Polos
Polos are paired with the caña, one of the cantes considered a mother style of flamenco, and share much of their structure with it, along with touches of soleá. Their emergence as a flamenco style dates to the early 19th century, in the earliest documented period of cante.
Its creation is attributed to Tobalo of Ronda, an early figure in the history of flamenco whose authorship, though legendary, has become fixed in oral tradition as the origin of this palo.
Origin and history
The polo belongs to the group of the oldest documented flamenco cantes, its emergence dating to the early years of the 19th century, in the period when cante jondo was beginning to take shape as a distinct genre out of the tonás. Oral tradition attributes its creation to Tobalo of Ronda, one of those legendary names from the origins of flamenco of whom barely any records survive beyond the attribution of the style itself.
Its close relationship with the caña —to the point of being considered almost the same cante with variations— places the polo within the primitive core of the basic or “mother” cantes of flamenco, those from which more elaborate styles would later derive. Over time, the polo incorporated melodic touches from the soleá, revealing the constant dialogue among the different primitive palos as they formed and settled during the 19th century.
As with much of the cante from this very early period, documentary information about its specific evolution is scarce, and much of what is known comes from oral tradition passed down among generations of cantaores.
Musical characteristics and compás
The polo is sung to compás, generally following the same rhythmic scheme as the caña, a twelve-beat compás related to that of the soleá, though with a melodic character of its own that sets it apart from the latter. Its tonality and melismatic development reflect the imprint of the oldest cantes jondos, with a grave, solemn expressiveness.
It is usually closed with a macho or festive ending, a common device in cantes of this family that eases the dramatic tension of the main body of the cante and serves as a transition to other styles within a performance.
Representative cantaores and performers
The foundational figure tradition associates with the polo is Tobalo, the cantaor from Ronda credited with its creation, though barely any records of him survive beyond that legendary authorship, common to several of the oldest cantes in flamenco. There is no extensive, well-documented list of later performers specializing in this palo, given its status as a minor cante within the current repertoire.
Relationship with other palos
The polo belongs to the group of the tonás, the large family of primitive cantes originally sung without guitar accompaniment, from which the caña, the deblas, and the martinetes also derive, among others. Its closest link is with the caña, with which it shares structure and compás, and to a lesser extent with the soleá, whose melodic touches it gradually incorporated over time.