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Welcome to Aspain Poco Poco. Welcome.
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Today we're going to talk about flamnco,
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which is very exciting. The beautiful
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art of the Spanish dancing and other
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elements. So, lots of elements. Lots of
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elements. So, let's get going. Where do
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you want to start? Well, I guess we
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should start talking about some of the
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history that um people may not know. And
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I know I didn't know two days ago. So, I
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did not either. So good place to stop.
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Go ahead. Yeah. Yeah. Just so you know,
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audience, we are doing our research to
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provide um more factualbased information
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for you and it's it's fascinating
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really. We're learning. It really is. Um
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well, what I have learned is that which
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I did not know is that it it it some I
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mean they they say it it can uh trace
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its um history origins history back to
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the 15th century in Anducia. Um, which I
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know in Spain they talk about that andia
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is where you want to go if you want to
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see the real flamco, right? That's like
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the region of flamnco. And that's why
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that's why makes sense. It does make
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sense. Um so back in back in that back
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in that era in in this in the Anderysia
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area the people living there was we had
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you know the Spanish and the Moors and
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the gypsies and the Jewish and the
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Christians and all of that mix was um
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something that brought together the the
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origins of the flamco dancing um which I
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think is really interesting. It's a big
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mix of different cultures and at that
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particular moment was the Spanish
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Inquisition. So there was a lot of
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turmoil in that area and the Moors were
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being pushed out. So including in the
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amount of cultures that were that were
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there was this spirit of sort of
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desperation, struggle, hope and pride
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and of course probably still at that
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time the the desire for sort of a a
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party and a fiesta needed in in
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conjunction with all of that. So I think
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it's a very interesting origin story
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which is probably the origin story of a
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lot of different musical from different
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countries but that's what was happening
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here and that is the origin of flamco. I
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mean music is a release from pain right
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that's why we we go to concerts is is to
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escape from our life and then when you
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listen to you know the soul music and
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this is this is very much the soul music
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of Spain right this is absolutely people
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singing about their pain whether it's
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it's the the farm owner or the
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government or the in invaders or whoever
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is controlling people's lives it really
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comes out in this and um I don't know
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about you but I was I was lucky enough
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to have seen a flamingco show and you
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really do see that they really emote
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this huge amount of pain and passion
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when they sing. It's it is it must be
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amazing. Yeah, I've seen I' I've seen
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Flamingo, but I haven't gone to a show
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like you have. So, I think that is
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something that I would love to do. Um I
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think because it is it is an experience,
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isn't it? Yes, it is. It really is. And
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I think so originally flamco or whatever
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they were calling it then was was just
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singing unaccompanied by anything and
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then it emerged with um guitar and then
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rhythmic clapping feet stomping and the
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dancing and the and just the the
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exuberance of it. So it was a
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progression as well, the flourish and
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flare because I mean the dancing, it's
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about the ruffles flying and the turning
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and the stomping, right? And the and the
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banging of the guitar as well, right?
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Not just the strumming, but the hitting
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of the guitar. Lots of noise.
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Absolutely. Yeah. So I think that's
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something that I mean some of that might
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have it just the progression of it just
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got maybe more and more exciting as time
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went on. Um and then so what about the
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the name Flamco? So that we're not 100%
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sure where that's coming from, but you
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found an interesting one. We one I'm
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going to go with and you found a
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different one, so I'll tell mine, which
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I think is is so much more romantic. I
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like yours better, but we will give you
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both just to cover our bases. Exactly.
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And um so so one of the theories
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suggests that the the name is of of
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Arabic origin which you know the Moors
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were still here and and and being um
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uh what's what's the word for?
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Excommunicated out of Spain, being
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removed from Spain, right? Yes. Um but
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the uh they think it's taken from the
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words mangul which means peasant in
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flight or fugitive peasant which I think
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is so beautiful to think as we were
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talking about music being an escape that
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there's this peasant taking flight out
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of their pain. I think that one makes so
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much more sense than the other one which
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is that it comes from the Flemish word
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flamande which at the time it was a
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Flemish kingdom of of Carlos I here in
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in that part of Spain. So there was a
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Flemish element to that and Flamande
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obviously sounds a lot more like flamco
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but I do still prefer your description
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that you found because I think it just
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it does explain the elements of flamco
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that that we've already sort of touched
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on I think which I like and right and
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when I think of the Flemish I don't
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think of heart pounding stomping music
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so I'm
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so collectively here at our Spain praa
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we're going with the the Uh the Arabic
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peasant peasant in flight one.
