THE UNION OF MINING SONGS

LA UNION'S FLAMENCO MINE SONG FESTIVAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Miguel Poveda is the last king of cante (flamenco singing), of copla and fado ballads, of the Argentine tango, of all things well done, of the musical universe, of believing that hard work, love and respect for your profession will bring you assured success.Four flamenco albums, a fully booked schedule, and, as he says, "what's hard is singing what everyone else has sung so that, when you show up and do it, it's new... That's really hard, Juanito". Today Suma Flamenca features the wise singer from Catalonia, an immigrant who has conquered stages around the world. The last king of cante (flamenco singing) now lives in Bormujos (Seville).

Juan Verdú.

Miguel Poveda's artistic career took off in 1993 when he won four of the five prizes at the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas (International Flamenco Mine Song Festival) in La Unión (Murcia), including the festival's most coveted prize: the Lámpara Minera.

Ever since then, Poveda has managed to leave his mark and carve himself a niche in the history of flamenco, proving himself to be a genuine, uncompromising and unapologetic cantaor (flamenco singer). Poveda is a sincerely talent cantaor and who does not bow to passing fads and, thanks to his track record, he has become a first-class celebrity in the world of flamenco in a relatively short period of time. Seventeen years after his resounding success in La Unión, Miguel Poveda and Suma Flamenca pay tribute to the Festival del Cante de las Minas (Flamenco Mine Song Festival). The doyen of all flamenco festivals is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and clearly deserves to be honored. In the past 50 years, La Union's festival has kept up flamenco's strength and safeguarded its wisdom through both the good times and in the bad.

In the first part of this concert, Miguel Poveda, accompanied on guitar by Chicuelo and Juan Ramón Caro, invites us to explore different flamenco mine songs. The recital then continues with a varied repertoire that includes a wide range of cantes (flamenco songs) such as cantiñas, soleá, tientos and tangos, tonás, seguiriyas, bulerías, malagueñas, abandolaos and flamenco-style ballads, among others. The repertoire showcases Poveda's sensibility as well as his mastery over the expressive possibilities of his voice range. Poveda is equally capable of belting out a song with a strong and powerful resonance and of softly singing the most melodic and delicate tones. In this last part of the concert, Carlos Grilo and Luis Cantarote accompany Poveda on palmas (hand clapping) and Paquito González plays percussion.