A style which has its roots deep in Spanish folkloric tradition, and which thus precedes cante flamenco as we know it. According to some writers, this is the true source. Arabian, American, even Portuguese... there has been much speculation surrounding its origins.
It has a 12-count marking compás, and is in straight 3/4 time.
Spanish fandangos gradually acquired a more and more flamenco edge, drawing on different cantaores' individual contributions.
This group covers all the variants to be found in Spain: verdiales and rondeñas malagueños (from Malaga); the fandango de Huelva; the granaína and media granaína; and the taranto, taranta and cartagenera from Almería (the so-called cantes de las minas).
The fandango de Huelva, principally, gave rise to fandangos naturales, with a true 'jondo' flamenco flavor, and bearing the hallmarks of each individual cantaor. They've been hugely popular since the mid-19th century. The best-known varieties are those by Niño Gloria, Manuel Torre, José Cepero and Manolo Caracol, the first two using fandangos de Huelva, and the last two using the granaína and the malagueña respectively.
Cantaores such as Manuel Vallejo, Pepe Marchena, Pepe Pinto, Fernanda de Utrera and Chocolate have made the fandango their trademark.
Malagueñas
A flamenco style with its roots in the local fandango of Malaga. This style, one of the most outstanding Levantine forms (the term given to those from eastern Andalucía), is characterized by the absence of a compás structure, affording the cantaor freedom to introduce intricate vocal work and extend each line of the lyric at will.
Distanced now from its folkloric origins, this cante was popularized from the late 19th century by cantaores both from Malaga (Juan Breva, El Canario and La Trini, for example), and from elsewhere (such as Antonio Chacón and Enrique el Mellizo).
Out of the above names, Antonio Chacón deserves a special mention for "revolutionizing" the style, leaving behind five different variants; as does Enrique el Mellizo, whose malagueña it is said was inspired by church songs, and currently boasts great popularity especially in Jerez and Cadiz.
Among contemporary cantaores associated with this style, Diego Clavel is outstanding for his "La malagueña a través de los tiempos" which brings together almost fifty different variants, as does José Mercé, heavily influenced by El Mellizo, but bringing his approach up-to-date. And let's not forget Enrique Morente, who leans more toward Antonio Chacón, then Fernando Terremoto Jr...
And to see dance performed to this form, a fine example is the current work of bailaora Rafaela Carrasco.
Verdiales
Verdiales are cantes from Málaga folklore, considered the most primitive form of fandango from this area in eastern Andalusia.
The name comes from a variety of olive from the olive-growing region of Málaga which remains green even when it ripens.
Like the fandango, it has basic ternary time. Like folk cante, it is conserved in the groups called "pandas" (gangs), in which there are vocals, guitars, violins, mandolins and tambourines, to the sound of a vibrant, monotonous beat.
As cante flamenco, for a solo cantaor, more unhurried and just accompanied by guitar, the form still survives which was laid down by Juan Breva. It is usually used as a finish for malagueñas.
El Cojo de Málaga, Manuel Vallejo, Fosforito, Perico el del Lunar, Camarón, and more recently, Guadiana (curiously, doing a version of "El extranjero" by Georges Moustaki) have recorded this style.
You don't often see it danced in flamenco, but Rafaela Carrasco thus finishes off her famous malagueña.
Granaínas
A flamenco style which originates in eastern Andalucía, belonging to the fandangos group, and with their origins in the Granada variant.
One distinguishing feature of the granaína is that it is performed without a rhythmical framework, so its hallmarks lie in the melodical work and the guitar chords.
The roots of this style owe much to Frasquito Yerbabuena, although its flamenco form was actually laid down by Antonio Chacón and Ramón Montoya who accompanied him on guitar, after a study of the cantes from Granada at the close of the 19th century.
It also draws influences from the malagueña - in fact, José Cepero sang what he termed a "granaína malagueña".
It differs from the media granaína in the melody (which is almost invariable in both cases) and in the mood: the granaína is more restrained and the media granaína (with no cries of "ay" in the introduction) is bolder, more baroque.
Manuel Vallejo, Juan Mojama, Manuel Centeno and Pepe Marchena, among others, are outstanding performers of both types of cante.
As for dancing to this style, a superb example is to be found in the latest choreographic work by Eva Yerbabuena.
Published in www.flamenco-world.com
