07 Mar Laura Marchal & Mercedes Luján: Granaínas
Because in flamenco, not everything is bulerías and tangos, and we are convinced that it is possible to create and grow the passion through the dissemination of content of the highest quality, showing the general public other styles that often go unnoticed but are probably as, or more, profound and complex than the most popular ones.
For this reason, very soon, we are going to publish a series of singing videos with the intention of showing the audience the wonders that our flamenco hides, probably the most complex and extensive music that exists in the world.
Laura Marchal, a flamenco singer born in Alcalá la Real, Jaén, in 1995. Despite her youth, she has a long artistic career, having performed in flamenco venues throughout Andalusia. Her first steps as a professional flamenco singer took place in Seville, where she lived for 8 years and had great mentors such as Manuel Vera “Quincalla” and Miguel Ortega. She studied at the Cristobal de Morales Professional Conservatory and also pursued a degree in Education at the University of Seville with a specialization in music. In 2018, she moved to Barcelona where she completed her higher studies in flamenco music and has since worked as a professor of Flamenco Singing at the Superior School of Music in the Catalan capital.
From then until now, her participation in festivals has led her to share the stage with leading figures of flamenco, and she has received numerous awards in competitions, including prestigious National awards such as the 1st Youth Prize at the “Concurso Nacional de Antonio Mairena” (Seville, 2017), 1st Prize at the National Singing Competition of La Llagosta (Barcelona, 2018), 3rd Prize at the Naranjito de Triana Competition (Seville, 2020), and 1st Prize at the Yunque Flamenco Competition (best resident in Barcelona, 2022).
Her extensive training and deep knowledge of the flamenco tradition are reflected in her singing. She manages to captivate us with a personal and sincere interpretation that evokes and recalls tradition while remaining a young artist of her time.
Mercedes Sanguiao Horneros, Mercedes Luján, is a flamenco guitarist from Lorca and was born in 1987. She is the daughter of flamenco agitator Luis Terry and copla singer Rosa María Luján. Her love of music began to manifest as a child, as she accompanied her mother on her performances and tours around Spain.
Her paternal grandfather, the famous Jerez guitarist Maestro “Palmita”, who was awarded by the Chair of Flamencology of Jerez de la Frontera and was a pupil of the master Javier Molina, passed on his love of flamenco to her.
In 2017, Antonio Benamargo, “an angel who came into my life”, convinced her to perform at the Festival de Flamenco Joven de Madrid, and she did so alongside colleagues of the stature of José del Tomate and Rosalía, with whom she shared the stage. It was then when Luján realised that playing the flamenco guitar was what she really loved and that “no one could have got me out of the stage, not even with hot water”.
Her work, as it usually does, has paid off, and after performing on stages as important as the ‘Festival Internacional de Cante Flamenco’ in Lo Ferro or touring with Valderrama in his “Mujeres de carne y verso” tour, Mercedes Luján took the leap and decided to pursue solo concert guitar playing.
She has performed his art in many cities, both nationally and internationally: Teatro Villamarta in Jerez de la Frontera, Teatro Romea in Murcia, Teatro López de Ayala in Badajoz, Teatro de Molíns de Rei (Barcelona), Teatro Español in San Miguel de Tucumán (Argentina), Teatro de Lodz (Poland), etc.
She has shared the stage with numerous flamenco singers and artists of the stature of Luís Aguilé, Mariana Cornejo, Chano Lobato, Fosforito, Juanito Valderrama and India Martínez, among others. She has also participated in the documentary film Tocaoras, a film that unveils to the world the invisible role of the female guitarist.
Without further ado, we present this beautiful Granaína, and we take this opportunity to inform you that TOMORROW, FRIDAY, MARCH 8, WE WILL HAVE PRECISELY THESE TWO ARTISTS ALONGSIDE OTHER GREAT ARTISTS IN THE SHOW “JUERGA CON SOLERA“, a show that coincides with International Women’s Day and which we decided, along with the Manolo Sanlúcar Foundation and Aura Seguros, to use as an opportunity to pay tribute to women in flamenco in all its disciplines: guitar, singing, and dancing. Because the magic and sensitivity that women bring to flamenco is something that many people have yet to discover.