Guest Author - Amy Ralston Young
A popular tradition started in the province of Andalusia, flamenco is perhaps one of the greatest art forms to emerge from Spain. Traditionally an outlet for the poor and oppressed, flamenco combines a variety of art forms, including singing, dancing, and playing the guitar.
The different types of flamenco are classified by their melody, rhythm, and mood. There are hundreds of different types, but some of the more generic versions are zapateados, fandangos, alegrias, soleares, and seguiriyas.
Influenced by the Moors, gypsies, and Jews, the songs can be traced back to the early 1600s. The fusion of these cultures and Andalusian folk music created the popular sounds of modern flamenco. The guitar was added later, replacing other instruments such as the tambourine.
Flamenco wasn’t a popular art until the mid to late 1800s when a string of café cantantes opened up from Andalusia to Madrid. People from all different classes came to observe the performance, usually comprised of 2 singers, 6 dancers, and 2 guitarists. Some cafes even hired professional guitarists, who had to know a wide variety of styles, to accompany the singers and dancers.
Like all good things, true flamenco lost popularity and began to dwindle around the beginning of the 1900s and later emerged as a ballet or in opera form in the 1930s. Finally, in 1950, true flamenco began to reclaim some of its lost popularity and new opportunities arose for singers, dancers, and guitarists. Tourists today can still see a variety of flamenco walking down the streets.
