Alegría (Flamenco)

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The alegría is a palo of flamenco, that is, one of its musical and dance expressions. Alegría means joy in Spanish . According to its name, the Alegría belongs to the Cantes chicos , the light, cheerful chants of flamenco. Juan Virgillos calls them cheerful, optimistic, graceful, humorous, dynamic and mischievous.

Musical characteristics

Together with the Mirabrás , the Caracol and the Romera , the Alegria belongs to the group of Cantiñas .

Like the cantiña, it follows the broken rhythm of the soleá , which alternates between three and two strikes. According to the cheerful character, the rhythm is struck more easily and gracefully than with the melancholy Soleá. According to the rhythm, two types of alegrías can be distinguished: The classical form, as passed down by the singers Aurelio Sellés and Enrique el Mellizo , is calmer, with separate notes. A protagonist of the newer, livelier form, with rapidly bound phrases , was Manolo Vargas , for example .

The tonality is major and thus also corresponds to the cantiña.

dance

The alegría is the oldest form of flamenco as it developed in the 19th century. At the end of the 19th century it was the ultimate festive dance until it was pushed into the background by tango flamenco and bulería in the 20th century . Presumably it was always used to accompany the dance. Enrique el Mellizo is credited with being the first to interpret it as a cante por escuchar , as a song to be listened to.

The Alegría is danced by both sexes, but is more of a female dance. It is considered demanding, requires harmonious guidance of the arms, flowing movements, soft foot techniques, especially through the use of the tips of the feet and various dance figures.

text

The Alegría is usually introduced with the sung syllables "tirititrán, trán, trán".

The vocal stanzas consist mainly of quatrains, enriched with variations and short refrains. The topics are mostly cheerful.

A popular alegría is the following hymn to the city of Cádiz:

A Cai no le llaman Cai,
que le llaman relicario,
porque por patrona tiene
a la Virgen del Rosario.

Y a la mar que te vayas
querido Pepe
por muy lejos que vayas
me voy por verte.

Como reluce mi Cai
mira qué bonito está
sobre un cachito de tierra
que le ha robaíto al mar.

Cuando se entra en Cai
por la bahía
se entra en el paraíso
de la alegría.

In Cádiz it is not called Cádiz,
it is called a reliquary
because
the Virgin of the Rosary is her patroness .

And if you go
to the sea dear Pepe
no matter how far you go,
I'll see you.

How my Cadiz shines.
Look how beautiful she is,
on a piece of earth that
she stole from the sea.

When you come to
the bay of Cadiz ,
you enter the paradise
of joy.

Juan Virgillos gives the following example:

Compañerita de mis entrañas
El sentió me da vueltas
Que me arrimo a las paredes
Y hasta llegar a tu puerta.

Cuando te vengas conmigo
A donde te voy a llevar
A darte una vueltecita
Por la muralla real.

Dos cositas tiene Cádiz
Que llaman la atención
Las mocitas de mi barrio
Y la calle del Mirador

(etc., 11 copies in total)

Little companion of my heart
I get dizzy
so I lean against the walls
all the way to your door.

If you come with me,
wherever I will take
you to take a little walk with you,
on the royal wall.

Cadiz has two small things that
are remarkable:
The girls in my neighborhood.
And the road to the lookout point.

(etc .; 11 stanzas in total)

history

The alegría probably comes from Cádiz . The singer Aurelio Sellés sees their predecessors in folk dances, Jotillas gaditanas , which were popular in Cádiz in the early 19th century. These in turn had their predecessor in the Asturian Jota , which came to Cádiz during the Spanish War of Independence . Some traditional Alegrías song lyrics refer to this war.

In the time of the cantantes cafés in the last third of the 19th century, these jotillas were combined with the soleá to form a new form: the alegría. The oldest evidence for the term alegrías is known for the year 1866. It refers to a singer named Francisco Hidalgo, also known as Paco el Gandul or Paco Botas. Also in the 1860s, other flamenco singers such as El Quiqui, Cantes alegres or Cantes por alegre began to sing. The adaptation of the old folk dances to flamenco is traditionally attributed to the singer Enrique Butrón from Cádiz.

Demófilo wrote about Flamencos in his monograph Colección de Cantes

"(...) ese infinito número de composiciones, puramente andaluzas, conocidas con el nombre de juguetillos o alegrías."

"(...) this infinite number of compositions, purely Andalusian , known under the names Juguetillos or Alegrías."

- Demófilo

At the end of the 19th century, Enrique el Mellizo brought the alegrías into the classic form we know today. At that time, dancers were often expected to sing along with the dance, which made the demanding performance even more difficult.

Other well-known performers who took up the Alegría and developed it further included:

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Juan Vergillos: Conocer el Flamenco - sus estilos, su historia . Signatura Ediciones de Andalucía, Sevilla 2009, ISBN 978-84-95122-84-1 , p. 40 (Spanish).
  2. ↑ Juan Vergillos: Conocer el Flamenco . S. 39 .
  3. ^ A b Miguel Ortiz: Cantiña. In: Flamencoviejo.com. March 16, 2010, Retrieved May 2, 2010 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Alegrías. In: Flamencopolis.com. Faustino Núnez, accessed May 2, 2019 (Spanish).
  5. ↑ a b José Luis Navarro García: Historia del Baile Flamenco . Volume I. Signatura Ediciones de Andalucía, Sevilla 2010, ISBN 978-84-96210-70-7 , p. 308 .
  6. ↑ a b c d e Miguel Ortiz: Alegría. In: Flamenco Viejo. March 16, 2010, Retrieved May 4, 2019 (Spanish).
  7. ↑ Ángel Álvarez Caballero: El cante flamenco . Alianza Editorial, Madrid 2004, ISBN 978-84-206-4325-0 , p. 120 .
  8. ↑ a b Juan Vergillos: Conocer el Flamenco . S. 41 .
  9. ↑ Didactica del Flamenco. Unidad de trabajo 14: Cantes de Cádiz. In: Junta de Andalucía. Retrieved May 4, 2019 (Spanish).
  10. ↑ Juan Vergillos: Conocer el Flamenco . S. 128 .