The Culture, Traditions, and Heritage of Spain

Spanish Flamenco

Much though Flamenco has achieved recognition worldwide, it is actually one of the trivial Spanish traditions. Years of imbibing, mixing, molding as well as tuning certain features of the local Andalucían, Islamic, Sephardic, and gypsy conventions has led to the development of the Flamenco dance styles and also the music. The traditions belonging to the sub-Saharan African traditions also seem to have influenced the Flamenco and this is attributed to the slave traffic carried out on the Iberian Peninsula.

Initially, Flamenco was a popular yet singular tradition that prospered among other Spanish conventions. The gypsy caverns in Sacromonte, where flamenco shows are still held, was one such site situated in Granada where the flamenco tradition grew and molded itself. 16th century literature has traces of flamenco performances – the enigmatic tunes and the dance practices- much though its proper growth can be followed systematically 18th century onwards. As flamenco music and dance began to flourish, flamenco performers moved out of the caverns to the specialized pubs known as “cafés cantantes” (or singing bars). Thus they were now open to the outside world. However it was the flamenco dance performers and not the vocalists or the guitarists, who turned flamenco into an international sensation. Flamenco, earlier a minor culture, has been appreciated and loved across the world and now is considered to be an essential fragment of the actual Spanish traditions.