The Contest of Cante Flamenco Lo Ferro – 2025

LSaturdays: 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th of the month of June and July 5

RULES 2025

1.- The festival will be held in this town on the 21st as of July 27, 2025.

2.- In order to participate in the Competition, all singers who wish to do so must send a recording or be endorsed by a peña flamenca, which must justify the artist's status by means of a certificate. Otherwise, they will not be able to participate.

3.-The deadline of registration will end on May 20, 2025, Subsequent applications will not be accepted.

4.- The Organizing Committee will be citing all the Saturday to the selected singers, in order to carry out the selection tests before the public and jury, during the month of June and the first Saturday of July 2025.

They will be required to interpret three cantes (including Ferreña if desired), to be chosen from each of the five groups detailed below, both in the preliminary rounds and in the semi-finals and final.

If a singer is unable to attend the corresponding audition due to serious circumstances, he/she must call the Artistic Direction three days in advance, so that he/she can be replaced by another singer. If he/she does not attend, nor does he/she call beforehand to say so, he/she must present a JUSTIFICATION within seven working days.CANTE of his/her absence. If he/she does not present his/her attendance, the Organizing Committee or the Artistic Direction will reserve the right to NOT ADMIT said singer/songwriter for future editions.

Tests can be done in different locations in order to spread the word. flamenco.

5.- Diets: A 150 € diet will be paid to singers from outside the Region. A 30 € fuel allowance will be paid to singers whose distance from Lo Ferro exceeds 450 km.

6.- Prizes: A maximum of 10 singers will qualify for the semi-final, of which only 5 will be able to qualify for the Final. All prizes will be subject to the corresponding tax withholding and will be distributed as follows:

 *Special Award for the Most Complete Singer of the different groups of cante indicated in the bases which consists of:

• “Sebastian Escudero” Plaque of Honor.

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• “GOLDEN MELON” Trophy, created by sculptor Maite Defruc.

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• €12.000 donated by the Peña Flamenca "Melón de Oro" and "El Abuelo" Melons, which will be delivered as follows:

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      €6.000 at the end of the Festival and the other €6.000 in six galas that the Commission organizes on the dates and places it deems appropriate.

 *Special Award for the Best Sung La Ferreña: Cante of the emblematic Ferro style or with different lyrics, which can be of one's own creation, dealing with Lo Ferro and its region or dealing with a free theme and will have the same musical base as the Ferro style of Fosforito with the corresponding metrics. You can consult La Ferreña on the Festival's websiteThis award consists of:

• “MOLINO DE LO FERRO” Trophy, created by the sculptor Maite Defruc.

• €5.000 donated by the Peña Flamenca «Melón de Oro» and collaborating entities, which will be delivered as follows:

    €3.000 at the end of the festival and another €2.000 to be paid at two Galas in which the winner of the Prize will promote the cante of the ferreña. The commission will organize these galas on the dates and places it deems appropriate.

 *3 First Prizes of €2.000 everyone donated by the Peña Flamenca «Melón de Oro» and collaborating entities, which will be delivered as follows:

• €1.000 at the end of the festival, and the other €1.000 at a Gala organised by the Commission on a date and place it deems appropriate.

* 5th runner-up prize of €500 The five semi-finalists who did not qualify for the Final Test will qualify.

7.- Groups of Cantes:

They may correspond to the different groups of cantes defined by the following classification:

a)   Cante Special: Ferreña.

b) First Group (CanteBasics): Siguiriyas, Soleás, Cabales, Serranas, Livianas, Tonás, Martinetes, Deblas, Cañas and Polos.

c) Second Group (Cantes from Levante): Tarantas, Cartageneras, Tarantos, Mineras, Levanticas, Murcianas and Sanantoneras.

d) Third Group (Cantes of Rhythm): Tientos, Tangos, Alegrías, Romeras, Mirabrás, Alboreas, Bulerías, Caracoles, Cantiñas and Cantes of the Rose.

e) Fourth Group (Cantes from the Fandango): Malagueñas, Javeras, Verdiales, Rondeñas, Fandangos of personal creation, Granaínas and Granaína y Media, Fandangos from Huelva and Lucena.

f) Fifth Group (Cantes flamenco): Peteneras, Farrucas, Garrotín, Bamberas, Campanilleros, Cantes of Trilla, Milongas, Colombians, Vidalitas and Guajiras.

 8.- It is of special interest that the singers contribute new lyrics in their cantes. The Jury will take them into account and will give them a higher score than the usual or better-known lyrics. If the Jury considers the quality of the interpretation of a singer to be insufficient, the corresponding Prize may be declared void. If in a certain group of canteIf no finalist participates, the Prize may be awarded to another group of cantes.

9.- No singer will be able to perform the ferreña in the final if he or she has not performed it in the previous tests.

10.- The Semifinals the Thursday 24 y Friday 25 of July. The final It will be held Saturday July 26th 2025

11.- The singers will have at their disposal several guitarists hired by the Organizing Committee. However, any contestant may bring his or her own guitarist, in which case the corresponding expenses will be his or her responsibility.

12.- Los cantes performed in the Semi-Final test may not be repeated in the Final test.

13.- For the dissemination of the cantes, the singers who win the first prize in any category will have the opportunity to make a recording at the discretion of the Organization, the rights to which will remain the property of said Organization. If the artist needs a number of copies, these will be delivered at cost price.

14.- All singers who qualify for the Semi-Final and the Final, whether or not they receive a prize, will be given a Diploma by the organization and will have the right to participate in future editions of the Competition. 

15.- Participation in this International Competition implies full acceptance of these rules, as well as the decision of the Jury, which will be final.

The Organizing Committee.

REGISTRATION HERE