Italy has been awarded one of the most prestigious prizes at the 'Cante de las Minas' International Festival, the world's leading flamenco festival: the 'Catedral del Mar' award, which celebrates commitment to the promotion and dissemination of flamenco beyond the Iberian borders. It will be received by the Italian Ambassador to Spain, Giuseppe Buccino Grimaldi, on 3 August in La Union, in the southern region of Murcia, the embassy informs. The festival will also include a conference analysing flamenco in Italy, which will be attended by Italian dancer Silvia Marín and flamencologist José Manuel Gamboa.
Ambassador Giuseppe Buccino Grimaldi expresses his gratitude and celebrates this connection, which he considers to be 'the fruit of important work over the years, in which both Italy and Spain have been committed to promoting cultural relations through various initiatives.
Italy has shown considerable interest in this musical genre, observable in the growth in the number of dance schools and the enthusiasm of the Italian public in learning this art. "Italy loves flamenco. More and more dance schools are teaching this art and more and more Italians are learning it,' Buccino Grimaldi pointed out.
Milan, Turin and Rome are epicentres of flamenco in Italy and host annual events of song, dance and music. They include the 'Festival dei Due Mondi' in Spoleto and the 'Milano Flamenco Festival', which will celebrate its 17th edition this year. Appointments that each year attract an increasingly large and curious public to discover and admire flamenco.
These proposals in Italy are connected with the most important flamenco event in the world, the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas. Many established and emerging artists who have participated in the festival, such as Belén Maya, Mayte Martín, El Yiyo y El Tete, are part of the programmes of the Italian festivals, strengthening the cultural connection between the two countries.
"I am sure that in the coming years, thanks to the collaboration between cultural associations, many more people will approach flamenco," remarked Buccino Grimaldi. He also emphasised 'the importance of cultural cooperation between countries for the dissemination of arts such as flamenco', an art that can 'create bridges between nations and remind us of human beauty'. Finally, the Ambassador expressed his wish for the future of flamenco: "I hope that it spreads as much as possible, because it is an art that reminds us of the beauty of life, music, dance and traditions. Moreover, it could be a bridge between cultures, leading to new collaborations between countries that could benefit everyone'.
The International Festival of Cante de las Minas is organised by the Cante de las Minas Foundation with the collaboration of the Municipality of La Unión, the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, the Institute of Cultural Industries (ICA), Costa Cálida Region of Murcia and the National Institute of Scenic Arts and Music of the Ministry of Culture.
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