The cantaora from Extremadura, Esther Merino (Badajoz, 1984), won the prestigious 'Lámpara Minera' in August 2022 after being a finalist in previous editions of the Unionense flamenco festival. Merino, a regular in the competition in recent years, showed her interest in singing from a very early age and was always surrounded by a family of flamenco enthusiasts. She began to perform on stage at the age of 16. The cantaora has pursued this prize, which she has finally won after having received numerous awards in previous editions. She was a finalist in the Cante de las Minas in 2016, 2017 and 2021 and received several awards for her performances of levanticas, tarantos and tarantas in the first two editions in which she participated.