Flamenco wins the Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts
Carmen Linares and María Pagés join an award that artists such as Scorsese, Bob Dylan and Woody Allen have received before.
Only one master of the flamenco world has won this award before: Paco de Lucia. Since then, the award has passed into the hands of film directors (Pedro Almodóvar, Martin Scorsese), musical geniuses (Ricardo Mutti, Ennio Morricone, John Williams) and different emblematic figures of the world of culture. It is now, in 2022, when Spanish flamenco receives a well-deserved joy: the Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts goes to Carmen Linares and María Pagés.
From ALL FLAMENCO we want to make a small tribute to the career of these two artists.
CARMEN LINARES
Carmen Pacheco Linares, known by all as Carmen Linares, has more than 50 years of experience in the world of flamenco. She is an emblematic figure, on a par with fellow artists such as Camarón, Paco de Lucía, Enrique Morente and José Mercé. His album "Ramitos de Locura" earned him a Latin Grammy nomination. Since then, his achievements have not stopped growing: National Music Award, Flamenco Legend Award, Goya nomination and Gold Medal of the City of Madrid. But without a doubt, Carmen's greatest award is her recognition as a living legend of flamenco.
MARÍA PAGÉS
The bailaora and choreographer has created a personal stamp on flamenco dance. She began dancing in Antonio Gades' company, but her early success prompted her to found her own company. Her talent as a choreographer has materialized in numerous international tours with works such as "Riverdance. The Show" (1995), "La Tirana" (1998), Flamenco Republic (2001), Canciones antes de una guerra (2004) or "Yo, Carmen" (2014), among many others. She is best known to the general public for her participation in Saura's films "Amor Brujo", "Carmen" and "Flamenco". Currently, María Pagés is one of the most famous flamenco choreographers in Spain and the world, so the Princess of Asturias Award, in reality, does nothing more than recognize what was already known to all.
PERFORMANCE AT THE PRINCESS AWARD
Both artists came to Oviedo last Friday 28th to collect the award. During the ceremony, attendees had the unique opportunity to see the winners together on stage. They had prepared a joint work for the occasion: "Carmen and María: two roads, one look", a show based on poetry.