The Catalan: night of passion and Flamenco

There are still a few days to the anticipated event here at The Fun Hotel dedicated to Spain, its dishes and the dance that made this country famous around the world: Flamenco.

The Flamenco is actually much more than a dance, it is a musical style and a painting technique that was created as an elitist expression, for a privileged few, which evolved in Andalucia (the triangle formed by the provinces of Jeres de La Frontera, Cordoba and Seville) from the fusion between the Andalusian folk music and the expressiveness of the gypsies.

The origin of the word "flamenco" is still uncertain: someone says it derives from the Arabic word Fellahmengu which means "landless farmer", other thinks that "Los Flamencos" means "the Flemish", those who had fought in the army of the Flanders in the early 17th century, covering themselves in glory. Other people think it derives from Flamencos, the flamingos, referring to the bright colors of their feathers, which they share with the bright colors worn by the gypsies.

In flamenco we often hear those typical squeals (…any …any) so peculiar and characteristic of this music that make it unique and yet so appealing. It is hard not to feel involved in the melodies that tell of broken families, unrequited love, forced labor, imprisonment of tears away from the loved ones.

Flamenco seems to contain an inexplicable, almost magical contradiction in itself: It is elitist expression, only for few but able to capture the attention, to mesmerize any audience, anywhere in the world.

Today we find this style in the cinema, with directors such as Pedro Almodovar and Carlos Saura or actors like Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz. In music, with Paco de Lucia, Manolo Sanlucar, Tomatito. The rumbas by Peret, of the Gipsy Kings, and the group "Los del Rio" (authors of the hugely popular "Macarena") rocked almost all over the world. In flamenco dance, however, the most famous artist  is undoubtedly Joaquin Cortes who has managed to create a perfect blend of rhythms and movements from the pure flamenco tradition, with other sounds and influences seemingly unrelated to it (salsa, jazz, classical, contemporary, tap dancing, etc..).

Are you ready now to come and live the brace and the power of Flamenco with the company Syncronia from Verona?