Gypsy
Flamenco Culture
Beau Bledsoe
In
modern European society, the ethnic subculture known as the gypsy race is, in
many ways, at odds with its contemporary counterpart. Historically, living on natural resources and open land, the
modern gypsy now has few ways to earn a living legally and is usually annexed
to a government financed slum. Regardless of this instability, the arts
function as a more integral part of gypsy lives, unlike that of the ÒcivilizedÓ
person. Ironically, this disadvantaged group had a profound influence on the
dominant culture. Nowhere is this
relationship of gypsy artistic culture influencing a parent culture more
evident than in Spain.
There
are currently between 250,000 and 700,000 gitanos (Andalusian Gypsies) now
living Spain.1 Thought to have immigrated from west India
to Spain via Turkey and North Africa, the gitanos posses a distinct family
social structure and live in close-knit communities.2
The idealic vision of gypsies living outdoors in the arms of nature no longer
typifies todayÕs gitanos. Only a
handful still live as nomads. Most
have adapted to the life style of the payo (non-gypsy). The majority have settled into gypsy
barrios found on the outskirts of major Spanish cities such as
Seville,
Jerez and Cadiz. Many remain a
part of the underprivileged class of Andalusian society, poor and with few
educational opportunities.3
The
gitanos are not and may never have been a pure race (if such a thing exists).4
Inherited traits are little in themselves; they acquire their gitano identity
through cultural history and social interaction.5 Observable physical differences between
gitanos and payos are almost irrelevant.
Spanish gitanos have a wide range of appearances, from the dark skin and
hair of their Indian ancestors to occasional blond hair and blue eyes. Their physical appearance frequently
overlaps with that of the olive complexioned Andalusians.6
The Spanish poet, Federico Garcia Lorca,
refers to the Òthree cornered AndalusiaÓ when writing of his native land.7
The Òthree cornersÓ are the gitanos, Jews and Moors. All are largely responsible for the
rich culture of southern Spain.
During the reconquista, the harmony between these three groups
established under Moorish rule was quickly disseminated. Moorish peasants fearful of expulsion
and Jews fleeing the Inquisition, along with bohemian rogues, smuggler and
other varieties became assimilated into gitano groups.8 The law concerning the expulsion of
Moors and Jews included the death penalty for its violators.9
Gitano bands of Spain were hospitable and often took escaped felons and
displaced persons. Also, laws
against gitanos did not include
the death penalty. Consequently, many marginalized groups joined up with
gitanos.10 The gitanos were not seen as an immediate
threat to the church or state, therefore laws applying to them were typically
lenient. They claimed to be sincere Christians and did not covet land.11
In addition, gitanos were of value to powerful, pleasure-loving aristocrats,
skilled as they were in music, dance, love potions, aphrodisiacs,
fortune-telling, induced miscarriages, ect.12
Gitanos, finally, had
always cultivated friends and protectors in high places. Noblemen were frequently Godfathers of gypsy
children.13
This relative gitano tolerance is why their population, at the first
third of the seventeenth century grows so spectacularly.14 To join the gitanos was to escape
slavery and death and to be able to practice oneÕs religious rites without fear
of detection.15 Gitanos were officially Christians;
therefore, they could seek asylum in the church. Also, one could bury their names or crimes
under a new identity by lying low with gitanos for a few generations and
resurfacing with an identity much more tolerated than the original.16
Usually,
to define oneÕs own genuine gypsiness is to associate ones self with a
traditional gitano occupation such as blacksmith, musician, mule traders, and
so on. The kind of occupation, or lack of occupation engaged
in is essentially a non-racial
caste system.17
There are three main class distinctions within the gitano way of
life. There are those who have
entered into a civilized payo lifestyle.
