El Municipal Institute of Performing Arts (IMAE) has presented the XXIV edition of the National Competition of Flamenco (CNAF), a historic event that will be held in Córdoba in the fall of 2025 and which is kept alive through all the new features of this edition. Interested artists can submit their applications through the organization's website, where they are bases available.
The president of the IMAE, Isabel Albas, has announced the creation for the first time of the Competition for Instrumentalists Flamencos, a category that covers all types of instruments, both acoustic and electronic. "In this way, we give the rightful space to flamenco more contemporary, which without losing sight of the roots reaches other audiences thanks to these new mixes of genres.”
This new category joins the already traditional sections: dance, cante and guitar. The prize money for these awards totals 79.000 euros, a sum never before recorded in the competition.
Another new feature of the twenty-fourth edition is the exceptional prizes that will be awarded to the winners of each section. These prizes include participation in the White Night of Flamenco From Cordoba and in the programming of the Cordoba Guitar Festival in its 2026 editions.
«The president of the IMAE, Isabel Albás, has announced the creation of the first competition for instrumentalists Flamencos, a category that covers all types of instruments, both acoustic and electronic"
Registration process and contest phases
From July 30th to September 28th, artists from all over the world will be able to register through the form enabled on the website, following the instructions included in the Contest rules.
The admissions phase will run from September 29 to October 19. The jury members will review the applications and determine which candidates will continue in the selection process, announcing this decision by October 20.
The selection phase will take place between November 3 and 11, with public tests that will be held in the Telares Room of the Gran Córdoba Theater and which, for the first time, will be broadcast live through the official IMAE channels. The tests for the section of cante The guitar competitions will be held from November 3 to 5; the dance competitions will be held on November 6; and the instrumental competitions will be held on November 10 and 11. flamencos, the jury will select three finalists who will go directly to the prize option phase.
This final phase will also be broadcast live and will include a session for participants in the instrumentalist competition. flamencos on November 14. Between November 17 and 19 there will be several sessions for contestants in the dance sections, cante and guitar.
El November 22th The Final Gala and Awards Ceremony will take place at the Gran Teatro, with tickets available to the public. The winners of the following sections will perform at this gala: cante, dance and guitar, as well as the contest for instrumentalists flamencos.
parallel programming
The IMAE proposes during the month of November an exclusive program around the flamenco with award-winning shows and big names in dance and cante of this genre for the enjoyment of the public. In this way, the organization joins the commemoration of the Day of Flamenco, declared fifteen years ago by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
La Cordoba OrchestraDirected by Salvador Vazquez and accompanied by the guitarist Daniel Casares, will open this program on November 8 at the Gran Teatro.
On November 16th at the Góngora Theater there will be the show Packaging Materials Company Circus Pork Rinds Flamenco directed by German Lopez Galvan, which recently won the award for Best Show at the Palma del Río Performing Arts Fair.
The winner of the National Prize for Flamenco In 2013, the dancer Mercedes of Cordoba, arrives on November 12 at the Gran Teatro with his show Forgotten (the hatless), which received the Lorca Award for Best Show of Flamenco.
Likewise, the singer Rocio Marquez, winner of the Miner's Lamp at the Festival of Cante de las Minas, will perform on November 20 at the Góngora Theater, along with the guitarist Pedro Rojas, his latest album Vertical anthem, defined by critics as a “contemporary flamenco masterpiece.”
The 15th anniversary of the show will be celebrated on November 20th at the Gran Teatro. The Golden Age of the Company Israel Galvan, a classic from his repertoire, which has featured hundreds of performances around the world. Israel Galván, National Dance Award winner, renews the program with the voice of Maria Marin y Rafael Rodriguez on the guitar.
The cantaora Rosario La Tremendita will also be part of this special program on November 13 at the Góngora Theater, with Matancera, accompanied by the singer The Kaita and the battery Daniel Suarez.
In addition to all this, there are two school functions by Anabel Veloso, with his show The goblin of emotions, on November 17 and 18 at the Góngora Theater.
Renewed and current image
The president of the IMAE, Isabel Albás, has unveiled the new image of the so-called "competition of competitions." The logo, tone, and communication aesthetics of this historic event, born from the purest roots of the flamenco It has been renovated by leading professionals in the sector who have given the Competition the appeal it deserves.
The logo redesign is the responsibility of the Cordoba graphic designer manuel fresno, who from the four essential branches of the flamenco and the three airs of the flamenco has established a figure that perfectly represents the values of the Competition and reinforces its identity. “Just like the flamenco It is in constant evolution and change since its origin, the CNAF must reflect this evolution, as well as the commitment to tradition," said the president.
The audiovisual campaign has focused on the voices of those professions that create and build the experience of art. flamenco away from the stage, from workshops and factories. Thus, in different videos, he brings together the testimonies and work of the artisans who are part of the industry around the flamenco, from luthiers to hat makers and shoemakers.
The soundtrack of this campaign is The Crack of the Cordobans Electronic Flamenco Cuttings (EFE), made of Paloma y Javier Rabadan, and produced by EFE, an electronic and art project jondo born in an artistic residency in Córdoba and formed by the producers John Velasco y Juan Lopez.
These audiovisual pieces, as well as all the information available about the XXIV National Art Competition Flamenco are available in teatrocordoba.es/cnaf/Tickets for shows scheduled for November will be on sale from July 31st at teatrocordoba.es and in the APP – IMAE – Theaters of Córdoba, available for IOS and Android.
