Flamenco in the Cádiz province

I bet you thought I'd forgotten this post but - no - not in a million years!  You can't visit this part of Spain - known as the cradle of flamenco - and not have a looksie - simply a case of saving the best 'til last.  Saying that, we'll soon visit Seville so I might have to revise this post!

A bit of history
The origins of flamenco have been lost to time but it is generally thought to have arrived in Spain with the Roma people (gitanos) and later fused with music and lyrics from North Africa.  Early flamenco was known as cante jondo (deep song) and was the expression of marginalised groups of society, often singing about their homeland, poverty and injustice.  It has since evolved into more upbeat forms - solea, bulería and alegría.  Early flamenco is thought to have taken shape in Western Andalucia: the Seville-Jerez-Cadiz triangle and is why we waited until now to experience what is considered to be the most authentic flamenco. 

Flamenco songs (coplas) are performed to flourishes of guitar which often fill gaps between the singer's (cantador's) verses while dancers (bailadores) interpret the music and lyrics through movement.  Percussion is provided by clapping, foot-tapping or castanets.  Flamenco continues to evolve today in the form of flamenco fusion which combines flamenco with jazz, rock, blues, rap, Brazilian and Cuban rhythms.

Jerez - home of La Bulería
You may recall that no sooner had we arrived in Jerez than it was recommended by the lovely Ellie in the tourist office to try flamenco at the renowned Taberna El Pasaje - a sherry bar where aficionados congregate to enjoy a tipple whilst watching flamenco - up close and personal.  The bulería - a more upbeat answer to Seville's solea - was certainly impressive -  Rocio's voice was so powerful - here's a reminder:

Ellie also recommended we go to Peña La Bulería - a private club where locals gather to enjoy the real deal.  As well as known artists, the peñas feature new artists.  No frills here - just raw music and singing.   We arrived at the taberna which was clearly a shrine to flamenco with wall to wall pictures of some flamenco greats.  After an hour or so in the bar sampling sherry (the Oloroso seco was lovely!) and eating Jerez tapas (bread, tomato, chorizo, olive oil & herbs - all mixed together) we were ushered to the performance area at the rear of the building.  Two guys featured today: Manuel with his powerful voice and the gorgeous(!) Fernando with his sublime guitar playing.  Here's a couple of clips:

Cádiz  - home of La Alegría

The gaditanos (Cadiz folk) have developed their own unique style - alegría - which is more light-hearted than Jerez's bulería.  We wanted to sample flamenco puro as opposed to a more touristy type show and bought tickets for the show at La Cava, very close to our apartment in the Mentidero barrio (one of two flamenco barrios in Cádiz) where we were treated to 2 hours of flamenco.  First up was the singer and guitarist (some of whose lyrics I actually understood!), followed by un bailador (male dancer), las bailadoras (female dancers) and then all three together accompanied always by the guitarist and singer.  It was a brilliant show which captured the drama, energy and passion that makes flamenco unique.  We had a brilliant night but sadly we could only take piccies.

Sadly photos don't capture the essence of flamenco but believe us when we say that it was energetic, dynamic, fun and very moving!

We hope you enjoyed the post - I've tried to give you a taster of different styles and elements of flamenco.  We know it isn't for everyone and that we, as onlookers, can only pretend to 'get it'.  Some Spaniards we have met say they don't get it at all - and they're native to the country!  In any case, it has reignited my interest in flamenco so I will be looking into that when we get back to the UK.  So, until the next post from Seville - keeeep dancing!