Flamenco history

Flamenco is an art. Comprised of three parts, it exists in all these forms: Cante , the song, Baile, the dance, and Guitarra, guitar playing. Originating in the south of Spain , it is indigenous to Andalusia . In its inception, it was an oral tradition passed on from performer to performer. These performers were a mix of the four cultures that inhabited Spain over the centuries (flamenco dates back to the 16 th Century): the Moors, the Jews, the Gypsies and the Andalusian Spanish. Although the exact lineage of the art is not known, what is clear is that flamenco in its earliest form consisted only of the song (cante). The roots of the song were in the expression of poverty and oppression as sung by the Gypsies. The Gypsies came to Spain from India and the Oriental influence in flamenco is still evident in its chord structures and progressions. Historically, the Gypsies in Spain have been (and in some parts, continue to be) social outcasts; Gypsies were often not able to own land and had to work in unskilled labour. Flamenco was sung in the home or at social gatherings as an insular expression of hardship and misery. A lone artist would sing the dismays and losses of his people and add his own variations. Thus flamenco shares much in its originating circumstances and improvisational nature with the African American Blues. Over the years, the Gypsy's song was influenced by the Moorish and Jewish inhabitants of the region, and only later, as the music became popular, was it heard by the Spanish. It was then that flamenco incorporated Andulasian folk music and the introduction of the guitar occurred. The presence of the guitar is also thought to have brought about a change to the sad nature of the music, birthing such pieces as alegr