Find out what pain sounds like at the Flamenco Biënnale

Jan 18, 2013 | by Laura | Event, Music

About the author

Laura is a 25 year old nonpracticing psychologist. As a hopeless romantic she loves to write, dream and wander around the city looking for new adventures and inspirations. Stay tuned for an inside peek into the daily life of one of Amsterdam's inhabitants!

Next week, the Flamenco Biënnale will bring Spanish flair to our capital. This fourth edition will again be all about rhythm, passionate dancing and clapping of the castanets. Flamenco has its roots in southern Spain, where it evolved to a combination of traditional Andalusian and Romani styles. The canto reflects the typical intense temperament of these people, and is all about the expression of profound emotions, pain, heartache and nostalgia. Not having a place, a homeland, has always been a major source of inspiration for different forms of art, and it certainly has a big part in this one.

Hurt

If you’re thinking of a pink bird now, you should definitely watch this documentary. It’s called El Canto Bueno Duele, which translates as ‘good singing hurts’, and was made as an introduction to the previous edition of the Biënnale. This film covers the essence of the music and gypsy culture in Spain, and the way emotions are canalized into the songs and the dancing. As famous singer Morao explains in the first scene; cuando canto, la boca me sabe a sangre (when I sing, my mouth tastes like blood). That’s what makes this music so intense, powerful and beautiful at the same time. Flamenco, in my opinion, is a beautiful way to express pain.

Maybe this is all a bit too intense for us, inhabitants of the frog-country. The Flamenco Biënnale however, is a diverse and accessible event, where you can discover a variety of styles and musical genres. With workshops, shows and lectures there’s something for everyone. Flamenco from all over the world, where traditional cajóns and modern twists come together in spectacular shows on six locations. With prominent singers like Diego El Cigala, who’s famous for his modern Latin-American-Flamenco-Fusion. If you’re up for some beautiful misery, visit one of the shows and submerge yourself in the Spanish tragedy of the Flamenco.