Flamenco is about two hundred years old and it is known worldwide as a Spanish folklore music. The four basic types of flamenco are: the “tonas” which are the oldest, the “soleá", the dramatic “seguiriya", and the “tangos". Flamenco since its origins has been deeply rooted in the talent and experiences of the gypsies from all over Andalucia mainly, and to a lesser extent from other areas of the Iberian peninsula. The lyrics of flamenco treat any imaginable theme, from up to date stories, to politics, to love, to history, to humor, and so on.
Flamenco music comes from the soul, there are many varieties of flamenco, from the cante jondo (the Deep Song) to bulerias (thirty different varieties in all). Some of those can tear your soul to shreds; others can bring you ecstatic ebullience. The ideal in flamenco is called “duende” (demon or elf), this refers to a state of emotional involvement, of group communication at a deeper level and a feeling of sympathy, between musicians, dancers and listeners.
The most common dance and cante of the eight Andalusian provinces is the sevillanas. They can be easily heard and watched during the Feria de Abril de Sevilla and the Romería of the Virgin of the Rocío. In their origin the sevillanas counted with only one part, until the Reyes brothers, a group of sevillanas from Castilleja de la Cuesta, “invented” the sevillana as we know it today with four parts quite differentiated with its distinct steps dance in couples. From that moment on, the sevillanas took on a character of their own which is renewed each year around April, when the new trends of compositions appear setting the pace for that year.
There are different types of sevillanas: the classical, “rocieras", “corraleras", and more; each depending of the geographical zone and the peculiar style of the interpreter. An important feature of this from of art can be appreciated in the Carlos Saura’s film “Sevillanas". In the film, sevillanas are studied for their different types of cante, dance, and “touch".
