Folklore in Andalucia: flamenco and bullfighting

Flamenco is a passionate and seductive art form, a mysterious and misunderstood culture that has been burning in Andalucía for nearly five hundred years, and today flamenco has thousands of aficionado’s worldwide. The common image of Andalucía is one of colour, romance, and passion, and the lone figure of the matador in the bullring, cape and sword in hand beneath the burning afternoon sun, and the equally gypsy art of flamenco seem to somehow go hand in hand.

Flamenco has been shrouded in mystery for many years, and it has only in recent years become known to, but not fully understood by, the rest of the world. Many people witness flamenco in some form during their summer vacations in Andalucía, especially on the Costa del Sol, where there are flamenco Tablaos in abundance, these though rarely show the true flamenco.

Bullfighting is very closely associated with Spain and can trace its origins back to 711 A.D. This is when the first bullfight took place in celebration for the crowning of King Alfonso VII. It is very popular in Spain with several thousand Spaniards flocking to their local bull-ring each week. It is said that the total number of people watching bullfights in Spain reaches one million every year. Bullfighting was originally a sport for the aristocracy and took place on horseback. King Felipe V took exception to the sport however and banned the aristocracy from taking part, believing it to be a bad example to the public. After teh ban commoners accepted the sport as their own and, since that could not afford horses, develped the practice of dodging the bulls on foot, unarmed. This transformation ocurred around 1724.