A cantaor from Málaga, Alfredo Tejada, wins the 2017 "Lámpara Minera"
He won the top prize in the 57th International Song Festival of Las Minas. The Desplante dance award went to the Sevillian dancer Fernando Jiménez Torres. A dancer from Cádiz, María Macarena Martínez Cepero, won second prize in this category.
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Holding his trophy, and with his emotions clear to see in his face, the cantaor, resident in Granada for the last 17 years, returned to the stage for the finale to sing a "minera" for the audience, which filled three quarters of the capacity of the Antiguo Mercado Público auditorium.
After performing with such distinguished artists as the dancer Blanca del Rey and the cantaor Chano Lobato, Tejada won the top award bestowed in the world of Flamenco, dedicating the prize to his mother, who died when he was just 14 years old and "never heard me sing when she was alive"; to his wife, who is expecting a baby girl; and to the audience.
The Andalusian cantaor told the media that he won the "undreamt-of" award after "a lot of work", and compared the Lámpara Minera awards to football's Champions League. "It will go with me, and I will go with it, all over Spain and all over the world," he added.
Fernado Jiménez wins in the dance category
Apart from the top award of the competition, the jury has also granted the Desplante dance award and 9,000 euros to the Sevillian dancer Fernando Jiménez Torres.
