Talía Awards
Young Talent
In their second edition, the Talía Awards have recognised flamenco singer Kiki Morente and actress Carolina Yuste with the Young Talent Award. They succeed dancer Sergio Bernal and actress María Hervás on the list of winners. The prize, sponsored by Iberia as part of its Talento a bordo initiative, celebrates their “enormous artistic and creative talent” in the words of the Academia de las Artes Escénicas.
The Talía Awards, granted by the Academia de las Artes Escénicas de España, celebrates its second edition at the Teatro Español in Madrid. According to the president of the Academy, Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, these awards are here “to applaud and embrace its people”. On this occasion, the winners of the 26 categories will share the stage with Kiki Morente and Carolina Yuste, who will receive the Young Talent Talía Award sponsored by Iberia as part of its Talento a bordo initiative. With it, the board of directors of the Academy wants to recognise “the enormous artistic and creative talent of two young performers with careers full of light and public recognition of the highest order.” In 2023, this same award was granted to dancer Sergio Bernal and actress María Hervás. Do you want to learn more about this year’s winners?
Kiki Morente
Kiki Morente (Granada, 1989), the son of flamenco singer Enrique Morente and dancer Aurora Carbonell, has art in his blood. For Antonio Carmona, the singer of Ketama and member of another iconic dynasty, the Habichuelas, “the songs of old flamenco masters are updated and renewed through Kiki’s voice without losing their essence or roots.” Antonio said this of Kiki after the release of his second album El cante (2021). This work came after the more classical Albayzín (2017), which established this singer as a leader on the flamenco scene.
With El cante, Kiki displayed his restless and refreshing spirit, the same that pushed his father and that his elder sisters, Estrella and Soléa, also inherited. For Soléa, Kiki possesses “skills that point towards libertarian intentions, a need for investigation and a deep love for flamenco singing.” With passion, respect, and sensibility, Kiki honours the flamenco lineage he belongs to and has turned music into his means of expression. Despite his short career, he has already collaborated with big flamenco names such as Montoyita, Juan Carlos Romero, or Diego del Morao. In mid-2024, he will release his third LP: Azabache.
Carolina Yuste
After her training at the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático in Madrid, Carolina Yuste (Badajoz, 1991) took her first steps as an actress on-stage with Las brujas, released in 2012. Although she has never turned her back on theatre —César y Cleopatra, Hablar por hablar or Prostitución are some of the works she’s performed in over the years—film soon knocked at her door and her first appearances onscreen, playing Paqui in Carmen & Lola, won her the Goya Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2019.
Since then, Carolina has strung together film (Sky High, The Cover, Girlfriends, Wild Flowers, Chinas, a Second Generation Story, etc.) and television jobs (Caronte, Nights in Tefía, Citas Barcelona, etc.) with her typical strength and spontaneity. One of her latest works deserves a special mention, Jokes & Cigarettes, where she played Conchita —singer and wife of comedian Eugenio—, for which she was nominated for the 2024 Goya Award for Best Actress. She’s currently shooting La infiltrada, directed by Arantxa Echevarría (Carmen y Lola, Chinas), where she brings to life a national police officer who, at the age of 20, managed to infiltrate the terrorist group ETA.
Just hours after receiving the Talía Young Talent Award sponsored by Iberia, Kiki Morente shared his impressions with Talento a bordo.
What does it mean to you to receive the Talía Young Talent Award?
It means a lot to me. All the awards have something special, they are a present. When the president of the Academy, Cayetana Guillén Cuervo, called me to tell me that I would receive the award today, I was thrilled and couldn't believe it. It is a very nice recognition because the Talía Awards are a tribute to culture and art.
The Talía Awards were created last year with the aim of recognising performing arts professionals. Was this claim necessary for the sector?
As I said before, when I was told about the award I couldn't believe it and I wondered if I deserved to be in the midst of so many great professionals who are working in other performing arts fields. I felt very happy because there are so many colleagues working so hard. The Academy is doing a great job, these awards are amazing! They support the sector and encourage us to come together and support each other, to keep fighting and working for the arts.
What do you feel when you get on stage in a theatre?
The stage is my comfort zone, it's the place where I can really be myself and pour out everything I am; all the joys, all the problems... Being on stage is a lucky thing because it's where you create a film. Before I used to get very nervous, but as I've been doing it for a few years now I'm getting the hang of it [laughs]. The nerves I have now, because I still have them, are good, they're positive.