These people, relatively respected in their communities, work steadily
and often open their own businesses.18
By far, the largest group are those that have been lured or driven from their nomadic life to urban
slums. This is the gitano class that most of the flamenco artists,
bullfighters, and poets come from.19
But, the non-talented who cannot find work, or those that are convinced
that gitanos are above ordinary work, live by their wits alone. Other than work
they have two alternatives, to go
hungry, or become con men.20
The latter explains the habit of some gitanos roaming large towns
approaching tourists with offers of women and contraband.21 Then there are the truly nomadic gitanos. These gypsies feel an unconcerned scorn
for their ÒcontaminatedÓ brothers and their payo ways.22 These are the gypsies that most of us have the exciting,
romantic vision of. Living in clans of around twenty members, these people basically
live the same life they have lived for centuries, and are constantly on the
move. They still speak a form of Romani, the gypsy
language that is derived from the Indian Sanskrit.23
To better understand their life aesthetic and philosophy, Don Pohen, in his
book ÒThe Art of FlamencoÓ offers us the following gitano dissertation on payo
ways, ÒI have no desire to own a
house, or a car, or to go to work every day like a halfbrain. It seems to me
that the payo works all of his life for things that he does not really want or
need. He sits in a closed office dreaming of open fields and mountains and
beaches, and when he finally is allowed a vacation he travels to a resort area
milling with people and pushes his way around for two weeks and spends his
savings. He lives in fear and anxiety of his employer, a possible depression or
war, old age , and a thousand other things either completely beyond his control
or not worth the effort.Ó24
The
gitano obsession with freedom paradoxically exists with a lack of individual
autonomy.25
As a whole, gitano society dictates against personal freedom of its members through unquestioning
respect for tradition.26 Legendary gypsy freedom may mean freedom
from payo law, but their own law and class structure can be far more rigid.27
The
art that reflects the Andalusian\Gitano culture and attitude is called
flamenco. The attempt to explain the origin of the word flamenco is the source
of much ethnomusicological debate. Flamenco is a very large word. It is commonly used as an adjective to
describe a person or ideal. There are many Arabic words that sound similar such
a flahencou (moorish song from North Africa).28 The Spanish usage of the word flamenco
originally meant ÒFleming Ò or ÒFlemish,Ó and referred to their ostentatious
manner and dress of the flemish in Spain during the 18th century.29
The word flamenco became synonymous with gitanos for their similar behavior. In
its adjective form the word meant Òostentatious and dashingÓ and had slightly a
negative connotation.30 The word endures today by reflecting a certain
attitude toward life, and it conjures images of pride, self-confidence, and
style.31
Flamenco
musicÕs birthplace is within a triangle of cities in Andalusia consisting of
Cadiz, Ronda, and Seville, with Jerez de la Frontera at the center.32
Within this triangle, the process of gypsy and Andalusan traditions fusing to
create the various forms of flamenco began. As gypsy/Andalusian music exerted
an increasingly more influential status in Spain , its range expanded to the
provinces of Huelva, Cordoba, and Granada.33
Labeling
Flamenco as a folk music is not a very neat and clean task. Flamenco departs
from the folk equation of authenticity equals anonymity. Flamenco singers and
aficionados are fanatically aware of the individual contributions of various
singers, dancers, and guitarists.34 Also, a crucial element of folklore is its
constant change and development. Despite widely differing styles and
interpretations in flamenco, the
underlying forms remain strict and unbreakable.35 The perpetuation and enjoyment of flamenco
came to be monopolized by Spanish playboys and connoisseurs, not the folk
public.36
This
leads to another commonly debated argument of whether or not flamenco is art.
