FLAMENCO

About Flamenco in Spanish (PDF)

Dance ~ Baile ~ tapping heels, floating skirts, hands slowly turning
Music ~ Música ~ guitar tones that sometimes caress, sometimes strike
Singing ~ Cante ~ a strong, rough voice that almost breaks the air

A lot has been written about the art of flamenco. Since it has been influenced by so many different cultures, it is hard to determine its origin and meaning. According to a dictionary, flamenco is a style of dancing, playing and singing, characteristic of the Andalusian gypsies; vigorous and rhythmic with clapping and stamping of feet, mostly accompanied by guitar.

The flamencólogist J.M. Caballero Bonald claims that flamenco began to emerge at the end of the 18th century, although there is evidence to suggest that primitive forms were quietly gestating in gypsy enclaves in southern Andalusia much earlier than that.

The genealogy of flamenco is linked with a long series of musical contributions, such as Hindu and Greek psalms, Gregorian chants, Persian melodies, Mozarabic dirges, Jewish laments, Morisco songs, Castilian romances, African and Latino rhythms. These ingredients, fused with indigenous Andalusian rhythms, eventually gave rise to a new musical structure which came to be known as flamenco.

Moorish, Jewish and Arab influences were of great importance, but clearly the most important one was the gypsy. When Spain was going to become Christian, the gypsies had to leave the country or flee to the mountains. Many people think that el cante jondo del flamenco, the great, true form of singing was born during these difficult times. The cante jondo is fundamental for all the artists who are performing today.

The cante was first sung a palo seco, without instruments, only using a stick hitting the ground, clapping or knuckles knocking at a table. It changed in the later half of the 19th century, called the Golden Age. That was the first time gypsies performed flamenco outside their own families. A great era of Café Cantantes followed, when now both guitarists and dancers joined the singers, to perform at various flamenco cafés.

An art that had always been performed in an improvised style, then became programmed to be shown at set times and with certain artists. This killed el puro, the true, feeling of the art and it took until 1922 for it to bloom again. Then, Federico García Lorca, a famous Spanish poet, and other intellectual aficionados, organized the first Concurso del Cante Jondo, competition. These competitions led to the many flamenco tablaos, bars, festivals and other venues we have nowadays worldwide, to enjoy the mastery of the flamenco artists on stage and via audible and visible recordings.

The competitions also led to another very important change regarding the performers, because eventually they gave opportunities for payos, non-gypsies, to showcase their talents. Many of the artists we admire today are both gypsies and payos, but sometimes strong feelings arise when these two groups meet. Fortunately, many of the artists today, work side by side in the one interest: to develop this magnificent art.

We payos have to understand, though, that flamenco captures a Spanish cultural tradition that is centuries old, a tradition that we, in all humility, should treat with utmost respect and cherish deep within our souls. The gypsies express their way of life, their love, sorrow, happiness and frustration by singing, playing and dancing, and they are graciously sharing it with us.

"When I am performing, both as a dancer and a teacher, I will always consider myself one of the payos, simply grateful to be able to do what I love the most - ¡bailar flamenco!"
––– Ulrika Frank