If you thought that the August festivals dedicated to flamenco were closing their presence before the end of the summer, you will be surprised to know (although you may already know) that this month there are dozens of flamenco events… and the good stuff.
We should certainly start with one of the most important flamenco festivals. We are talking about the one held in La Unión (Murcia) with the protagonism of its Cante de las Minas contest. As we have a post that talks in depth about this wonderful contest, we leave you the link and let’s go with others, there are plenty. The same is true of the La Isla Flamenca Festival, one of our favourites, which we tell you about in this article.
Small August Festivals… but thugs
At the beginning of August, on the 5th, comes the Chiclana with Salero Flamenco Festival. It is a night open to the public free of charge and with a very interesting programme: Manuel Carmona, Nene de Santa Fé, Sara Salado, Juanito Berrocal, Alfonso González Niño de Medina and Manuel González Primilla. It takes place, by the way, under a tribute to Carmen Guerrero La Chiclanera, who will be at the event.
An appointment not to be missed (if possible…) is the Juan Breva Festival, in Vélez-Málaga. It is only one day, 12 August, but it is a classic. This year brings the fashionable cantaora, Esperanza Fernández, among other greats.
The 62nd Festival de Música Cueva de Nerja already started in July, but continues in August with top level performances. Miguel Poveda and Sara Baras are two of the stars of the bill, with permission of the stage, the gardens outside the famous cave of this town, a delight. Incidentally, it is one of the oldest flamenco festivals (from 1960) and Manolo Sanlúcar, Antonio El Bailarín and Antonio Gades, as well as Paco de Lucía have performed there.
Noche Flamenca, in the town of Benamargosa, is an event that showcases the most traditional flamenco music. So the choice of the poster responds to this philosophy, with Belén Bega and Rubén Portillo, Carmen Camacho, Rosa Linero, Fabiola Santiago, Carlos Haro, Paco León… These artists will begin their recitals on 27 August and finish on 28 August, although it must be said that the times have not yet been finalised and there could be changes in the days.
To close the month, another important event is the Festival de Arte Flamenco de Jódar, on 31 August. In 2023, the cantaor Pedro El Granaíno will perform.
And we left out other festivals that are also highly recommended. The second edition of Vejer Flamenco, in Cádiz, which will be attended by Las Migas (the Latin Grammy for the flamenco album of 2022), La Piñona and Jesús Méndez, all three on 2 August. Or the Marenostrum Fuengirola, with the presence of El Cigala on 7th.
The Pamplona meeting
Flamenco On Fire is one of the flamenco festivals with the best reception and repercussion on a national and international level in recent years. It is held in Pamplona from 25 to 27 August and was created in 2014 with the aim of recovering the name and work of the Navarrese Agustín Castellón Campos Sabicas.
It has two main strands: one is free street programming (open-air recitals, workshops, exhibitions, round tables…) and large-format shows, hosted by major theatres in Navarre. And the line-up is impressive: Vicente Soto Sordera, Antonio Reyes, La Tremendita, Cancanilla de Málaga, Tomatito… It’s a good thing we can leave the posters in this post because there is quite a long list.
They are not flamenco, but…
August brings many more festivals that are not specifically flamenco, but have some flamenco performances that are interesting to consider if you are in the area.
For example, the Sotogrande Music Festival, an event in Cádiz which last year, in its first edition, was very successful, so it returns to the festival scene bringing together artists of copla or Spanish song with those of urban pop or rap. Of particular interest is the celebration on 12 August of a kind of mini flamenco festival with Kiki Morente, Remedios Amaya, Lin Cortes, Capullo de Jerez, Anabel Valencia, El Bomba, Jose Canela and la Húngara.
The Starlite is a standout amongst August festivals in terms of the number of stars per square metre.
This event in Marbella lasts all summer long, there is always a lot of celebrity in the audience, as well as activities related to gastronomy and shopping areas. But Starlite did not usually go for such a flamenco line-up as this year’s in previous editions. In it, Farruquito, Vicente Amigo and Sara Baras, three good reasons to recommend it. Fondo Flamenco may be another, though not for the purists. It must be said that this group has reunited after 10 years of silence and is having a tremendous success.
Recommended August festival posters
