Camarón

Despite originating around 200 years ago, in a small area of Andalucía where it's roots remain strong, today Flamenco is considered the national music of Spain. It has assimilated such a broad spectrum of influences it is difficult for anyone coming to Flamenco for the first time to tell what is old or new or simply, what is Flamenco?

lamenco was born amongst the poorest elements of Andalucian society; itinerant farm laborers, miners, horse traders, blacksmiths, fishermen, basket weavers and Gypsies, who played a defining role in the emergence of this unique art. Flamenco is inconceivable without the Gypsy, yet it did not develop anywhere else where an equally large Gypsy population existed (Catalunya, Castilla for example, or for that matter Hungary, France or Rumania,) suggesting that without the indigenous Andalucian society, it would not have evolved either.

Flamenco is much more than a style of music, it has it's own dialect, it's own traditions and rules, it is a living art, a way of life, a way of perceiving and interpreting daily existence. The three fundamental elements of Flamenco music are "El cante" (Flamenco song), "El Baile" (differentiating it from La Danza Española which concentrates on Folkloric styles) and "La Guitarra". Arising from the partnership of "cantaor /cantaora" (male or female Flamenco singer) and "tocaor" (specifically the term for a Flamenco guitarist,) there are several basic styles or forms of "cante" known as "palos". Each has its own name, a distinct musical characteristic key or 'mode', harmonic progression and a rhythmic pattern known as "compás".

"El Cante Jondo " (in Flamenco dialect literally "Deep Song", so called because it draws upon the interpreters deepest emotions,) is the oldest form of Flamenco interpretation. Here the singer is expected to produce a cante "rancio" (meaning 'mature', like a well aged wine, not to be confused with the English 'rancid'!) with traditional "tercios" (words) or themes, and full of elements valued by aficionados such as emotional expression above clarity or even tonal accuracy. The themes range from the hardships of a miner's existence (specifically the Cantes de Levante; Tarantas, Taranto, Cartageneras, Mineras) through the joys of owning a fishing boat (a common theme in some "Alegrías") to the more dignifying emotions of loss, grief and injustice (Seguiriyas, Soleá, Tiento, Toná) Nothing is written down. Flamenco is an oral tradition, only the music for solo guitar has been successfully transcribed.

The stages of Flamenco's evolution have been documented by "Flamencólogos", (Flamencologists) and defined as; the "Café Cantante" era, in the 1850's-1920's, probably the origin of today's modern Tablaos, where Flamenco was organized and staged for a paying public. "Opera Flamenca " during the early 1900's, when "cantaores" would pull the palos out of shape, often to an orchestral accompaniment, emphasizing the pretty and melodic referred to today as "cante bonito". Then there is the concept of "Flamenco puro", a term associated with Antonio Mairena (1909-1983) a Gypsy "cantaor" awarded the second Llave de Oro in the history of Flamenco (equivalent to a Grammy but far more rare and exclusive!). The term "Mairenismo " was coined to identify his style of singing and his beliefs, still influencing modern Flamenco, which were basically that only the "cante Gitano " consisting of three or four basic palos, was true or 'pure' Flamenco. Which implies that all others are not serious Flamenco. Throughout Mairena's professional career the style now known as "Nacional Flamenquismo", promoted by Franco's sterile regime, presented a sanitized, Folkloric form of Flamenco. The developments of the past 30 years or so, are now called simply Flamenco Nuevo.