Marchena will celebrate a new edition of the Guitar Festival with a program that reinforces its role as one of the great flamenco events in the province of Seville and which this year acquires a special meaning due to its status as a festival of transition towards a new cultural stage for the city.
El Marchena Town Hall has sought to place this edition under a guiding theme of the highest artistic level with the presence of Eva Yerbabuena, one of the great figures of dance flamenco contemporary, which will act as the central focus of the festival and will be accompanied by Second Falcon, Manuel de Gines y Michael Ortega with the touch of his partner Paco Jarana, composer and musical director of his shows for years. Jesus Mendez will Paco León, a young and highly respected guitarist within the Cadiz circle, trained in the Jerez school. David PaloMar for its part with Oscar Lake, a guitarist sought after by major figures in flamenco and with a very solid track record at festivals and on big stages. The native of Marchena Fernando Caballo will be accompanied by Yus Wieggers, a Dutch guitarist based in Seville and closely linked to cante de peñasy al toque con personalidad, sensible y conocimiento del flamenco Traditional.
This ensemble also includes the violin of Ana de la Viña, who will accompany Melchor de Juan at a particularly symbolic moment of the festival, contributing a distinct sound and reinforcing the idea that the guitar remains the backbone of the festival.
Eva Yerbabuena's participation not only brings artistic prestige, but also a very fitting perspective for an event of this nature, since her career places her among the great creators of flamenco Their current presence at festivals is due to large-format projects, well-defined and with a high stage demand.
In this sense, this edition is understood as a strategic step for Marchena to enter the Olavide Chair of Flamenco from Pablo de Olavide UniversityThis decision, with all that it entails in terms of academics, dissemination, research, and cultural outreach, also reflects a long-term vision: the 50th anniversary of Pepe Marchena's death will begin at the end of the year, and the municipality wants to start working now to glorify this flamenco singer with the highest possible artistic and institutional standards.
"This edition is understood as a strategic step for Marchena to enter the Olavide Chair of Flamenco from the Pablo de Olavide University, with all that this implies in terms of academics, dissemination, research, and cultural outreach. This decision also reflects a long-term vision: the 50th anniversary of Pepe Marchena's death will begin at the end of the year."
This year's edition also places emphasis on fabric flamenco local, giving rise to artists from Marchena who are a living part of the municipality's cultural identity. Within this context, the City Council wishes to highlight the presence of Miguel Angel Talaveron, who will pay homage to Pepe Marchena through flamenco opera, as well as to Fernando Caballo and Melchor de Juan, the latter with a particularly symbolic meaning as he is the great-grandson of the founder of the festival and represents the continuity of a dynasty closely linked to the history of the Guitar Festival.
Alongside the artistic program, the festival will include a tribute to Antonio Cortes, a singer and guitarist from Marchena, closely linked for years to the work of the peña and from the festival's own organization. Antonio Cortés has been a very active member of the festival clubs, a constant collaborator in multiple editions of the Guitar Festival, contributing his participation with the snare drum, the palmas and the choirs, in addition to having their own zambomba group, so this recognition responds to a trajectory of commitment, presence and service to flamenco .
With this tribute, Marchena resumes a line of recognition that it has already highlighted on other occasions to flamencoold things that, without achieving great media exposure, have left a deep mark on the flamenco local, like Pepe the Blacksmith o Manuel the Gypsy of MarchenaIt is, therefore, a commitment to useful memory, gratitude and recognition of those who have helped to sustain the flamenco life of the municipality from within.
The Marchena Guitar Festival thus reaffirms its vocation as a major cultural event: a festival with roots, with local talent, with top-level figures and with a clear ambition for the future, at a time when Marchena wants to position itself at the forefront of the flamenco from artistic excellence and academic support.
The City Council emphasizes that this edition not only looks to the present of the festival, but also to the cultural future of Marchena, reinforcing its flamenco identity, its international reach, and its role as a city committed to the preservation, dissemination, and enhancement of one of its greatest heritages. ♦
