Fandangos de Huelva
The fandangos de Huelva are the cantes belonging to the whole province of Huelva, one of the richest and most recognizable centers within the broader family of Andalusian fandangos. Their spread across the province gave rise to a remarkable diversity of local flavors.
In each town of Huelva a name and a personality of its own took shape for the local variant, so that today we speak of different fandangos de Huelva depending on the specific region they come from, all of them united by a shared spirit.
Origin and history
Unlike most fandangos, which lost their dance function when they became flamenco, the fandangos de Huelva kept the compás and the festive character from their folkloric root right up to today. They developed out of the popular jotas and fandangos that circulated through the Andalusian southwest, becoming established as their own genre during the 19th century in various towns of the sierra and countryside of Huelva.
Towns such as Alosno, Almonaster la Real, Calañas, Cabezas Rubias, Valverde del Camino, El Cerro de Andévalo and Santa Bárbara de Casa gave their names to their own variants, each with characteristic melodic turns and lyrics. El Rocío and the province’s patron saint festivals served as fertile ground for their spread and for the fixing of this repertoire.
In the 20th century the fandango de Huelva became hugely popular thanks to radio, contests and recordings, and it was organized around groups and “cuadrillas” of cantaores and guitarists who still keep the tradition alive in the province today.
Musical characteristics and compás
It is a cante with compás, usually in a ternary rhythm close to 3/4, with a lively, marked tempo that allows for dance accompaniment. The guitar develops a characteristic introduction and “remates” between tercios, and is usually played “por medio” (with capo) to give brightness to the whole.
It is usually performed in rounds of several linked fandangos, alternating different local styles, and is often also accompanied by palmas and, in its more popular, festive version, by dance.
Representative cantaores and performers
The tradition of the fandangos de Huelva has been passed down above all through local cantaores and families of the province, many of them less known outside Andalusia than other figures of cante jondo. Among the historic names associated with its spread and consolidation, Paco Toronjo stands out as one of the great specialists of the genre, along with cantaores linked to Alosno and the various cuadrillas of Huelva who popularized the style throughout the 20th century.
Relationship with other palos
The fandangos de Huelva belong to the great family of fandangos, of which they form the branch that best preserves the original danceable, festive character. They are related to the fandanguillos and to other popular fandangos of the Andalusian southwest, and they share a common trunk with the personal or “natural” fandangos, from which they differ by always keeping the compás.