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Peasant in flight. I love it.
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Absolutely. Yeah. So in flamco there are
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different music styles called palos
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which loosely translates as branches
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like a tree. And there are over 50
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different styles of flamco which I'm not
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surprised. I don't know how they are
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connected and whether it's like you have
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one, you know, one song and dance that's
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one and one another or whether that's
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they're all mixed into to one.
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Yeah, I have no idea. But it or if we go
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to different regions it's completely
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different or if a different town. I
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don't know. I've only seen one show. So
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yeah, and that would also make sense.
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The regions obviously I mean that
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they're going to vary. So that would
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totally make sense if there were
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different styles based on the regions I
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think as well.
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Um, I mean it's a very it's a very
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complicated and elaborate art form. So I
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think it's it would make sense that it
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varies and maybe some of those things in
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certain places come together, right, as
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well to create a new art form, a new or
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new style or right
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and there's like four elements too like
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the performance, right? So there's the
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the kee which is the singing and the tok
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toku I don't know how you pronounce it.
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you you're better to I think it's to
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that's the actual flamco guitar playing
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and then you have the ba which is the
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dance and my favorite word out of this
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re this research which is halo which
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which means which basically means hell
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raising and oh that's so appropriate I
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love it that's a great word halo
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that is definitely the the feeling and
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the of of the flamco I think is it it's
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all coming down to even though The helo
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is like just one element. That is
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probably the element that is bringing
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all of them together. Don't you think?
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All of them. Yes, I think so. Because
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there is I mean there's screaming and
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the scream and I and I mean this in a
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nice way. It's like moaning this singing
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the pain that's coming out the passion
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you know. So it's you know you you feel
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like they're in hell. They're they're
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expressing their hell. They're
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hellraising. Yep. And you got the foot
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stomping and the clapping and then you
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got the olay. So the you just the whole
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like getting I mean and when you're in
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the environment with with a performance
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is it one of those things where the
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audience is also sort of getting in on
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it or is it you just watching? Well, you
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know this is was my experience. you
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could tell who the tourists were and the
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people who go regularly because the
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people who went regularly were much more
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involved and cheering much more and they
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were feeling the passion more where I
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went a year ago only had lived here you
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know not even quite a year yet when we
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went and so we were the we were the
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tourists taking it all in you know so so
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it probably depends on where you see it
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I would imagine if you're in the
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environment and it's in your town and
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it's in your town square and it's all
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the people that are there I would
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imagine there's a much more included
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kind kind of environment of the whole
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thing probably right I mean and where I
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went I mean there was tourists but it
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wasn't like a tourist um spot I would
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say I mean there was definitely people
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that were there for the art form and you
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could see there were other musicians in
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the audience that might perform in other
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places there there was a lot of support
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going on that I saw which was really
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nice too you know people supporting
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other musicians and that and and when
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they're on stage like all the musicians
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are on stage at the place that I went
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even if they're not performing So it was
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kind of like this and they get up when
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they're performing and they sit down
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when they're not. So that it was very
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supportive environment. I like that. I'm
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always really uncomfortable when I go
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see a band play that's like very um
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energetic and everyone's just sitting in
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their seats. I find it incredibly
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uncomfortable because you feel like you
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should be mirroring the energy of the
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person performing, right? But if that's
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not the environment of the crowd, it
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gets to me it gets very uncomfortable.
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So right you would want to get up and be
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like you know hell race right a little
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with them. Yeah people weren't getting
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up but there was the people who you
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could tell their applause and their and
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there were people shouting the olay and
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in you know expressing themselves in the
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audience but it was like being at a rock
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concert where there up in the air with
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lighting your lighters that no one does
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anymore. Right. So if you go and see
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Flamco get on board bring your energy
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with you. Yeah. So speaking of energy I
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think this is quite fun. the um the
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polka dots on the flamco dresses and we
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if you've never seen a flamco dance in
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person, you've definitely seen the
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dresses. Right. Right. And they're just
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gorgeous. Like you said, flowing and
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whooing and they and they've got the
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polka dots which is actually comes from
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a um like a back in the day they would
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sew little circular mirrors on their
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dresses to ward off bad spirits. And who
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was this was the Roma? The Romans, also
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known as the gypsies, right? Back in
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back in the day. Mhm. long long time
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ago. So, initially when they were doing
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these dances, they had these mirrors um
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you know on the dresses and I think
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that's really pretty. And I don't know
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when that changed, but that kind of like
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merged into just like let's just let's
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just print the dots on the on the
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dresses. Probably a seamstress was sick
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of getting cut by glass probably. And
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also maybe there aren't any bad spirits
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anymore. Maybe we're all good. We don't
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need to worry about that. So, we'll just
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make it pretty. So, and they are pretty.
