Madrid: Flamenco and Tapas

What’s more Spanish than Flamenco and tapas? We indulged in both.

Flamenco

As good tourists, we booked a flamenco performance. We enjoyed it so much that we booked a second, different performance.

If you’ve ever attended such a performance, you know that the dancers and musicians exude raw passion in all sorts of indecipherable ways. We certainly enjoyed the raw expression while also realizing that there’s so much depth of story and heritage there that we don’t understand yet.

Robert Vidal, a famous classical guitar professor, once said: ‘I love flamenco because it is an art form, which you don’t listen to with your ears but with your intestines. First you have to feel the music before you can think about it.’ (source)

So, before we get to the performances, we have so many questions. Here are a few questions and answers:

Why is this style of performance called flamenco?

Many people believe it was a label for all of the groups living on the edge of society.

Others think it was derived from Flanders, the region in Belgium from where the Spanish Court in the 16th century used to invite singers to perform.

‘Flama’ also means flame or fire in Spanish, which leads to another potential explanation of the etymology. (source)

Where and when did flamenco first appear?

There is a general consensus … that flamenco originated in the lands of Lower Andalusia. There is also agreement about the moment of its inception. In the 18th century, the songs and dances that were performed in this region among the Andalusian people and gypsies began to be called “flamenco”.

The history of the Iberian Peninsula tells of the first arrival of the gypsy collective in France around the 15th century. But it was in the South of the peninsula where they mostly settled and coexisted with Arab and Jewish people. These groups shared traditions and cultures for many centuries, exchanging and mixing musical forms and customs….

[T]he first public appearances of flamenco date back to the middle of the 19th century. Before that time, flamenco was developed in private circles, in social contexts of work or family ceremonies. (source)

So is Madrid really a home for flamenco, or is this a case of touristy shows?

Madrid is one of the places where the rich tradition of flamenco has taken deep roots and flourished, especially in the flamenco tablaos (flamenco shows), spaces where the atmosphere and essence of flamenco can be experienced in its purest form.

Flamenco tablaos in Madrid emerged during the second half of the 20th century, as an evolution of the traditional singing cafes, where artists would gather to perform live flamenco shows. These establishments, which combine gastronomy and art, have been and continue to be the ideal stage to witness and enjoy the different expressions of flamenco, from deep singing to the most virtuosic dance. (source)

What exactly is flamenco? From the first moment at a flamenco performance, it’s obvious that this is about more than just foot pounding, frilly dresses and exaggerated facial expressions.

When the general public watches Flamenco, they see a dancer just stomping away on stage with an impassioned look on her face. Little do they know that there is a structure to the dance, a beginning, middle and end. Each person on the stage- the singer, guitarist, dancer, palmista- has a specific role to play during a dancer’s performance. There is a STRUCTURE to flamenco and with this structure, there is room for great improvisation, just as in a jazz performance. Rules with no rules. (source)

Is there just one standard style of flamenco? Of course not!

There are more than 50 different types of flamenco. However, taking into account that improvisation and each singer’s, cantaor, own creative input are an essential part of this art, it could be said that there are as many palos [rhythmic structure] as artists who add their personal touch to the songs. The seven most famous types of flamenco are:

Sevillanas – the most popular genre around the world
Bulerías – cheerful
Soleas – slower and more deliberate style
Alegrías – faster paced, originally from Cadiz
Sequiriyas – solemn, formal, and very difficult because of its unornamented style
Fandangos – an archaic style, with similarities with mournful Portuguese fado
Tangos – joyful, cheerful (source)

Is there innovation in flamenco? Are there modern styles too?

New flamenco (or nuevo flamenco) or flamenco fusion is a musical genre that was born in Spain, starting in the 1980s. It combines flamenco guitar virtuosity and traditional flamenco music with musical fusion (with genres like jazz, blues, rock, rumba, and years later reggaeton, hip hop, or electronic music). (source)

What are they singing and dancing about? All sorts of important things:

Love and passion: romantic love, reciprocated or not, of a man towards a woman (let us not forget that it is a type of traditional music)

Woman: her beauty, her virtues, her defects, and the problems arising from the relations between men and women

Curses and threats: love, jealousy or revenge

The mother: maternal love, which is calm, firm; but there’s also the mother-in-law, who doesn’t come off as well

People and society: distrust in others, fear of being cheated or harmed; the intrinsic evil of the human being towards fellow humans

Money and poverty: the lack of money as well as the lack of opportunities for the poorer versus richer, and the easier life the richer are living.

Death and mourning for it, especially that of the mother

Fatal fate from which there is no escape, and that you can do nothing to change

Honour and the dishonour: Honour is the virtue of a woman, especially one of a wife or a daughter. Dishonour is usually perpetrated by another man, either for infidelity in a wife’s case or, in the case of a daughter or a sister, by loss of their virginity.

