“Many doors are opening for me, it is the boost they need to climb steps”
The cantaora Esther Merino, winner of the 2022 Mining Lamp, will exhibit her duende this Saturday at the Pozo de San Juan starting at 8:00 p.m. The highest award given by the Festival del Cante de las Minas de La Unión (Murcia) has catapulted the artistic career of the artist from Extremadura and Andorra is one of the first places where she will perform together with the guitarist Álvaro Mora, who came out with the Bordón Minero of the international contest.
-Winning the Mining Lamp has catapulted your career?
-Yes, many concerts are coming out for me and I am super happy because it is like a recognition of my entire career. It was the boost he needed to climb many steps at once.
-In addition to the tour that brought you success in La Unión, do you think about a new album?
-I have an engraving by the Diputación de Badajoz in 2006 and in 2015 I recorded A Thousand and One Reasons. In a pandemic, several themes surfaced and I would like to record them, of course.
-2022 is a great year to return, with the restrictions due to the pandemic behind us and the desire to recover lost ground.
-Without a doubt, the restrictions have been lifted and people are eager to listen to flamenco again and enjoy live music.
-These have been difficult times for the peñas, where the cantaores are hardened on a day-to-day basis.
-The rocks are the ones that help us the most to get through the winter months, which are the hardest. Summer gives you another cache and festivals flourish, but what keeps us artists alive are the peñas.
-And a rock bears his name
-It is about the Peña Flamenca de Alconchel, a small town in Badajoz that was achieved from me.
-In addition to winning for Mineras and taking the Lamp, he is also promoted by other modalities in the festival.
-When they start saying your name with the Soleá, Cartageneras, Taranta… you say oops, again I’m not taking the Lamp. But when my name was called for the top award it gave me a real high. Really, dreams come true and are fulfilled by fighting and being constant.
– Has it been presented many times?
-The first year was 2009, when I won the first prize for Siguerillas. Then I have been between five and six years in the final. It always brought me prizes, but until now the Mining Lamp had resisted me.
-He removed the thorn from the previous year, when he was closer to taking it but finally it went to La Repompilla.
-Last year I felt super comfortable, we really enjoyed Rosendo Fernández on guitar, who has accompanied me in 2021 and 2022. Last year was a magical night, although I also remember it with sadness because before the final he died guitarist’s mother But she told me that she was not going to leave me alone, that she had been with me from the beginning and it was a very important night for me. That remained engraved in my soul and a deep friendship unites me with him. He made me be a true partner and teacher for me. Since then he goes with me wherever. This year was special because I felt like I was not going to compete, but to enjoy myself. Nerves won’t let you mold your voice the way you want and I decided to show how many years I’ve been studying flamenco, and enjoying myself because by enjoying myself I make people enjoy.
– He goes to Andorra with the Mining Staff, Álvaro Mora.
-It will be a great pleasure to share the stage with him. The previous months we were together watching cantes and preparing little things. The stars align and we have both won in La Unión. We have proposed to start working together and we have a whole tour ahead of us.
-What’s peculiar about cante por Mineras?
-It’s a very deep cante to which you have to put a lot of feeling, because of the lyrics that the mineras have. They are still old songs that were made in the mines and recounted how bad the miners had it, with so many hours without natural light and without seeing their family. It is something deep and dark: a lament.
-Andorra was a mining area and it will be time to sing some of the palo.
-Definitely. Apart from other cantes, mining cantes must be defended and made known because they are very deep.
-How long have you been singing and with what influences?
-I’ve been here since I was 16 years old and now I’m 38. I was in Seville learning with Paco Taranto, Calixto Sánchez, José de la Tomasa and Esperanza Fernández. They taught me to love pure and orthodox flamenco, since they came from singing the flamenco of Niña Pastori or Remedios Amaya, and I didn’t have the knowledge that I have now. For me, one of the biggest apart from Esperanza Fernández has been La Paquera de Jerez.
-What would you highlight about your career?
-I have already accumulated 41 first prizes for flamenco singing. I also have the Golden Melon from Lo Ferro (Murcia), which I won in 2017, and in 2009 I won the Antonio Mairena award for Bulerías. As for festivals at the national level, I have been to many, although not as many as the ones I am seeing now. The Mining Lamp opens many doors wide for you, including those in Madrid.