Flamenco

Flamenco is the music and dance tradition of Andalusia in southern Spain, built from three interlocking elements: cante (song), toque (guitar) and baile (dance), supported by palmas handclapping and rhythmic footwork. Its songs follow set forms called palos, each with a distinctive compás cycle, mode and emotional register, from the grave soleá to the festive bulerías. Developed in the nineteenth century among Andalusian Roma communities and professionalized in the café cantante era, flamenco was codified by singers such as *La Niña de los Peines* and guitarists such as *Ramón Montoya*. In the twentieth century *Camarón de la Isla* and *Paco de Lucía* carried the art to international concert stages.