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Flamenco Roots
The origins of flamenco are a source of contention, and unfortunately the discussion is not devoid of ideology. Everyone agrees that Spanish gypsies played an important part in its development, but other theories have less foundation. Flamenco's exotic, oriental feel lends credence to the idea that it derived from Moorish, particularly Arab music, but I know of no other hard evidence for the idea (and I have my own theory in this respect, which I shall save for later*). What does seem certain is that the gypsies who reached Spain in the fifteenth century already had a long tradition as performers, first in Persia, then in places like Hungary, Romania, Russia and Turkey, assimilating local music and interpreting it in their own way, with the evident aim of catering to local tastes.

And they found in Andalusia a home - there is evidence that gypsies fitted in there, particular in Seville and Cádiz, better than elsewhere. For example, in other places in Spain and Europe, they invariably continued their nomadic lifestyle, whereas in Andalusia they were more likely to live a sedentary existence. As Miguel Ángel Berlanga say, a little more fancifully than usual, "The people of Andalusia liked them, which was not surprising because of the similarities between them: hospitality, a talent for getting on with people, music, a festive spirit."

Lamplight Dances and the Función Privada

The gypsies were immediately associated with singing and dancing, partying and celebrations, though they were more likely to earn their living as metalworkers or street sellers. Because it was not until the late eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth that the función privada was invented. This was a kind of show-cum-party held in a private home, to which the lucky spectator would be invited and to the cost of which he would be invited to contribute. These funciones were public versions of the baile de candí­l, lamplight dance, which the people of Andalusia, not just gypsies, would hold for their own amusement. It seems that as the gypsies became increasingly associated with these dances, the curiosity of the middle-classes was aroused, so creating the market for the función. This was the Romantic period, after all, and who knew what kind of exotic and, with a bit of luck, sinful pleasures could be found at a gypsy party?

The Café Cantante
The función developed into the Café Cantante, a kind of flamenco cabaret which took root from the 1860's on, and this is the period often referred to as the Golden Age of flamenco. However reasonable or not this description is, this was the time when it became formalized, rules began to be laid down, the repertoire was standardized and its theory and history began to receive academic attention. And as it became more popular and professional, some performers began to depend on theatrical crowd-pleasing, and new song forms with suitably lachrymogenous lyrics were invented, leading to something of a purist backlash. The peak moment of this was in 1922, when Manuel de Falla organized a cante jondo competition in Granada (this kind of cycle is the rule rather than the exception in the flamenco world, constantly either "rediscovering its roots" or "reinventing itself" - you just have to know what is happening at any particular time).

The Tablao
In the nineteen fifties and sixties, the Café Cantante was reinvented as the tablao, catering to the new phenomenon of tourism, and Madrid, not Andalusia, was its capital. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, whole families, even clans of gypsy performers, emigrated to the capital and to a lesser extent to Barcelona to meet the new demand. This phenomenon was accompanied by another wave of purist classicism, to which the 1954 release of the tremendously influential Antologí­a del Cante Flamenco contributed greatly.

New Flamenco
In the seventies and eighties, various attempts were made to create "fusion" forms of flamenco, with results as uneven as in other musical "fusions" (note that Miles Davis' seminal Sketches of Spain (1959) is completely unrelated. Sketches of Spain is a kind of fusion of jazz and classical music, particularly Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez). When this fusion had a sufficiently high flamenco content, it was referred to as Nuevo Flamenco, and it is a school from which many of today's most famous names emerged (as usual, actual musicians tend to stand aside from this kind of debate, being more interested in getting on with things and playing than in putting labels on things). And flamenco erupted into the world of pop with force, mixing flamenco with jazz instruments and Latin American dance rhythms like salsa. The sheer success of these groups and performers meant it became acceptable for even "classical" flamenco singers and musicians to add this kind of pop element, especially on record, and it is now rare for a flamenco CD not to contain at least one track which has the possibility of becoming a hit.

* There was certainly contact between gypsies and moriscos, Moors who had converted to Christianity and remained in Spain after the reconquest. But this was not extended - the moriscos were expelled from Spain between 1602 and 1610, though this may have been long enough for at least some Moorish songs and dances to enter the gypsy repertoire. Let us suppose it was. Does that mean Arab music developed into flamenco in the hands of the gypsies? I very much doubt it, and for one important reason - the Moors were not principally Arabs, but Berbers, or at least your average Moor-in-the-street was a Berber. The Arabs, it is true, were the dominant culture, and held the positions of power and owned the best land before the reconquista, but they were never preponderant in numbers, whereas the common soldiers of the various conquering Moorish armies, who stayed and were given land to settle in payment, were Berbers. And it is not unreasonable to think that the relatively wealthy and therefore mobile Arabs would have been in a better position than the Berbers to retreat to North Africa or elsewhere when their lands and properties were seized by the conquering Christian hordes, long before the arrival of the gypsies.
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