An Introduction to Spanish Culture
Flamenco
The popular, romantic image of Spain, namely flamenco, singing and dancing gypsies, together with swaggering bullfighters is unreal. But flamenco does occupy an important place in Spanish culture, particularly in Andalucian culture. It is not simply preserved folklore, but rather a vibrant and important art of song and dance. It is certainly true that a version of flamenco has been commercialised and turned into a sanitised spectacle. This sometimes bears little relation to the raw vigour of the real thing.
The problem for the spectator is where to see and hear the real thing. To find cante jondo (deep song), which is the authentic, heart-rending sound of flamenco, or its other pure forms there is a need to enquire if there is a pena flamenca (a flamenco club) or un bar donde se canta flamenco (a bar where flamenco is sung). A more commercial tablao flamenco (flamenco show) is available in many of the larger Andalucian cities such as Seville, Cordoba, Granada and coastal tourist resorts.
In the south during the late spring and summer it is possible to discover local ferias (festivals) where it is possible to experience a version of flamenco song and dance called the sevillana . Even in the smallest villages groups of people can be found, many in costume, singing and clapping to the rhythm, while the dancers wind themselves around each other in what can only be described as a controlled and highly stylised dance.
Fiestas
Fiestas celebrate a national religious occasion or a local thanksgiving where towns and cities come to a stop as men, women and children dress up to enjoy themselves aided by a plentiful supply of food, wine and laughter. Processions with music start the evening, dancing and singing follow. Fireworks close the evening with a loud colourful bang. Each fiesta has its own distinctive character - sounds, colours, flavours, smells, costumes, rituals and a typical dish. There are celebrations for the dead and the living. Some fiestas appease the forces of nature. Others drive out evil spirits. Often they are based on historical events or include medieval or ancient customs. There is always a fiesta somewhere. They can last for a day, a week or a fortnight.
Perhaps the best-known fiesta is the one in celebration of the reconquest of the Moors by the Christians held at Alcoy near Alicante but also replicated in many other Spanish towns in that region. Throughout the world there are many colourful processions but few can compare with the medieval pageantry which is accompanied by the music of brass instruments and loud kettle drums, as the marchers slowly sway rhythmically in the early darkness of a summer's evening.
