Flamenco Music

While there is a variety of musical genres with major international artists in Spain, Flamenco is probably the genre with the greatest success beyond our borders. Whether the cante, toque (guitar) or dancing, flamenco certainly has visited some of the most famous stages in the world. In this article we focus on vocals and guitars.

The origin of today's flamenco dates back to the 18th century in the regions of Andalusia, Extremadura and Murcia. The most outstanding performers of flamenco relate to Roma people. In fact, many experts claim, that flamenco is a result of cultural mixtures in Andalusia (non Gypsies, Gypsies, Jews and Muslims) that take place for centuries. Flamenco has several traditional styles, the so-called sticks (for example, the Fandango, Buleria and Tango). The genuine flamenco singing (Andalusian gypsy singing) is probably the most well-known and most emotional way of singing flamenco.

While we already talk about singing, we should also mention the flagship of the mythical island, Camaron. The real flamenco singer is passionate about classical singing, inspired by the magnificent Paco de Lucia and by the excellent Tomatito. He was a pioneer of flamenco fusion. His album "The Legend of Time" from 1979 initiated a revolution in view of flamenco singing.

The composer and guitarist Paco de Lucia certainly was another flamenco legend. As with Camarón, based off the pure flamenco other styles were developed including elements of jazz, bossa nova and classical music. He is, alongsie with Camarón, the most recognized influencer of flamenco.

There are several Spanish flamenco festivals, such as the Festival "De Cante de las Minas Union" (Murcia), where music lovers can discover great talents. In 2010 flamenco was declared as intangible cultural heritage by the UNESCO.