The Mystery of Flamenco
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SEASON’S GREETINGS FREE Volume 1 Number 6 November/December 2001 A BI-MONTHLY NEWSPAPER ABOUT THE HAPPENINGS IN & AROUND THE GREATER LOS ANGELES FOLK COMMUNITY “Don’t you know that Folk Music is illegal in Los Angeles?” –Warren Casey of the Wicked Tinkers The Mystery of Flamenco BY LAILA DEL MONTE he Origins of Flamenco late as the end of the eigh- Flamenco is a way of life and an art form born in teenth century, a law was Spain that has made its way in recent years to the passed called “Rules for world’s major stages. Today the public is far more Repressing and acquainted with flamenco than it was ten years Chastising the Vagrant ago. Just as jazz has become an internationally Mode of Life, and accepted musical idiom, flamenco is gaining Other Excesses, of T Those who are Called more and more acceptance throughout Western culture. Yet it remains a mystery to most people. As a flamenco dancer, I will Gypsies”. Many fla- try to shed some light on this beautiful art form. menco songs depict At its origins, flamenco is an intoxicating mixture of the persecution of the Andalusian, Jewish and Arabic traditions, a fusion of Gypsy, Gypsies and their Moorish and Sephardic liturgical chants and regional folk tragic life under the songs. It was only in 1845 that the term “flamenco” was Inquisition. For applied to describe these new forms of song and dance. By example, the the end of the nineteenth century, flamenco had become a for- Seguirilla, a music malized art form described by historians as a part of the and dance form in “Epoca de los Café Cantantess” (Era of the Entertainment 12/8 rhythm, draws Cafes). Flamenco dancers and singers, once lacking the its name from the respect given to other serious performers, became reputable Sephardic word artists. From that period emerged such famous dancers as La endecha, or ‘song of Tanguera, La Macarrena, El Estampio and such singers as death’. Its lyrics are Nina de los Peines, Manuel Vallejo and Manuel Torres. usually tragic and solemn, describing per- The Origins of the Flamenco Gypsies secution or the death of I am often asked about the role the Gypsies played in the a relative. The musical development of flamenco, something that even most Gypsies forms Mineras and don’t know. Most Gypsies I have met and studied with believe Tarantas and the dance that flamenco was originally a Gypsy art form, but the devel- form Tarantos all depict the opment of flamenco was more complex. It is known that the suffering and losses of the Gypsies originated in India; some groups traveled to the Gypsy workers in the mines. Balkans and others went to Egypt, Africa, or the Mediterranean. Various groups of Gypsies, such as Tziganes Flamenco and the Era in Romania, adapted the music around them and made it their of the Spanish Ballets own, enhancing it with virtuoso and rhythmic elements. Flamenco, as an art form, flour- Similarly, Spanish Gypsies transformed the oral music and ished and gained in popularity outside dance tradition in Spain, embellished it with their own rhyth- of Spain from 1937 to 1973, thanks to the mic and other artistic traits picked up from the various cul- Spanish Ballets. They were mainly large tures they encountered on their journeys, and that became companies that performed ballets and classical IN THIS ISSUE what is known today as flamenco. Spanish dances, but they also integrated the typi- EDITORIAL ....................................2 cal Cuadro flamenco composed of a guitarist, singer, dancer The Expulsion of the Gypsies LETTERS.........................................2 and palmero (hand-clapper). In 1921, the Cuadro flamenco WE NEED YOUR HELP!...............3 Under Catholic Rule was presented for the first time in Paris by Russian choreog- The Moorish civilization in Spain lasted from the end of KEYS TO THE HIGHWAY ...........4 rapher Serge Diaghilev with costumes and sets designed by the eighth century until 1492. That period was called the THE VOICES IN MY HEAD ........5 Pablo Picasso. Flamenco rhythms were formally orchestrated Epoca de Oro (Golden Age). Andalusia, then governed by the Carols, candles & colds by Manuel de Falla and Isaac Albeniz. In 1943, Café Chinitas CD REVIEWS ................................6 Moors, was a jewel of civilization and refinement at a time was presented in New York. This story by national poet INTERVIEW....................................7 when the rest of Europe was plunged into the darkness of feu- Federico Garcia Lorca was staged by surrealist painter Gerry Milnes Part II dal nobility. Arts, medicine, science and music flourished. Salvador Dali. Some famous ballets of the 1930s were “Ballet DANCES OF THE SILK Monuments, magnificent gardens filled with roses and & BEYOND .....................................8 Antonio”, “Pilar Lopez”, and “Luisillo”. Pacita Tomas, who orange trees, aqueducts, public baths and libraries were built, ON-GOING MUSIC was one of my first teachers, was also a well-known dancer at and the