On Wednesday, May 20th, the King and Queen of Spain had a video conference with renowned representatives of Spanish music — David Bisbal, José Mercé and Miguel Poveda — with whom they discussed the impact of the ongoing pandemic and the prospects for the future. Both Mercé and Poveda are founding members of Unión Flamenca and took the opportunity to inform the Monarchs about the recent creation of the Association of Professional Flamenco Artists. In this regard, these cantaores stated the main goals of Unión Flamenca: to be a voice for all flamenco professional artists and to work towards the creation of a legal framework to regulate the financial and labor aspects of this genre.

José Cepero, general director of Unión Flamenca, considered this occasion “a historical moment”, because “at last, with the attentive ears of Their Majesties”, professional flamenco artists now have “a voice to represent them at the Zarzuela Palace”. For that reason, the representative of Unión Flamenca wished to thank the “attention and interest shown by Their Majesties during this meeting” towards the proposals conveyed by the organization’s founding members. “We wish with all our hearts for this to be the first step in the work of Unión Flamenca with other institutions, because many people who are currently experiencing serious hardships have high hopes in this project”, he added.

«Flamenco is a complex reality that has been intensely researched in its artistic, cultural and anthropological facets, but not in its economic aspect» (José Cepero, Unión Flamenca) 

Permanent Flamenco Working Table

Unión Flamenca has already expressed the need to create a Permanent Flamenco Working Table, a mixed working body staffed by both public administrators and legitimate representatives of the industry to outline flamenco’s current situation and design appropriate measures.

Likewise, Unión Flamenca proposed a series of legal amendments in both the financial and labor aspects, because it considers that «flamenco can only be protected if the people who make it happen are protected, and to achieve this goal, there is a need to create a legal framework to regulate the industry».

“Flamenco is a complex reality that has been intensely researched in its artistic, cultural and anthropological facets, but not in its economic aspect”, explained Cepero. The general director stated that there has never been a reliable analysis of the business side of flamenco and the wealth and employment it creates not only through shows, albums and concerts, but also in related industries such as textile and shoe design, accessories, musical instruments, video production, schools of music and certainly tourism, hospitality and restaurants.