A short glossary
Flamenco words, explained
Cante, baile, toque, palmas, jaleo, compás, palo, tablao and duende: nine words you will hear before and during a flamenco show, in plain English.
Reserve your seat in Malasaña ↗Cante
Cante means song. UNESCO describes it as the vocal form of flamenco, sung by men and women, preferably seated, without backing singers, with brief and simple lyrics that range from grief to joy. A flamenco singer is a cantaor, or a cantaora for a woman. The Royal Spanish Academy, quoted by Wikipedia, defines cante as the action of singing any Andalusian song.
Baile
Baile means dance. UNESCO calls it a dance of passion and courtship that conveys situations from sadness to joy. Wikipedia points to the expressive use of the arms and the rhythmic stamping of the feet. Dancers may carry castanets, canes, shawls or fans. The show on Calle del Pez, the Madrid tourism board says, includes dancing in long-tailed dresses and flamenco in couples.
Toque
Toque is guitar playing. UNESCO says the guitar has moved well beyond accompaniment in flamenco. The guitarist is the anchor of the rhythm: the chord changes mark the downbeats that the singer and dancer follow. In a small theatre you hear every string, which is a good reason to watch the guitarist's hands as well as the dancer's feet.
Palmas
Palmas are handclaps. UNESCO notes that hand-clapping and foot-stamping are used alongside the guitar and the castanets. Wikipedia says that, without a guitarist, the rhythm can be carried by handclapping or by knuckles on a table. In a show you may hear performers clap in time while another artist sings or dances, so the claps are part of the music, not decoration.
Jaleo
Jaleo comes from jalear, the act of encouraging performers with calls such as olé. Wikipedia connects it to the early festive forms of flamenco, which arose in the Triana district of Seville. The calls can come from the artists themselves, and whether an audience joins in is a matter of the room. If the room does not call out, it is fine to listen in silence.
Compás
The compás is the rhythmic cycle of a palo, and Wikipedia calls it fundamental to flamenco. Cycles can be binary, ternary or 12-beat, and the 12-beat cycle is the most characteristic. You do not need to count it. The accents come from the guitar, the palmas and the heel work.
Palo
A palo is a flamenco form, with its own mood and rhythm. The soleá and the seguiriya are called cante jondo, or deep song, and are solemn. Bulerías and tangos are fast and festive. Wikipedia notes that grouping the palos into families is a popular and sometimes inconsistent way of sorting them. Which palos you hear depends on the cast and the day.
Tablao
A tablao is a place where flamenco shows are performed, and the term also names the flamenco dance floor, according to Wikipedia. The first tablao in Spain, Zambra, opened in Madrid in 1954. A theatre such as the one on Calle del Pez is a stage for the same art form in a different kind of room. Tablao names one kind of venue, and a theatre is another kind of room for the same art.
Duende
Duende is a heightened state of emotion and expression, most often linked to flamenco. Federico García Lorca popularised the idea in a 1933 lecture in Buenos Aires, and he described it as a power rather than a work. It is not something a show can promise. It is what people mean when a performance lands, when the room goes quiet and the dancer or the singer seems to be somewhere else.
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