Christians, Moors and Jews lived in peace and unity. HAPPENINGS ................................9 the time. She told of how those dance companies flourished It was then that all these artistic traditions in music and dance CALENDAR ........................10 & 11 but periodically had to submit to Franco’s censorship and became subtly intertwined and adopted by the Gypsies to ON-GOING DANCE often had to perform when told to do so. After Franco’s death HAPPENINGS ..............................12 later form what we know as flamenco. in 1973, Spaniards largely rejected flamenco, because it was ON-GOING STORYTELLING After the Crusades and the conquest of Spain, including associated with the exaggerated nationalism of the dictator- EVENTS ........................................13 the expulsion of the Moors by the Christian Spaniards, ship. After some time it gained in popularity in the rest of STORYTELLING, WAR, Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Rulers, imposed AND PEACE .................................13 Europe, Japan and the United States. During the last twenty- Catholicism to unite Spain. In 1478 they began the Spanish ORIGINS OF GYPSY five years, flamenco has been resurrected in Spain. Dance Inquisition in order to “purify” the people of Spain, first by FIDDLING ....................................14 academies geared to foreign students, clubs and festivals driving out the Jews, Gypsies, Protestants and other “non- FEATURED ORGANIZATION ..15 abound, primarily in Madrid and Sevilla. L.A. County Arts Commission believers”. There were thousands of forced conversions of the THE ROUGH GUIDE Jews and general enslavement of the Gypsies. Many flamen- Some Personalities that Changed TO IRISH MUSIC ........................16 co songs refer to las galeras, the galleries where Gypsies were the Face of Flamenco EUROPEAN BLUEGRASS .........16 sent to row on the ships, enduring atrocious conditions. If not Some famous artists stand out in the history of flamenco ABC’S FOR FOLK enslaved, they were accused of heresy and were publicly because they dramatically revolutionized or created new MUSICIANS .................................17 killed or sentenced to life in prison. paths for upcoming artists. The most famous dancer of the GREAT GIFTS IDEAS FOR THE HOLIDAYS ................18 Most persecuted Jews and Gypsies left Spain for other 1950s and 1960s was Carmen Amaya, a Gypsy from PASSINGS......................................19 countries in the Mediterranean. Some escaped to the New SPECIAL EVENTS.......................20 World, others converted to Catholicism and stayed. Even as FLAMENCO page 19 Page 2 FolkWorks November - December 2001 EDITORIAL sually as a year comes to its musical content of both films (and CD PUBLISHERS & EDITORS end, we reflect on what has sound tracks) is excellent. We recom- Leda & Steve Shapiro Uhappened, and list our ten mend either soundtrack for your col- LAYOUT & PRODUCTION best of everything for our readers. lection and for gifts as well. Alan Stone While we do intend to do the year in Celtic Journeys II (Danu, Altan, FEATURE WRITERS review, and recommend CDs as gifts, and Eileen Ivers) made an appearance Joanna Cazden we cannot help but reflect on how in at the Hollywood Bowl. While the The Voices in my Head this year 2001, our lives have been for- Hollywood Bowl is by no means a ter- Harlynne Geisler ever changed. We have all been affect- Photo by Judi Lubeek rific venue for listening to Celtic Tales from the Story Bag ed in one way or another by the attacks BY LEDA & STEVE SHAPIRO music, it did bring within the radar Roger Goodman on New York City and the Pentagon, and our collective psy- three of the greatest practitioners of Irish music, who would Keys to the Highway che will never be the same. Our hearts go out to all those have otherwise been left to the ears of a small but enthusi- Gaili Schoen, Interviews who have lost family and friends. We can only hope that astic group of followers. Those lucky enough to see Danu at Dennis Stone. CD Reviews more lives are not needlessly lost (both here and around the Caltech, will not forget the experience. For those who Mike Tackett, Zookman world). missed out this year, keep checking the pages of FolkWorks COPY EDITORS On the home front, we are faced with the reality of a for intimate venues with excellent performers. We will con- Chuck Galt declining economy. Many people are out of work both as a tinue to keep our finger on the pulse and let you know CONTRIBUTING WRITERS result of the collapse of the Internet technology boom and what’s happening. Again, if you are looking for gifts to lift Carolyn Krueger as an outcome of the attacks. We wish well to all those folks the spirit, you cannot go wrong with purchasing CDs from Judi Lubeek who are victims of this double whammy. any of the groups afore mentioned. Laila del Monte It is in these times of crises that people come together - As we progress into the next year, we at FolkWorks are Steve Shapiro friends and family are once more a priority.