"Culture In History 3"

“Culture In History”… Part 3

It’s called Mezcla in SPANISH – مخلوط (mahlut) in PERSIAN – Imlwau in PUNJABI - 
 תִמזוֹגֶת (dimzoget) in HEBREW - Khlyt in ARABIC and Mixture for those of us who only understand it in English.

FLAMENCO singing is like one big melting pot of the above cultures coming together. Musically, visually and artistically, they were documenting their integration and JOURNEY through the Middle East, the Mediterranean and their settlement in Andalucía.

Catholic monarchs tried to convert them all to Christianity which would result in them giving up their nomadic partying way of LIFE, so instead these cultures took refuge in the rugged mountainous terrain where it was too dangerous for authorities to visit. This is where Flamenco DANCING was born. Gypsy dance was mixed with Arab and traditional Spanish dancing which complimented the “CANTE”.  With the mixture of musical backgrounds and time passing, the authorities eventually eased up and from the 19^th century onwards, Flamenco became Spain’s and one of the worlds most PASSIONATE captivating, heart burning and soulful forms of dancing and singing performed today.

So next time you go to a tapas bar, Spanish restaurant or even to Spain. Take a moment every time you see the singer singing with pain, or the dancer dancing with passion and FEROCITY, to remember we are witnessing CULTURE  IN  HISTORY. (part 3 of my collection)