José Mercé – Mar Abierto Festival 2026

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The flamenco singer José Mercé sings Manuel Alejandro at the Symphony Hall of the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, as part of the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of the Mar Abierto Festival. For the first time in its history, the Mar Abierto Festival will feature José Mercé, on a very special date such as the festival’s 20th anniversary. The cantaor has always deeply admired one of his most illustrious fellow countrymen, Manuel Alejandro, to whom he dedicates this show, performing new versions of some of his most emblematic songs and taking them into different flamenco palos (styles). He will be accompanied by his usual ensemble, made up of two flamenco guitars, three palmeros (hand-clappers) and flamenco percussion, to which an acoustic piano and a double bass will be added, bringing a new sound to such well-known songs. With 18 albums released since his debut in 1968, José Mercé has preserved the pure essence of cante and blended it with flamenco versions of songs by Manu Chao, Luis Eduardo Aute, Víctor Jara, Louis Armstrong, Pablo Milanés, Pop Tops and Joan Manuel Serrat, establishing himself as a key artist in Spanish music, breaking down boundaries and taking his music not only to flamenco audiences, but also reaching a younger, pop-loving public. José Soto Soto (José Mercé) is the great‑grandson of Paco Luz and nephew of Manuel Soto “Sordera”, patriarch of flamenco in Jerez. After singing as a child in the choir of the Basílica de la Merced in his hometown (from which his stage name derives), he took his first artistic steps at the Jueves Flamencos in Jerez and at the Cádiz tablao La Cueva del Pájaro Azul. At the age of 13 he arrived in Madrid (“I earned 500 pesetas a day singing in Torres Bermejas,” he says) to record his first album, produced by Manuel Ríos Ruiz. He joined Antonio Gades’s company, took part in 1981 in Carlos Saura’s film Blood Wedding, collaborated with the National Ballet, won the National Flamenco Art Competition of Córdoba in 1986, worked again with Saura on the film Flamenco in 1995… José Mercé made his debut in 1968 with the album Cultura Jonda 14. Bandera de Andalucía. Years later came important works such as Verde junco (1983) together with Tomatito and Enrique de Melchor, Caminos reales del cante (1987), Hondas raíces (1991) and Desnudando el alma (1994). In 1998 his leap to widespread popularity began with the album Del amanecer, produced by guitarist Vicente Amigo, achieving an unprecedented success in flamenco that continued with Aire (2000), which went Double Platinum, and Lío (2002), which Mercé himself defines as “an album made with the heart”. Later came Confí de fuá (2004), Lo que no se da (2006), a Greatest Hits (2007) and Ruido (2010). In February 2010, Mercé received the Medalla de Andalucía, an honorary distinction that recognises the merits of the cantaor. He was recently awarded the Diamond Record, certifying more than 1,000,000 records sold over the course of his career, a milestone never before achieved by a flamenco artist. The Jerez-born cantaor is an artist who has managed, like few others, to convey that flamenco is for everyone, taking it to maximum popularity without losing its essence or depth. José Mercé is the truth of flamenco brought to large audiences, especially since he released Del amanecer in 1998, an album which, according to flamenco scholar José Manuel Gamboa, “turned José Mercé into a mass artist, placing him at the forefront of the movida jonda.”