Religion: both moralistic Catholic Christianity, and superstitions

The passing of time and the impossibility of retaining it, as impossible as holding on to possessions or success because everything has an expiration date (source)

Where does the typical ruffled flamenco outfit come from?

The origin of the flamenco dress is humble. This is the clothing worn by peasant women in Andalusia, who used to attend the old cattle fairs between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The ruffled gown was very comfortable and light, which made it ideal for this type of work.

Generally, peasant women added embroidery and bright colors to their gowns, attracting the attention of bourgeois women of the time. This meant that many began to order costumes in this style, so that the costume worn to attend the fair ended up becoming the “official attire”. Especially from 1929 onwards, during the celebration of the Ibero-American Exposition, when its use became “official”, largely thanks to the professionalization of flamenco, which took it as its own clothing. (source)

And finally, why so many polka dots?

[Polka dots] did not have a direct relationship with this dress since its inception. The first moles [or dots] appeared in the 18th century by chance, as it was a matter of a [fabric pattern] stamping error. The effect was not very pleasing to the couturiers of the time, so the fabrics were sold very cheaply, which would cause them to be purchased mainly by the poorest people, who would make dresses to wear to cattle fairs. So a print that started out as a throwaway has ended up becoming one of the main hallmarks of a suit that is known around the world. (source)

Whew! So flamenco is like opera or wine or coffee or beers: There are so many kinds, so many stories, so much nuance. To deepen our appreciation, just like for wine, we just have to keep pouring a new glass of flamenco.

We experienced two different performances of notably different styles.

The first was at Tablao Flamenco Torres Bermejas, which was founded in 1960. We found an intimate performance room with raised stage surrounded by tables and chairs. Dense patterns inspired by the Alhambra of Granada cover every surface.

Here’s what we appreciated in this set of performances:

On stage with the dancers, there was just one guitar player and one singer. The effect was intimate and direct.

Two female and one male dancer took turns performing. Each danced with forceful passion, very dramatically, perhaps even melodramatically. The women dancers slapped themselves, pounded their feet, gestured with fury, mostly with facial expressions of concentration, anguish, and anger!

Since we hadn’t done our internet research yet, we just absorbed the sound and movement, and wondered about all the anguish. Nonetheless, the emotions of the performances swept us up.

The second performance we experienced was at Tablao Flamenco 1911. This style was different from the first experience: lusher, more rehearsed, more contemporary, more nuevo flamenco.

Founded in 1911, the 1911 is the oldest flamenco tablao in the world, hence its name….

The walls are covered with mosaics, painted on tiles with scenes of flamenco and bullfighting themes and were made by the best ceramists of Madrid at that time, Antonio Ruiz de Luna and Julián Santacruz. In fact, Antonio Ruiz was the author and creator of all the ceramics that indicate the names of all the streets in the center of Madrid. (source)

Here’s what we appreciated in this set of performances:

The performers played seamlessly together. We were surprised by the addition of flute and sax. The music felt a bit like Cirque de Soleil. Lovely evocative sounds.

The first woman’s style was full of foot work, swirls and gestures. More “like a show” than overtly expressive of emotion.

The second woman’s style was all about the castanets. Amazing control of the castanets. Balletic dance style.

The man’s style was expressive of a confident dandy, rather than hard athleticism. Lots of confident machismo.

The final section was a forceful song by an imposing woman soloist.

After these experiences, we are eager to attend more performances, hopefully one day in the near future in flamenco’s birthplace of Andalusia. To be continued…

Tapas

All that dancing and emoting made us hungry. Let’s explore the world of Madrilenian tapas.

We have two examples to share with you.

The first was a hosted walking food tour of some local tapas bars. We, probably like you, have over the years enjoyed plenty of tapas-styled small plates. In the territory around Carcassonne and into Catalonia and Barcelona, we often encounter the same few plates. No complaints, but they are simple and familiar now: Iberian ham, olives, bread spread with garlic and tomato, spicy patatas bravas, some pickled anchovies on bread. We were looking for tapas that are uniquely Madrilenian. Our host complied!

We were happy to find that you really must enjoy a little glass of wine or beer or spirits with your tapas.

Honestly, after a few plates, it gets harder and harder to remember exactly all the tastes. So, we’ll let you use your eyes to imagine!

El Lacón

Casa del Abuelo

Taberna el Fontán

And a bit of theatrical cider pouring:

Casa González

On our last night in Madrid, we ate at a restaurant, Poncio Willy Moya, whose chef and owner — Willy Moya! — loves playing on the theme of tapas. These were generous, creative, delicious plates. We’d happily return to visit Willy at Poncio.

March 2024