This festival is held on the first weekend of September and today is one of the fundamental benchmarks for fans, artists, critics, and specialized press. Thousands of enthusiasts, from the most remote corners, flock to the Casa Palacio de los Duques de Arcos on the nights of the Contest and Festival, and even during the preliminary selection phases, aware that they are attending an essential appointment with quality singing. Young artists, new promises, and aspirants know that succeeding in the Mairena Contest, under the shadow of the Maestro’s key, opens many doors in a world as difficult and competitive as this.
The already established artists, many of whom started on these very stages, feel that Mairena is the perfect culmination to close their summer singing season. Critics and journalists closely follow the preliminaries, praise the contest, comment on the lineup, and analyze in minute detail “the big night,” aiming to unravel the essence of one of the most characteristic expressions of this wonderful and at the same time mysterious world that is flamenco.