The typical flamenco gatheringÕs combination of alcohol, sex, and music have
understandably hindered flamencoÕs acceptance as high art. Like American jazz,
Flamenco has been associated with despised ethnic groups, gangsters, free
spending blue-bloods, and general hedonism. Only by disguising their seedy
origins were either of the two musical genres able to become part of mainstream
culture.37 Although, naturally one cannot assume that
because the music is adopted by the cultural elite, it is somehow intrinsically
different. Spaniards concerned with the moral tenor of their society still look
upon Òflamenco-as-artÓ with distrustful contempt.39
This
music and lifestyle can still presently be found in the juerga. Juergas are
small, semi-private flamenco gatherings, usually sponsored by a wealthy
aficionado or created spontaneously. It begins with eating, drinking, and
conversation that is typically about the virtues of a famous cantaor of the
past or present. Someone starts singing to illustrate their point, where upon
another reaches for a guitar. The songs are light and cheerful at first and
inevitably followed by more serious Òdeep songÓ. Soon, the juerga is in full
swing and moods change at random until the early hours of morning.40
Everyone takes part in the event, as there is no separation between audience
and performer. The traditional actor-to- spectator relationship found in the
theater or concert hall disappears, in favor of a leveled, common ground
between the performer and listener/participant.41 In the juerga, there are good and bad
nights, and always, as much is demanded from the audience as is of the
performer. In Flamenco, the honesty and emotion of the performance is much more
important than the technique of the performer. If the performer is self-
conscious, or the listener insensitive, the juerga will fail.42
The juerga is a very delicate, inherently dramatic situation.
The
listener/participant is commonly referred to as the aficionado. The aficionado
is more than an enthusiast or fan. He or she is considered a connoisseur.43
Aficionados are from all the classes of Spain, such as gypsies, civil servants,
politicians, painters, and playboys. Most aficionados of the bullfight are
aficionados of flamenco. A well-known breeder of bulls maintains a band of some
forty gitanos, most of whom are flamenco artists.44
Again,
a crucial parallel exist with American jazz and flamenco in that both at their
most base level include excessive substance abuse.45
Until recently, the performance of genuine flamenco would be thought impossible
if the performers and audience were in a state of sobriety. The cantaor,
Molina, has been quoted as saying ÒWithout this precious communion, there would
be no cante.Ó46 One must wonder what stylistic traits of
flamenco are alcohol induced, much like certain drug induced style traits of
jazz and rock music.
The
juerga of the past was intimately bound with prostitution and wealthy
senioritos looking for a good time.47 These senioritos wanted there juergas to
have all the right ingredients. Juerga management was a necessary skill needed
by the flamenco professional.48 The performers needed to be keen observers
of the aficionados desires. A cantaorÕs successful manipulation of the
alcohol-induced emotions led the flamenco performer from one well paid juerga
to another.49 It is ironic that the senoiritos
institutionalized Dionysian habits quite by accident, preserved the old gitano
style of performing.50
Another
amusing sociological irony was the frequent employment of flamenco singers to
perform religious songs at public religious ceremonies.
In
most cases, the performance would take place on a balcony of a wealthy patron,
thereby demonstrating the sponsors piety, wealth and status.51
This practice has cultivated an elaborate, gitano/operatic singing style
appropriate for sacred song. One must also keep in mind the large amount of
alcohol consumed at most Spanish religious festivities.
In
the psychodrama of the flamenco performance, a cathartic healing spectacle
often exists.52 This drama occurs at many levels as a way
for oppressed people to voice their misery in such a way as to evoke emotions
of guilt from wealthy listeners, therefore performing a double catharsis of
relieving the pain of the poor and the guilt of the rich.53
So, at a larger sociological level, flamenco may be seen as a device that
brings together a bipolar society. Members of despised ethnic groups often have
greater anxieties and are less able to handle the stress resulting from their
situation.
