The Governing Council of the Community of Madrid will approve at its meeting this Wednesday the declaration of flamenco as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) of the Intangible Heritage of the region, as sources from the regional Executive have confirmed to Europa Press.
As these sources defend, it is an art of spectacle that has been part of Madrid society, at least, since the mid-19th century, with “great historical roots” and that includes flamenco singing, dancing and playing.
An art transmitted, recreated and transformed over the years by its numerous interpreters, but that has maintained its roots, emphasizes the Community, which remembers that the first time the term was used was in the Madrid press on June 6, 1847, specifically, in number 249 of ‘El Espectador’.
The chronicle titled ‘A flamenco singer’ was dedicated to Lázaro Quintana and his companion Dolores, the little gypsy. It was also in Madrid where the first reference to flamenco music arose, in the newspaper La Nación, on February 18, 1853 and where, in 1954, Zambra, the first tablao inaugurated in Spain, was opened, they explain.
The “unique character” of flamenco in the Community of Madrid is the result of different circumstances. On the one hand, Madrid is a city “where musicians dedicated to this art have been able to work since the 19th century” and many settled there “maintaining the use of flamenco in the private sphere.”
From this private use emerged the Caño Roto sound, represented by Las Grecas or Los Chorbos, which adopts new rhythms and sounds and which results in the Madrid rumba, a means of expression of the gypsies of Vallecas, Caño Roto or Carabanchel. The geography of Madrid has been and is also the scene of flamenco clubs and associations that have contributed to its maintenance and dissemination.
The presence of flamenco tablaos in Madrid is also notable today, recalls the Community, with the Corral de la Morería, Torres Bermejas, Tablao 1911 (former Villa Rosa) and Tablao de la Villa (former Café de Chinitas) as the most old, preserving its architectural structure and its original decoration from the 50s and 60s.
These classic spaces are joined by more recent ones such as the Tablao Flamenco Torero, Cardamomo, Café Ziryab or the Teatro Flamenco, among others, which offer two, three and up to four daily shows with a large group of artists.
Some of these rooms organize master classes or art exhibitions, and most offer catering services. Although it depends on each tablao and the formation of the flamenco groups, the performances usually last an hour and have a structure made up of ensemble pieces and singing, dancing or guitar solos.
There are also numerous flamenco festivals and competitions organized in the Community of Madrid, in which a heterogeneous flamenco is present and open to new proposals. Highlights include Suma Flamenca, organized by the Community of Madrid, which will celebrate its 19th edition in autumn 2024, and Suma Flamenca Joven for emerging artists, which this year is in its fourth season, competitions, defended by the regional government, which, together with the tablaos, “have become, in their own right, hallmarks of the region’s tourist and cultural offering.”
The declaration that will be approved this Wednesday is part of the work that the regional Executive has been carrying out for years to reinforce the position and image of Madrid as “the great reference for this dance and song”, including it in its cultural programs and tourist campaigns. , as happened in the recent celebration of the International Tourism Fair (Fitur).
In addition, in 2022 the Community awarded the International Medal of Arts to the Association of Flamenco Tablaos, while now granting it the highest figure of heritage protection.