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They are. They're very pretty. with the
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the fringe and the shawls. It's you it's
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like that kind of whole romantic image.
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You kind of think of Spain, those wood
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the flamingo dancers, right? And then
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and then they they have these shoes
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which you know they're like dance shoes.
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You don't think much of them, but what I
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found out is they're the the wooden
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heels actually have nails in them. So
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that's what's giving the sound. It's not
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like a tap shoe. It's not just I thought
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it would be just like they put metal
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like a tap shoe like they just put metal
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on the bottom of the shoe to make it
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give that sound but they've actually
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they're actually nails in. They have
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nails in them and you know I have a
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daughter in dance. I've had daughters in
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dance for years and tap shoes give more
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of a click. They wouldn't give you that
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stomp. So I mean that would make sense
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that I mean so it's a different sound
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you're getting when you put the nails
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in. That's like you said more of a stomp
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than a than a more of a high-pitched tap
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click. Tap click. Yeah. Yeah. And
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they're still doing it that way, which I
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think is really cool. That is very cool.
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Yeah, I like that. Um, and the first
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time that Flamco was mentioned in
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literature was in 1774
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in a book by Joseé Cadalso called Cartas
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Maruas.
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Do you want me to say it with my Spanish
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accent? Go for it. Needs it. Cartis
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Marukas by Joseo
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Marquez. There you go. Cartis Marquez by
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Jose Cadoso.
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Unfortunately, because my husband is is
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Moroccan, I've had to learn that word in
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Spanish and it is the I'm like, could
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you just be from somewhere else? Because
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this is the hardest word. Like there's
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just certain words that are really hard
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to get your tongue around and Morocco is
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one of those. So yes, I will also say
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American is too like to say you're
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you're American is estados
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unense, right? Like it's the to say
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you're Americanos. No, that's Oh, that's
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America. Okay. United States. Okay.
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We'll just say Americano. Isn't that
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easier? You got options. No, you don't
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say that here. No, but you can.
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Yeah, that's a different That's a
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different punko pogo. Let's stay on
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track.
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We'll get back to that. Clearly, we have
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to have that discussion. Um, anyway, I
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think that Are there any other facts we
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have from the flamco? I think that sort
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of Well, when you go to a a flamco show,
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they're performed in a place called the
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tableau, and the tableau also means the
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stage, which is wood. Obviously, you
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need to be wood to get this. And I went
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to a place called Palos Santo Tableau,
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so that means rosewood. So, I'm hoping
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the stage was made out of rosewood. It
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wasn't some misnomer, but that's but
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yeah, that's they're all tableau and the
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more proper that was a proper stage and
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a proper performance. It's a proper
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performance venue. It was in the cabin
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district in this kind of like
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four-walled space. Um it had a little
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bar and stuff like some of them will
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have like you know a dinner show, but
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that tends to be I think more touristy.
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This one just had like a bar and you
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could get some uh like you know popcorn
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chips and hams and cheeses. Go figure.
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Ham and queso. Ham and queso and and
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watch the show, but it wasn't like a
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meal show, right? It was like you can
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get some snacks and really enjoy it.
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And I will say that, you know, later,
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you know, this summer I'm taking the the
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girls down to Endolucia in the end of
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July. So, we may go see a flamingco show
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there. And if I if so, I will maybe be
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able to report on a difference if I
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noticed one. You know, I'm not Yeah,
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perfect. different. And who knows, it
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might be a regional thing or you might
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just have gone to see a different um a
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different version um a different palace
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in a different area that also is here.
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Like so we still won't be none the wiser
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really until we see a lot of them. So
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there's there's a goal.
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So yeah, our goal is to see lots and
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lots and lots of more flamco so that we
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can get more more educated in it. more
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educated and and and lots more of Spain
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so we can become more in in sconced in
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the life here. Perfect. Well, I think
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that's our little poker poco on flamco.
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I hope you enjoyed it. Hope you did.
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Next episode. See you later. Bye.
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Till the next episode. Bye.
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