The world of flamenco is full of its own terms. If you want to immerse yourself in this exciting world, it is important that you know some basic words and expressions. Take good note of all of them!
Aflamencarse
When a song acquires flamenco characteristics but is not necessarily flamenco.
Arrancarse
To start something with a lot of passionis therefore used in performances to express that an artist started to dance, sing or play.
Cante jondo
Expression used to designate a deep, profound, heartfelt cante. In reality, it refers to Andalusian and gypsy singing.
Singing “ida y vuelta”
It is said of those flamenco palos that have been influenced by Hispano-American music. This is the case of the rumba or the guajira.
Carcelera
It is a flamenco style of the tonás group. It is performed without guitar (“a palo seco”).
Falsetas
Executions on the guitar by the guitarist to fill in the spaces between the sung lines. The falsetas of greats, such as Paco de Lucía, have a high value in themselves.
Flamencology
Set of knowledge, techniques… about the singing and the dance flamencos.
Juerga flamenca
It is a synonym for a party with the characteristic that it brings together artists and fans to have fun, sing and dance.
Laína
This is the name given to fine voices in flamenco singing. Specifically, high-pitched voices, “cantarinas”, ideal for singing that does not go to the beat, such as malagueñas or tarantas.
Peñas
Flamenco associations that were born in Andalusia around the sixties. In them, everything revolves around flamenco: from lessons, shows, conferences…
Quejío
Surely in certain flamenco songs you have heard “ay” or “ay, ay, ay, ay”.”. These are the quejíos. These lamentations tend to appear, above all, in the saddest or most solemn palos, such as the fandango, the soleá or the siguiriya.
Flamenco vocabulary challenge: what is duende?
Goethe said that it is “a mysterious power that everyone feels”. It is said that an artist has duende when he or she transmits a special, sublime magic.. In this video of the musicians and teachers Camerata Flamenco Project, they explain it to you in one minute.