Japanese dancer booed after winning prestigious flamenco competition in Spain
By Bryan Ke
Japanese dancer Junko Hagiwara was booed on stage after becoming the first foreigner to win one of Spain’s most prestigious flamenco competitions at the Cante de las Minas festival in the town of La Union in Murcia in early August. Hagiwara, who goes by her stage name La Yunko, was receiving the “Desplante” — the competition’s top dance award — when some in the crowd began to heckle her by whistling and jeering.
- On winning the top prize: After being announced as the winner, Hagiwara told La Opinion de Murcia that her mind “went blank,” noting that she did not expect to win and even had trouble going up the stairs to receive her award. “They gave me the prize, and I felt an enormous weight, both physical and emotional, because it’s a huge responsibility to live up to this recognition,” she added. Considering herself a purist of the flamenco — a Spanish dance style that combines singing, dancing and guitar playing — Hagiwara said, “When I dance, I don’t think I am a foreigner, that I am Japanese. It doesn’t occur to me. I am simply on stage, I listen to the guitar, the singing, and what I feel I express in my dancing.”
- Rigging allegations: Some audience members and competitors, including María Canea, claimed that the jury’s decision was “a fix” and based on “politics” to help boost the festival’s international appeal. Jury Chairman Francisco Paredes, however, immediately dispelled the allegations, saying, “People are saying ridiculous things, that the competition was rigged by the mayor, which is completely false.”
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