History

The Gypsies first arrived in Spain during the XV century and were known by various names: Greeks, Egyptians, Zingaros and Hungaros. Their origin has been demonstrated by linguists to have been north east India.Their arrival in Spain provoked interest among the populace. The king Alfonso V in 1425 granted the gypsies “salvoconductos”, that is, safe conduct around the country. Read the rest of this entry »

For the cultured classes of Spain, until recently flamenco was nothing more than a “thing of the lower classes”; of taverns, violence, riotousness, drunkenness, and in the past, of beggars, thieves, bandits and gypsies. It was not until 1922 that a group of intellectuals (which included the composer Manuel de Falla and the young poet Federico García Lorca) organised a “concurso the cante jondo”. The first time that the intellectuals of Andalucia acted as a group to study, understand and for want of a better word, protect flamenco. At that time famenco had almost completely been forgotten, substituted by a light operatic form known as “opera flamenco”. Read the rest of this entry »