From June 30, Cuenca will once again be able to enjoy one of the most consolidated events in the city. It is the Estival Cuenca that for 12 days will offer 23 concerts and fifty activities in its programming. This year, the contest once again has full capacity to receive artists of the stature of Sole Giménez, who will also receive the Manuel Margeliza award, El Niño de Elche or Queralt Lahoz, María Arnal i Marcel Bagés and the Cubero Brothers, among others guests.

The Estival Cuenca 2022 will have in this edition the Parador de Cuenca and the Solán de Cabras stage as its flagship, although activities have also been scheduled in the libraries, the Antonio Pérez Foundation or the University of Castilla-La Mancha.

The director of the festival, Marco Antonio de la Ossa, recalled this Wednesday during the presentation that this year 38 groups, soloists, artists and lecturers will participate, with 50 percent of groups from Cuenca and 25 percent of young people. In addition, with all audiences in mind, music workshops are held for people with functional diversity, or for pregnant women and children.

The director of Estival Cuenca explained that the presence of local artists is "very important for the event." Thus, of all the participating artists, 50% are from Cuenca, 56% are women or mixed groups and 25% are under 25 years old. “Undoubtedly, these numbers demonstrate the support for Cuenca talent, the attention to the gender perspective and the youth that continues to characterize the Cuenca cycle since its inception in 2012,” Marco Antonio de la Ossa remarked.

The presence of Cuenca materializes in the participation of the Saxophone Ensemble of the Municipal School of Music of Cuenca, the Symphonic Band of the UCLM Campus of Cuenca and María Lentisco to Her Itage, Petit Swing, Paula Serrano, The Teacher's Band, Yandrak Jamaica , Virginia García Vicente, Unthinkable and Laura Moreno, going through Zas! Candil Folk, Dolly Rose, Blanca Pinedo and Ángel Girón.

Regarding the 51 activities on the programme, 23 are concerts and a monologue, eight music workshops for people with functional diversity, two music workshops for children, concert dinners, library activities, a music workshop for families expecting a baby , a jam session, a master class and a three-day congress dedicated to musical education and training. The latter will take place in the month of November.

Performances that will be carried out by 38 groups, soloists, artists and lecturers from seven autonomous communities, such as Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, the Canary Islands, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Madrid and the Basque Country; and, without forgetting, the presence of a French team.

Estival Cuenca 2022, in the words of Marco Antonio de la Ossa, is a festival conceived for all audiences. And it is that, as he has indicated, "it is focused on concerns and viewers of all ages and conditions, from families expecting a baby, children, adolescents, young people and veterans," he pointed out.

The acts will be complemented by gastronomic proposals, which will once again play a prominent role. In fact, two dinner-concerts will be held at the Parador de Cuenca, on June 24 and July 1, which will feature the menu of chef Miguel Ángel Martínez and his team. They will also prepare special snacks for all the concerts held on the Solán de Cabras Stage at the Parador. Likewise, on the MUPA Atperson Stage, chef Nacho Ruiz and his team from Natura Restaurante Bistró will also prepare special tapas for the recitals.

For his part, the mayor of Cuenca, Darío Dolz, has referred to the Estival Cuenca as "a cultural event of recognized national and even international prestige", he has advanced that the City Council will also contribute to the embellishment of some concerts in the Parador with a special lighting of the surroundings of the Parador, especially in the Hanging Houses.

The president of the Provincial Council of Cuenca, Álvaro Martínez-Chana, thanked the organization for the high quality and variety of this festival, of which he said that "the people of Cuenca are proud."