Before you listen
Flamenco palos: a listening guide
What a palo is, the 12-beat cycle behind many of them, and six styles you might hear in a Granada show, from the soleá to the bulerías.
Reserve your seat at La Alboreá ↗What a palo is
A palo is a flamenco style, defined by its rhythm, its mode, its verse form and the place it came from. A typical flamenco recital with voice and guitar is a series of pieces in different palos. Each piece is a set of verses, punctuated by guitar interludes called falsetas, and the guitarist opens by setting the key, the rhythm and the tempo. You do not need to name the palos to enjoy a show, but knowing a few helps you hear why one piece feels slow and heavy and the next feels like a party.
The compás: the cycle underneath
Compás is the Spanish word for the rhythmic cycle of a palo. Many flamenco palos use a 12-beat cycle with accents falling in particular places, and the guitarist marks it by strumming or tapping the soundboard. When there is no guitar, the cycle is kept by hand-clapping, called palmas, or by knuckles on a table. In a small room you can often hear the compás in the clapping before you notice it in the guitar. If you can find the accent that repeats, you have found the compás.
Soleá and seguiriya
The soleá is a 12-beat palo. Listen for the way the singer stretches each line against the steady cycle that the guitar and the clapping keep underneath. The seguiriya is among the deepest of the songs, built around the quejío, the sung cry of lament. Its rhythm can sound irregular to a first-time listener: Wikipedia's article on flamenco notes an apparent lack of regular rhythm, especially in the seguiriyas. That is part of why it feels so raw.
The granaína: Granada's own song
The granaína belongs to the levante family of songs and takes its structure from the fandango, as the malagueña does. Most experts credit its creation to Antonio Chacón, who spent a long time in Granada around 1890. It is sung free of a fixed beat, and the guitar is played in a key that suits its high tessitura. Without a fixed beat to follow, the voice has room to stretch each line.
Taranta and the mining songs
The taranta comes from the mining songs. Thousands of Andalusian farm workers, especially from the eastern provinces, migrated to the mining districts of Murcia, where the tarantos and tarantas evolved. In the age of the cafés cantantes some of these songs were separated from the dance and given a free beat, which let performers show off. The venue's guitar page names the taranta among the palos its guitarists play.
The alboreá: a wedding song
The alboreá takes its name from alboradas, from albor, meaning dawn. It is mainly sung at Romani wedding rites, and its words are about marriage, which is why it is rarely heard in a recital. Singers have traditionally believed it brings bad luck if sung outside a wedding. It often opens with a free beginning and then settles into a 12-count pattern. If you hear it on a stage, you are hearing an unusual choice.
Bulerías: the finish
The bulerías is a fast 12-beat style that originated among the Romani people of Jerez in the 19th century, first as an upbeat ending to the soleá. It is among the most popular and dramatic palos, and it often ends a flamenco gathering, with vigorous dancing, stamping and the calls of the artists. Listen for the clapping in groups of six against the twelve-beat cycle, which creates the push-and-pull that makes it feel like a party.
Who this isn't for
If you want a set list or a printed programme, flamenco will disappoint you. The artists choose what to perform on the night, and the venue says only that they move through different palos. Treat this guide as a way to listen, not a promise of what is on. And if you simply want to enjoy the dance and the guitar, you can skip it and let the hour do the work.
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