By Kendrick Brown

Students entered St. Mary’s Hall’s multipurpose room to attend a lecture and performance about the history and culture of flamenco on Thursday, Oct. 9.

Flamenco’s origin as an art form dates back to as early as the 16th century, when centuries of cultural diffusion among Andalusian Roma, Sephardic Jews and the Moors in Spain led to the creation of a new art form.

The program, hosted by TorcuArt President Manuel Sanchez and board member Paul Villmoare, Aula De Flamenco, is a 90-minute discussion of the art form’s history alongside an artistic performance. 

Aula De Flamenco is just one of many programs hosted by the organization TorcuArt, which is dedicated to promoting the art of flamenco through education and performance throughout the United States. 

As stated by Sanchez during the presentation, flamenco’s history is “full of feelings,” whether it be passion, love, joy or sadness. 

One of the first people to study the art form, Antonio Machado y Álvarez, also known as Demófilo, divided all flamenco music between sad songs, Cantes Gitanos, and happy songs, Cantes Andaluces.

 All of these feelings are summed up in the art form’s emblematic term, “ole!”

This mix of cultures and explicit focus on feelings has allowed flamenco to travel and evolve as an art form. Latin American countries, such as Cuba and Argentina, would create new styles of flamenco known as the Rumba and Milonga, respectively. 

In countries like Japan, people would become inspired by tours of famous flamenco artists in the country and decide to visit Spain to learn more about the art form and bring it back to their own country, where it continues to be practiced to this very day.

That kind of inspiration to get into the practice of flamenco is one of the main goals of Torcaurt’s performances, according to Villmoare.

“It’s exposing students and people in general, not only to the music, but sort of the context of it. It’s just like if you listen to blues or jazz, but someone explains the evolution, talks about the different styles, you’re gonna appreciate it much more,” Villmoare said.

This program was sponsored by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, part of the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures on campus. Department head and affiliate faculty for the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center, Manel Lacorte, provided some of his own insight on the importance of performances like this being brought to campuses.

As Lacorte’s mother’s side of the family descends from the same Andalusia that helped to birth the art form of flamenco in the first place. So, even though he was born in Barcelona, he’s been exposed to that culture his entire life, despite never learning how to dance or sing it.

“We also have connections with other groups in the area that have to do with bomba, salsa, Puerto Rican music, Caribbean music in general. We try to combine different styles, different genres of music from different parts of the world,” Lacorte said.

Featured Image: Performers showcase the art of flamenco in an event at St. Mary’s Hall on campus Thursday. Photo by Anika Stikeleather