Spanish Music

Flamenco

The best-known phenomenon in the Spanish music industry is flamenco music. The origin of flamenco lies in southern Spain, Andalusia. However, besides flamenco, there are many other Spanish influences in the music known in the Netherlands. Flamenco is one of Spain's most famous musical genres. Flamenco is an umbrella term for the dance, music and singing that originated in the second half of the 19th century in southern Spanish Andalusia. The first things that immediately stand out about flamenco is the twelve-tell system, the Arabic sound influences and the lavish embellishments such as clothing style used in this genre of music. Flamenco is mostly known as powerful, expressive and spirited.

The basis of flamenco is singing. This singing is also called cante flamenco. The cante flamenco is supported by the baile flamenco, the dance style. The baile flamenco consists of often graceful arm and hand movements and intricate footwork. The footwork is also known as "taconeo.

When looking for information about flamenco, one also often comes across the word Duende. Duende is the moment when the guitarist, singer or dancer becomes so absorbed in the music that it creates something more than song, dance or music. The moment a duende takes place, the audience is breathlessly focused on the person possessing this Duende.

Spanish Pop Music

Besides flamenco, there are a number of Spanish singers who have made their mark in Spanish pop music worldwide. Alejandro Sanz and David Bisbal are good examples. David Bisbal gained name recognition in the Netherlands after Jeroen van der Boom released the song "Jij bent zo" in 2007. The original of this song is Spanish-language and was sung by David Bisbal. During Jeroen van der Boom's concert, David was therefore one of the guests of honor. The covering of "Silencio" to "You are so" was not the only song that created worldwide fame for David Bisbal. Outside the Netherlands and Spain, David became very well known worldwide for the song 'Wavin´ Flag' which he released together with K´naan, an African artist as the title song for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This song became a huge hit, and since then David Bisbal has been a much sought-after artist all over the world. He also has a number of Latin Awards to his name.