Flamenco's Repression and Resistance in Southern Spain

Flamenco's Repression and Resistance in Southern Spain
Sunday, 14 December 2014 00:00
By Yossi Bartal, Truthout | News Analysis

Recently recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and increasingly used by communities in southern Spain to attract tourism, flamenco music and dance seem to enjoy an unprecedented revival all around the world. But the public spaces and social centers that play a major role in the formation of flamenco culture are increasingly threatened by gentrification, newly legislated municipal ordinances and heavy policing.

On a rainy Friday this March in front of Seville's city hall, more than 50 people, most of them middle-aged, circled a man playing guitar, joining with accompanying hand-clapping, while women of all ages occasionally entered the circle and broke into dance.

Although many of the tourists passing the square had mistaken the gathering for another street spectacle, this public Tertulia was in fact a political demonstration organized by members of the Peña de los Torres Macarena, an association dedicated to the performance of flamenco in response to being shut down by the police for noise violations.

Flamenco Peñas such as the Torres Macarena are a relatively new phenomena in the history of flamenco. These neighborhood associations of flamenco adherents popped up all around Andalusia as Spain transformed into a democracy in the '70s, and since then they have played a significant role in teaching the traditions of music and dance to younger generations, providing crucial space to rising artists and strengthening the social fabric of flamenco in a noncommercial way.

More:
http://truth-out.org/news/item/27946-flamenco-under-attack