The last I saw of the XVIII Caja Madrid Flamenco Festival before packing my bags and heading for Jerez was the dual show starring the singer from Huelva Arcángel and the pianist from Seville Dorantes.

Arcángel began the evening with a gorgeous concert. With a delicate yet strong and expressive voice, Arcángel is representative of a young style of singing that strictly preserves the flamenco tradition. Maybe it’s because he’s lived them firsthand, but he sang the fandangos de Huelva masterfully.

What also contributed to the success of Arcángel’s concert were the artists with whom he surrounded himself: the guitarist Miguel Ángel Cortés flaunted his talent with a solo that was heavily applauded by the public, and the brothers, possibly twins, Antonio and Manuel Saavedra, responsible for choruses and palmas...

The XIV Jerez Festival begins tomorrow, and La Vaca Lola will be covering the event for FlamencoExport. To see the festival program visit the fest’s Web site, and if you can’t swing by Jerez, follow the festival here with us.

In the meantime, enjoy Flamenco.TV’s video coverage of the XIII Jerez Festival. Click on the artist’s name to see the corresponding video:

Eva Yerbabuena & Moraíto

Juan Diego & María José Franco

Aida Gómez & Juan Antonio Suárez “Cano”

Anabel Rosado, Macarena de Jerez & Gerardo Núñez

María Pagés & Rosario Toledo

On the 16th of February, the Catalan singer Mayte Martin opened the second night of the Caja Madrid Flamenco Festival accompanied by guitarist Juan Ramón Caro. The magnificent flamenco singer was even more affable than usual, joking with the audience and creating a welcoming, cozy environment, even though the concert took place in the enormous Circo Price Theatre in Madrid, which is in actuality a circus ring.

Shortly after taking the stage, an audience member shouted effusively “¡Guapa!” (Beautiful), to which Martin responded, “You’re not half bad either.” After singing several numbers, another spectator yelled “You sing better every day.” And Martin quipped, “She said it, but I know you were all thinking it.” They were both probably right. Martin presented an almost impeccable concert. Only when she began to sing a garrotín did she have to stop a few seconds so that the guitarist could adjust the key, and despite the rocky start, the garrotín was one of the evening’s most evocative pieces...

Just a few hours after publishing notification of the cancellation of Fernando Terremoto’s performance at the 2010 Jerez Festival, I learned from a French friend and flamenco lover that the famous flamenco singer from Jerez had passed away from a heart attack on February 13, 2010. He was only 40 years old.

Over 20 years ago, Fernando Fernández Pantoja, son of the also legendary Teremoto de Jerez, began his flamenco career as a guitarist, but debuted as a singer accompanied by the master guitarist Moraíto Chico at the Peña Don Antonio Chacón in Jerez in 1989.

Among the prizes Fernando won over the years, the most important include the first prize for singing in the Young Performers Contest at the IX Bienal de Flamenco in 1996 and the three National Prizes for Song (Manuel Torres for seguiriya and martinete; Niña de los Peines for soleá por bulería and bulería; and Antonio Chacón for malagueña and tarantos) awarded at the XV Concurso Nacional de Córdoba in 1998.