Forgotten Sounds of Flamenco

As a result of the arrival of the guajira to Spain from Cuban lands, and due to the rapid popularity it had throughout the country, new models of guajiras began to emerge, and some of them were very popular, among them the so-called "Guajiras vida mía," which were all the rage at the beginning of the last century. In this episode, we discuss what these guajiras were like and if they had any precedent in Cuba. You can listen to some musical samples of this type of guajiras.

One of the intriguing puzzles in flamenco history is the sudden appearance of the soleá in the mid-nineteenth century. A decade and a half ago, Lénica Reyes and José Miguel Hernández Jaramillo conducted research that unearthed enough clues to propose a hypothesis about the formation of the soleá. The results, which were unveiled at a conference in 2010, are yet to be published. In this episode, we delve into these groundbreaking findings that highlight the direct correlation between the soleá and a song that was imported from Mexican lands: The petenera.

There have always been people who have taken ideas and music from others without mentioning them, claiming authorship, or even making money out of it. In this episode, we show how this questionable practice has existed since the early days of flamenco, both in writing and in flamenco music itself. We hear some musical examples that clearly illustrate it. We also talk about how this practice, unfortunately, still exists.

The Sevillian composer Manuel Font de Anta is perhaps best known for authoring some of the most emblematic processional marches of Holy Week, such as "Amarguras" or "Soleá dame la mano." What is not so well known is that Font de Anta also composed some flamenco works for piano. In this episode, we review some of these works, which are entirely unknown, and listen to some of them.

At the end of the 19th century, one of the most important European singers of the time, the French Anne Judic, triumphed in Spain, Mexico, and Cuba, singing one of the most famous flamenco songs of the time: the peteneras. In this episode, we review who Anne Judic was, how she arrived in Spain, where she learned to sing the peteneras, and why she drove half the world crazy with her voice. We also hear her own voice singing on an old wax cylinder and some of the flamenco compositions inspired by Anne herself.

At the end of the 19th century, a priest, the organist of the Cathedral of Seville, composed some of the most beautiful flamenco pieces for piano of his time. In this episode, we review the flamenco works of Buenaventura Íñiguez, a Navarrese who lived the last 37 years in Seville. We also listen to a good part of his flamenco compositions, some very virtuosic.

From its beginnings in the 19th century, flamenco has had a significant international impact. Flamenco artists toured half the world with their art, and foreigners composed many flamenco musical pieces in the 19th century. In this episode, we see some stories showing intense flamenco activity, especially in American and European countries. We also hear flamenco music composed by French composer Gabrielle Ferrari.

In flamenco, it is said that the malagueña belongs to the fandango family or is a cante derived from it. Some authors even claim that the malagueña and the fandango were mainly the same in the 19th century. In this episode, we review the analysis that Lénica Reyes made of both cantes in the 19th century to see how they were similar and differed. You can also listen to music from both cantes you have never heard.

This episode is extraordinary because of the importance of its protagonist in the history of flamenco: Don Francisco Amate. An amateur flamenco singer who, as fate would have it, recorded some non-commercial wax cylinders in Los Angeles (USA) at the beginning of the 20th century. These recordings are one of the few samples of how flamenco was sung before commercial recordings appeared.

This episode continues the previous one and is dedicated to the history of a guajira that is still sung in flamenco and has at least 135 years of history. This guajira was part of the zarzuela "Los de Cuba" from 1888. In this episode, we see how, due to its popularity, flamenco artists began to sing and record it at the beginning of the 20th century. Even today, we can still hear it in the mouths of some flamenco singers and singers.

In this episode, we have a luxury guest, the ethnomusicologist Lénica Reyes, with whom we talk about the malagueñas in the 19th century, a subject in which she is an expert. Lénica dedicated her doctoral dissertation to the study of the malagueña and was awarded the best dissertation of her generation at the UNAM, the most prestigious Spanish-speaking university in the world. We can listen to also an amazing 19th century malagueña.

One hundred twenty-nine years ago, the first woman in history, who was Andalusian and danced Spanish and Flamenco dances, was filmed in New York. Her name was Carmen Dauset, but everyone knew her as Carmencita. This film had no sound, so it was unknown what dance Carmencita performed. After a thorough investigation, Lénica Reyes and José Miguel Hernández Jaramillo concluded that Carmencita's dance was probably one of the most popular flamenco dances of that time: the petenera. This episode describes the details of the research process.