Flamenco

Flamenco is a form of Spanish folk music and dance from the region of Andalusia in southern Spain. It includes singing (cante), guitar playing (toque), dance (baile) and palmas, handclapping, and pitos, finger snapping.

History

Flamenco originated in the southern regions of Spain, but its exact origins are unknown. The most widely accepted hypothesis is that flamenco was developed through the cross-cultural interchange between native Andalusians, Romani, Castilians, Moors and Sephardi Jews that occurred in Andalusia.

Styles

Flamenco consists of a number of styles (palos), which are classified by the rhythmic pattern, mode, chord progression, stanzaic form and geographic origin. There are over 50 different palos, some are sung unaccompanied while others have guitar or other accompaniment. Some forms are danced while others are not. Some are reserved for men and others for women while some are performed by either.

Flamenco today

Today, flamenco is popular all over the world and is taught in many non-Hispanic countries, especially the United States and Japan. In Japan, there are more flamenco academies than there are in Spain. On November 16, 2010, UNESCO declared flamenco one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

See also

• Andalusia
• Romani people
• Moors
• Sephardi Jews
• UNESCO

External links

• Flamenco World
• Deflamenco

Flamenco Resources
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