The resignation of the secretary is joined by that of the saetero and flamencologist Francisco Severo, recognized with the ‘Carburo de Oro’, who will not participate again and defends the “exemplary” work of his colleagues and his “professionalism”: “I’m leaving without hate and without rancor towards anything or anyone»
Two weeks after the anger of the mayor of La Unión to the jury of the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas, Pedro López Milan will explain what happened on the night of the final (August 6) in an extraordinary plenary session convened for this Wednesday 23 August at the City Hall of La Unión. It is already taken for granted that for the next edition there will be a total renewal of the composition of the juries, since both the secretary of the jury in this edition, Salvador Alcaraz Pérez (former mayor with the PSOE of La Unión from 1987 to 1995 and former director of the festival), and other regular representatives of the same have expressed their desire not to participate again in future editions after the inexplicable reproaches of the socialist mayor, who is also president of the Cante de las Minas Foundation.
In statements to LA VERDAD, the flamencologist and saetero from Union Francisco Severo, member of the qualifying jury of the selective tests of the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas from 2004 to 2022 and member of the jury in the finals of the contests in 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2022, ensures that “the behavior of the members of the jury was exemplary and of a professionalism beyond any doubt.” He insists, as the secretary, Salvador Alcaraz, already pointed out, that “the jury stood firm in its decisions during the semifinals and the final of the contest”; that “the time spent in deliberation and decision-making was adequate in terms of time and form”; and that “it is not true that the wake-up call received by the jury was due to the delay in making decisions about the winners.” Severo makes it clear that his statements to this newspaper are not motivated “by any political interest”: “My only intention is to clarify the various information given about the jury and preserve the prestige of the largest flamenco festival.”
«I want to inform you that my time at the Festival, which I love so much and to which I owe so much, has ended; I think it’s the best for both parties.”
resignation letter
Severo will not participate as a jury again in new editions, given that he presented his resignation the day after the final in a letter sent to the first Deputy Mayor of the City Council of La Unión, Elena José Lozano Bleda, so that it could be transferred to the alderman. In said resignation, the singer from La Unión, who is one of the people to whom Pedro López Milan sings the forties in the video of the controversy, pointing his fingers at him and vehemently, announces the end of his stage at the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas after 18 years of relationship. Precisely this member of the jury has been honored in this last edition with the ‘Golden Carbide’ for his contribution.
At the ‘Carburo de Oro’ award ceremony, one day before the final, Pedro López Milan addressed Severo in these terms: «The Festival belongs to the whole world, it has no color, because it belongs to the whole of La Unión and we are the envy of the whole world for having it”, raising the need for “people who want the Festival and feel it like Paco”.
Embarrassment at Cante de las Minas: the Mayor of La Unión rebukes the Festival jury for refusing to follow his instructions. pic.twitter.com/zTO6XR6mwz
populardelaunion (@PPLAUNION) August 7, 2022
in bad ways
However, that week the Cante de las Minas was going to put an end to the commotion caused by the unjustifiable appearance of the mayor in the jury’s meeting room, in a box of the old Public Market, in view of 2,000 people eager to know the verdict , once the deliberations of the contests were concluded, and in very bad manners, with reproaches and “rude” words to its members, as shown in the video recorded by the PP spokesman at the La Unión City Hall, Joaquín Zapata.
In his resignation letter, Francisco Severo addresses Mayor López Milan and, first of all, thanks him for “everything you did for me in these seven years (you are surely the person who trusted me the most and I cannot let that go by tall)”. Secondly, «I want to inform you that my time at the Festival, which I love so much and to which I owe so much, has ended; I think it’s the best for both parties.” «I am leaving», Severo indicates in his letter to the alderman, «with the satisfaction of having been able to pay tribute to my parents for the work and support they have always shown in my love of flamenco although, in reality, they were the most important person in my life (my current partner) who very wisely helped me make the decision to pick up that ‘Golden Carbide’ (although I already felt lucky and very grateful to be able to belong to the best Festival in the world, a feeling that I will always carry with me although now it is from outside)».
“I wish you lots of luck”
Severo says that «a bad word will never come out of my mouth towards the festival because I owe everything to it in my passion for flamenco». «Nor will I say anything about what sadly happened on the day of the final (although it seems that many of those present realized it) nor about the people who are part of this great Festival. I leave without hatred and without resentment towards anything or anyone. Without further ado, I wish you the best of luck and achievements in the future. That will always be a sign of success for our Festival».
This reaction from Severo joins the one already stated to LA VERDAD by the secretary of the jury for this 2022 edition, Salvador Alcaraz, who assured that López Milan’s reaction is “a death blow” to the credibility of a festival, which is “on the ground” and that it will cost a lot to recover.
For his part, López Milan told this newspaper this week that “I lost any reason I might have had at the time I went up,” recalling that he has already apologized to the jury and that he will give the appropriate explanations to the opposition on August 23. in the Plenary that he himself has convened, and in which the PP demands his resignation “due to the serious events” that took place.
«It is not true that the wake-up call received by the jury was due to the delay in making decisions about the winners»
Indecision in the PSOE
The jury for this edition of Cante de las Minas was made up of the Spanish dancer and choreographer Blanca del Rey, in her capacity as president, who, as LA VERDAD has learned, will not perform this task again after this unexpected ending, which even affected your health; Pepe Cros, an expert in mining songs and son of the singer Pencho Cros; the unionense saetero Francisco Severo; Carlos Pacheco, musicologist, instrumentalist and music teacher at the Superior Conservatory of Córdoba; and Salvador Alcaraz, former director of the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas, as secretary. The members of the jury were “in a state of ‘shock'” by the ways in which Pedro López Milan went up to his rooms the night of the final to ask for explanations for his decisions.
The general secretary of the PSOE of La Unión, Domingo Alajarín, has already told this newspaper that the versions offered by López Milán do not coincide with those expressed by the juries, so the local PSOE does not yet have a clear position on the matter: «For Therefore, I neither believe nor disbelieve. But I don’t want to make a firm decision to ask for his resignation.”
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