The taranta is part of the cantes de Levante category in flamenco and within that belongs to the cantes de las minas forms (songs from the mines) and also include cartageneras, mineras, murcianas, grana??nas and media grana??nas. The taranta origi…
Over the past 40 years or so, there has been a new strand of flamenco which falls under the umbrella category of Nuevo Flamenco ??? new flamenco ??? however, it is a broad umbrella. It includes groups such as Ketama, Pata Negra, Navajita Plate??, …
When flamenco guitarist Vicente Amigo released his first recording De mi coraz??n al aire with Sony in 1991, he made his mark as an individual voice in flamenco. He had already won a number of prestigious prizes, including gaining First Prize for …
The XVI Bienal de Flamenco in Seville runs from 15 September until 9 October 2010 carries the subtitle: ???Flamenco de viva voz??? (Flamenco out loud) this year with an impressive list of flamenco artists performing there: Eva Yerbabuena, Roc??o M…
Embrujo (bewitched) is a black & white film dating from 1947. It wasn’t well received in its day by the critics, and I hope you will excuse my indulgence, but I have to say that I enjoy watching the flamenco singer Manolo Caracol from Seville with…
There are three important performance roles in flamenco: cante, baile and la guitarra, that is, the song, the dance and the music which accompanies it ??? traditionally the guitar. Although the heart-wrenching, wailing style of singing may be some…
One of the central barrios in Seville is called La Alameda. At the heart of La Alameda is the magnificent avenue called La Alameda de H??rcules, so named because of the two tall columns with statues of Hercules on them. It was in the vicinity of t…
The flamenco singer ??? cantaor ??? Tom??s Pav??n (1893???1952) may not be so well these days but he was one the finest singers of the first half of the 20th century and is an important link in the history of flamenco. He was attracted to flamenco…
I really enjoyed seeing the ‘live’ recording of Sara Bara’s Mariana Pineda, which was filmed at the Teatro Calder??n in Madrid in June 2003. Both the choreography and the performance were beautiful to watch. The other dancers were Jos?? Serrano, L…
Now the cover of this ‘flamenco’ version of Mariana Pineda, carries the warning: ‘sobre un idea de Federico Garc??a Lorca’; in other words, don’t expect to see Lorca’s play. The flamenco dancer Sara Baras has used the character of the legendary Ma…
My Flamenco Diary 