The
need for the psychodramatic, theatrical settings with an audience is and
essential need, according to the psychiatrist, Jacob Levi Moreno.54
Moreno defines psychodrama as Òa form of drama in which plots, situations and
roles- weather real or symbolic, reflect the actual problems of the persons
acting and are not the work of a playwright.Ó In his work entitled ÒCatharsis
in Healing, Ritual, and Drama,Ó55 Thomas J. Scheff states that catharsis will
only take place when the distressed
people involved achieve Òaesthetic distanceÓ from one or more of the four basic
stressful emotions -
grief,
fear, anger, and humiliation: ÒAesthetic distance may be defined as the
simultaneous and equal experience of being participant and observer.Ó56
The
coplas, or verses of flamenco deal with these stressful emotions from every
possible angle. At first impression, the sing of flamenco deep song seems to be
a mixture of singing and weeping with a raspy vocal timbre and histrionic
stylization that unmistakably evokes these four emotions. flamenco functions as
the aesthetic distancing device that enables historically polarized groups to
become participant/observers of their own situation and discharge pent-up
feelings.57 The large quantities of alcohol typically
consumed, facilitate the cathartic process, and the juerga becomes the ideal
stage.64
Sociologist
have long known that to study a subcultureÕs music is to study the larger
societyÕs effective integration with that subculture.65
If flamenco is synonymous with the gitanoÕs, defiant, downtrodden attitude, it
naturally provides a stylistic meeting ground for fellow Andalusians with
similar feelings and attitudes. Andalusians have long identified with the
marginalized feelings of the gitanos and vice-versa.66
In its present crisis of underdevelopment, Andalusia remains the poor south,
plagued with mass immigration and economic recession.67
For modern Andalusians, the goal of revitalizing regional culture and identity
has become intrinsically linked with gypsy identity, and various socialist
movements, and political autonomy from the north.68
This, coupled with a hostility toward Madrid authority, has given rise to an
acute class consciousness in Spain.69 Urbanization and mass immigration from the
late 19th century to the present has had the inevitable consequence of rural
and urban underdevelopment.70 The mass immigration of gitanos and
Andalusians to northen cities, such a Barcelona and Madrid, have resulted in
their culture becoming more integrated into the Spanish culture as a whole.71
Because Andalusian workers do not assimilate to their host cities, the defiant
Andalusian sentiment seems to have heightned, therefore strengthening their
cultural identity.72 The flamenco coplas from this urbanized
Gitano/Andalusian group are commonly centered around themes of indigence and
contempt for civil authority. Overt politicization of flamenco coplas increased
in the 20th century as Marxist thought swept through Andalusian, provoking
indigent Andalusian workers to radical mobilization.73
More sophisticated lyrics became more commonplace, as many respected poets,
such as Lorca, were writing specifically designed coplas for flamenco
performances. Explicitly leftist lyrics were prohibited under fascist
Franconian rule, but evidently circulated in private.74
After
the 1950Õs and 60Õs, the abundance of jobs in northern cities became harder to
find due to inflation and economic recession in recent years leaving the
gitanos and Andalusians even more marginalized.75 This displaced urban subculture has given
rise to many new popular hybrids of flamenco that, due to the lack of
Franconian censorship and mass media, are growing in popularity with middle
class Spaniard and foreign audiences.76 Thus many diluted, commercialized forms of
the flamenco genre have flourished in recent years in accordance with the
bourgeois taste. Flamenco is now served up as light entertainment in cafes and
tourist oriented tablaos. Flamenco singers now tend to trivialize their coplas
and suppress any content which may offend of upset an audience.77
Spain
has, for the most part, adopted flamenco as a major source of its cultural
identity, as is evident in recent government published literature connecting
flamenco to SpainÕs international identity. When one presently thinks of
Spanish culture, images of merry, carefree, hedonistic gypsies in polka-dot
flamenco outfits immediately come to mind. Flamenco is no longer just an
exclusive expression of Andalusian subcultural milieu, it belongs to Spain as a
cultural whole.
At
the two ends of SpainÕs bipolar society, an interdependency exists. At one end
are the northern, wealthy, payos and at the other end, the southern, gypsy,
poor, Andalusians. At their most extreme, the two societies seem to be
aesthetically and philosophically in different universes. But, without knowing
it, they have mutually helped each other to create and perpetuate an art form
at the most profound and superficial levels.
1 Claus
Schreiner, ed. Flamenco: Gyspy Dance and Music From Andalusia,
(Porland, OR: Amadeaus
Press, 1990), 14
41 Antoinette
Moline, ÒThe GodÕs Land of Asylum: Andalusia and its Rituals,Ó Diogenes 166 (1994): 83
53 William
Washabaugh, ÒThe Politics of Passion: Flamenco, Power, and the Body,Ó
Journal of Musicological Research 14
(October 1995): 369