Flamenco Essay

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If you think of Spain, you immediately think about the Flamenco. Throughout this Essay I will find the answer on the question; Is Flamenco a lifestyle? Briefly Flamenco is a Spanish genre of music and dance which originated in Andalusia in the 18th century. It has as its foundation Andalusian music and dance. The singing is called; Cante and the guitar playing is called; Toque. These facets and the dance are the principal facets of Flamenco. Flamenco is a folk art because it is about 200 years old. Flamenco consists of three forms: Cante, the song, Baile, the dance, and Guitarra, guitar playing. Flamenco can have any imaginable theme, for example; politics, love, history or humor. Often the tragic lyrics and tone of flamenco reflect the sufferings of the gypsy people. The beauty of Flamenco is that the artist has the great opportunity to create art. Forgetting their technique, effects and performing tricks, they can create in a few moments a work of art, an expression of themselves, and give it away to the public. Residents of Andalucia are intimately related to flamenco, and most flamenco performers have at least one classic Sevillana in their repertoire. The style originated as a Medieval Castilian folk dance, called the ‘Seguidilla’, which was slowly "flamenconized" during the 18th and 19th centuries. The songs of flamenco are from different regions in Spain as: Fandangos from Huelva and Alegrias from Cadiz. There are two main styles in Flamenco, "jondo", this has a serious and deep meaning. The second style is "chico", a happy, light and often humorous style. Until the late 18th and 19th century, Flamenco was widely considered to belong to the Gypsies.  The customs, beliefs and the way of life of the Gypsies were despised and even hated by the Spanish society. During and for centuries after the famous expansion of the Moors and Jews in 1492, the

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