The Spanish Guitar Day closes its XI Edition with the passion of EL AMIR and the rumbera party of Las Migas

The SON Estrella Galicia Spanish Guitar Conference has closed its 11th edition with an exciting poster that opened with Joni Jiménez, paying tribute to the illustrious maestro Víctor Monge ‘Serranito’, and ended with the passion of EL AMIR and the Las Migas party with their Rumba Catalan.

The afternoon began on time, as it could not be otherwise at the Molino del Manto (Chinchón, Madrid), where, at 6:00 p.m., one of the hosts, the Galician musicologist Faustino Nuñez, hinted that the night was going to be once again special; while Iñigo Osset Rambaud, in love with the Spanish guitar and also organizer of these days, gave thanks for another year of this flamenco meeting, before a full capacity and ready to get excited “with another magical night.”

This is how Santiago Miguélez, representative of Estrella Galicia, defined this evening, who presented, together with Gabriela Canseco, widow of the great Paco de Lucia and who is in charge of his Foundation, the II Legend Award – Estrella Galicia, which on this occasion went to in the maestro Víctor Monge ‘Serranito’.

Canseco, with “absolute joy”, presented the award to ‘Serranito’, who, excited and nervous, was grateful for an award that brought him to the memory of his friend Paco, “a ‘monster’ of the guitar”, and the maestro Manolo Sanlúcar ; and it made him sad that life had not given them time to have been on stage together “like the three tenors.” “The three of us played in a different way,” achieving with work “what had not been done before,” he stated, overwhelmed by so much admiration from the audience.

Considered one of the virtuosos of recent times, Víctor Monge ‘Serranito’ from Madrid is a representative case of precocity, genius and fertility in the history of the Spanish guitar. He began his musical career at the age of eight, gifted with great ability in performing flamenco, and at twelve he was already working together with his older brother in a trio called Los Serranos, hence the diminutive of ‘Serranito’, for being the most small of the group.

Legend in the history of Spanish music, his virtuosity combined with his musicality, recognize him as one of the great representatives of the flamenco guitar. He is one of the composers who pays the most attention to the balance between the substance (inspiration) and the form (technique) of his compositions, which has led him to an astonishing perfection of his music.

After the recognition, the tribute has arrived with Joni Jiménez, this 2024 winner of the Bordón Minero at the Las Minas Cante Festival who has demonstrated, once again, the maturity of his art, impeccable in the playing of his guitar.

Despite his youth, he already has an excellent career behind him in which he has accompanied great figures of singing such as Ramón el Portugués, Guadiana, Miguel ‘El Rubio’, Ingueta Rubio, Israel Fernández, Antonio Reyes, Pedro ‘El Granaíno’, Remedios Amaya and La Fabi, and has also collaborated with Arcángel and Estrella Morente. In dance, he has been part of the shows of Farruquito, Belén López, Gema Moneo, Carmen Cortés and Ángel Rojas, for whom he has provided music for several shows.

The next to take the stage was Toni Abellán, winner last year of the first edition of the biennial ‘Maestro Paco de Lucía-Molino del Manto’ Flamenco Guitar Awards. Currently immersed in the recording of his first album as a solo guitarist, he was accompanied on guitar by Juan Antonio Moya and, on percussion, by Jesús Campos, with whom he offered a preview of the work that he hopes will see the light of day next year.

The first part of this day ended, Alejandro Hurtado, who has the Bordón Minero of the International Festival of Cante de las Minas in 2017 and has performed on prestigious stages in different countries and at such important events as the Córdoba Guitar Festival, Flamenco Festival in New York, Flamenco On Fire in Pamplona, ​​Suma Flamenca in Madrid or Le Temps des Guitares in Puy – l’Évêque.

Accompanied by percussionist David Domínguez, he has brought his most personal work to the public, his latest album, ‘Tamiz’, which marks his start as a composer and shows his own way of understanding the guitar, music and flamenco. Hurtado has performed a Seguidilla and an Alegría but has moved with the Farruca ‘A mi madre’, which he also dedicated to the maestro ‘Serranito’. Furthermore, the public has been lucky enough to see him accompanying the guest artist on this day, EL AMIR, with whom he has played a lullaby, along with Laura Pacios from Las Migas.

A NIGHT TO SHARE

As guest artist Amir John Haddad – EL AMIR, charismatic and virtuoso guitarist, concert artist, teacher, producer and composer, is recognized as one of the main flamenco soloists. He has shown why he is known throughout the world – he has performed in more than 57 countries -, multi-instrumentalist and virtuoso in oud, bouzouki, banjo, bass, electric guitar, saz, masters flamenco, rock, fusion, classical and even heavy metal. He has also collaborated with many great artists such as Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Hans Zimmer, and participated in Hollywood soundtracks.

On stage he has done what he knows best, sharing, this is how he has shared his art, his passion, he has silenced the audience – which packed the room -, he has earned their silence, and hypnotized with the movement of his hands on the Spanish guitar . “Tonight is special, more than a day this is a guitar meeting because we meet colleagues, some of us haven’t seen each other in a while and others we haven’t met; music is generational, we learn from some and we see the next ones that come “, he pointed out.

That is why “it is a night to share” he stated, giving way to Alejandro Hurtado, one of his “young idols” and the violinist Laura Pacios, from Las Migas, with whom he has performed the Lullaby ‘Andalusian Lullaby’, which although it is outside the “authentic flamenco” is part of their latest album. Later, Jesús Campos and David Domínguez accompanied him as clappers, who came out on stage again to accompany him in the Alegría ‘La Caleta de Cádiz’. It closed with the Rumba ‘Terral de Málaga’ alongside Las Migas.

Precisely they have closed the night. Winners of the 2024 Latin Grammys award for Best Flamenco Music Album for their latest work, Rumberas, Las Migas have shown that “they are alive, united and awake”, that they celebrate life and that they fight for a safe space for women in the world of art.

“We are rumberas, we are women, we are free and whatever we want to be,” they announced at the beginning, giving freedom to an audience dedicated to not stopping dancing to the sound of their compas. They opened with ‘Tú Planeta’ from their latest album, then they made people vibrate with ‘El mar’ from their album LIBRES, they continued with ‘Ojitos Verdes’ and ‘Loca’, and they surprised with ‘Una mica més Con Suu’ and ‘Buen Rollo’ ‘, all from his album Rumberas.

For Las Migas, being rumberas is more than a label, “it’s a way of life.” It means being music or anything else one desires, but living it, enjoying it and feeling it in every fiber of one’s being. “It is embracing each day with the awareness that life is the present,” they recalled, wishing attendees to “take advantage of the present,” because each day is unique.

Without the accompaniment of Carolina Fernández, the group’s main vocalist, Marta Robles and Alicia Grillo have played Asturias de Albeniz on guitar. The end came with his version of Mediterranean by Joan Manuel Serrat; with Soleá de la Pena, also from Rumberas, and they closed giving way to all the artists on stage, as it always ends at the Molino del Manto, demonstrating why flamenco is Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.