Following the steps of Flamenco

There is nothing that represents so much what Andalusia has been and what it means, like flamenco. It is in the heart of Andalusia, the most mixed land of the entire peninsula. The Andalusian culture has nothing of essential purity, rather its essence lies in miscegenation and cultural fusion.

Flamenco, as a phenomenon, does not have a clear origin, although most studies point to a fusion between the gypsy musical culture (which arrived in Andalusia around the 15th century) and the Andalusian cultural heritage (a millenary mixture of the Moorish peoples, Jews and Christians who inhabited the region).

Trying to describe such a peculiar and subjective experience as flamenco is almost as difficult as trying to capture the fog with your hands. But you only need to look at his name. In the word "flamenco" inhabits, first, the image of the flame. Its name tries to give account of the incendiary character of that dance. Flamenco, like flames, is a combustion that rises, wiggles, flows and imposes itself.

But this tremendous and pathetic character is not carried to the extreme. The breathless virtuosity that dominates flamenco is contrasted by its silences, its temperance, its syncopations. Although flamenco has never tried to represent the bird that lives in its name (too light for its), it takes off the ground and dreams of flight, to put the feet on the ground again.

Flamenco shows, which mix music and dance, can seem very uniform from the outside but there are more than 50 styles of flamenco. These styles are called "palos" and each one has a differentiated name and particularities. Depending on each "palo”,  the color of the dance and singing will change.

Although the bailaor or bailaora have a wide range of steps and figures, flamenco has a high component of improvisation. The rhythm and energy in each moment will move the dancer in unpredictable and unique ways. 

Flamenco, which remained vulgarized for many years, already in the 20th century captivated geniuses as Federico García Lorca or Manuel de Falla, members of the supposedly high culture of the country. Previous generations, including that of Ortega y Gasset, had considered it vulgar and bumpkinish. However, sung or danced flamenco has currently a worldwide reputation – perhaps an even greater fame than in its country of origin. Thus, it is not strange that, since 2010, flamenco is part of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity, having experienced in recent years an important boom and renovation.