In 1993, the stage of the Cante de las Minas met Miguel Poveda, gave him the Lámpara Minera to the most complete cantaor and marked his life forever. Thirty years later, the artist receives another award, the Gold Medal of La Unión, in a homecoming imbued with affection.
It seems like only yesterday that a 20-year-old cantaor named Miguel Poveda won the Lámpara Minera at the Festival del Cante de las Minas. From that moment on, his career did nothing but accumulate stages and professional experiences that made him one of the greatest representatives of flamenco.
For this reason, when he returned to the festival 30 years later, Poveda could not help but be moved. It was two days before the competition ends and there is another Lámpara Minera, which he himself will present. On a day when he was also awarded the City of La Unión Gold Medal.
At the award ceremony, Miguel Poveda tried to verbalize everything he had “in his heart” because it is “30 years of accumulating memories and emotions”. So, between tears, he showed his gratitude to the Union.
An event imbued with surprises
“If they told me this 30 years ago, I wouldn’t believe it, because I didn’t even believe what was happening to me when I arrived here”, confessed the cantaor.
The tribute to Poveda was full of surprises. The first was to see the singer Arcángel, accompanied on guitar by Pablo Barrionuevo. He was welcomed to the singing. The second was to receive beautiful words in a video from Pedro Almodóvar, Blanca del Rey, Eva la Yerbabuena, Luis El Zambo, Soleá Morente, Cristina Hoyos, among many others. Finally, the emotion was at its peak when he received a photo he didn’t have from his time at the festival, with that shirt they left him so he could perform that summer of ’93.
The story of that Miguel Poveda when he won the contest
As he received these details, he recalled the train on which he learned the cantes mineros under the guidance of Juan Ramón Caro, who encouraged him to take part in the contest. “Many of the cantes I didn’t know in depth to present myself”. But he began to study “climates and exits” of these cantes along the way. Some cassette tapes sent to him by Pencho Cros, talking to him and teaching him cante, helped him. He could not have imagined that he would be a winner and that he would start his career here.
His mother called him from Badalona the day after winning to tell him that “the phone was ringing off the hook”, and that he had been called for a film. “Everything seemed like a fantasy.
Then came the opportunity to share billboards with the great flamenco singers, which made him continue studying: “I have always believed that culture and art would make me grow, and I had to leave flamenco in a good place and do my bit”, said Poveda.
“I can say with conviction that I could die tomorrow with peace of mind because I would leave imbued with love for these 30 years of the profession because I was born in La Unión artistically”.
What a moment!
The tribute ended with a flashback, because on stage, in an improvised way, Miguel Poveda and Juan Ramón Caro, who accompanied him on guitar in ’93, came together again to perform a minera by Pencho Cros in front of a packed auditorium that stood up and surrendered, once again, to his art, his heart and his closeness.