dripped it with couplets – splendid in Give me wine, tavern owner– punctuating her pass with clipped, punchy little legs to end with a chocolate-like fandango por bulerías. Zamara danced and sang passionately, curling her melismas with the blackness of her lineage. The nod to Joan of the StirAnd El Pechuguita rounded the monument to Luis de la Pica and Gaspar, pointing with the Ole song, leaving the contest with the aftertaste of bronze metals and the roguishness of graceful dancing ready for sentencing.
For dessert, a surprise. Manuela brought her granddaughter, who joined the finale barefoot, predicting the future of a renowned caste. With aplomb and spontaneity, she sealed the penultimate of the festival, which came to a close with a few brushstrokes from Manuela with the cante from Israel and Maria Earthquake.
Tomares celebrated fifty years of peña And the festival went down a storm, with a flamenco event of high artistic quality, with sold-out tickets and a great atmosphere among the audience. But the headlines are short: María Terremoto and Manuela Carrasco swept the Tomareño stage.
Credits
The Festival Flamenco City of Tomares
Count's Gardens. Tomares, Seville
July 19, 2025
Cante
Maria Terremoto
Guitar: Nono Jero
Palmas: Diego Montoya and Manuel Cantarote
Percussion: Ané Carrasco
Israel Fernandez
Guitar: Diego del Morao
Palmas: Marcos Carpio and El Pirulo
Percussion: Ané Carrasco
Home
Manuela Carrasco
Cante: Enrique the Extremaduran
Guitar: Pedro Sierra
Percussion: Jose Carrasco
Palmas: Diego Montoya and Manuel Cantarote
End of party
Cante and dance: Luis Peña, Coral de los Reyes, Miguel Ángel Heredia, Zamara Carrasco and El Pechuguita
Guitar: El Perla
Presentador
Antonio Ortega
