Junta Flamenca at the Santa Ana

Performance
Junta Flamenca
Fri, Aug 24, 5pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
200 pesos

Flamenco is more than a gypsy dance which emigrated from northern India to Spain. It is a performance that incorporates music, song and the famous duende, which ranges in influences, history, forms and styles. Though currently linked to Spain, its roots spread from India with hints of Moorish, Sephardic and Flemish influences. 

To experience flamenco, whether as an audience or a participant, is to be party to a historical and cultural event. Today’s flamenco also incorporates modern influences such as rumba, salsa, rock, pop and jazz.

The guitar is an integral part of flamenco (though not originally) and the music developed especially in the 19th century. Other instruments include the cajon (a wooden box used as a percussion instrument) and castañuelas (castanets), and of course, hand-clapping acts as an accompaniment. 

Palos are the basic rhythmic patterns of flamenco and there are a wide range and number of styles. There are also three moods as well: the dancing fandango, the comforting solea and the fun buleria. While a number of dances traditionally are for men or women, this distinction is becoming increasingly redundant as many women now perform, for example, the men’s farruca. 

The most straightforward and encompassing classification of flamenco may be dividng it into three types depending on the style and subject. The cante jondo deals with serious and deep forms, while the cante chico is light and frivolous, with the cante intermedio covering those in between.

Forget the theory and experience firsthand the wonders of flamenco with Junta Flamenca on Friday August 24. Hear the music played with centuries of history behind it and watch the dancers moving to the rhythm of the Indian gypsies and Flems and feel, maybe, the duende that lives in every flamenco performance.