Learn a complete choreography in the style of Tangos de Triana, inspired by legendary artist El Titi.

This is one of many choregraphies that will be performed in the 2022 Student Showcase and celebrates a particular style of Tangos from the infamous Triana neighborhood of Sevilla, from which many celebrated flamenco styles have emerged. In particular, this Tangos from Triana is made entirely of verses attributed to the singer and dancer El Titi from Triana. Movements from this piece are inspired by his style of dance, one that is playful and lively. Suitable for all levels.

What is a Tangos Flamenco?

All styles within this complex base their rhythm in the tango pattern, called the ​habanera​, originating in Cuba and landing in Cádiz in the 19th century. The habanera is said to have come from the contradanzas (​contradances​) that arrived in the Americas during the 18th century, brought by African slaves to Santiago de Cuba. From there it made its way to Havana, where it continued to evolve in the first half of the 19th century. And from Cuba, it made its way to the Iberian Peninsula via ships that traveled between the caribbean and Iberian coastal areas, such as Cádiz, where it continued its evolution under new influences. Like the fandangos, its ending ‘-ngo’ in tango etymologically confirms its Afro-Latin-American roots.

When the habanera first arrived in Cádiz in the 19th century, it first appeared in zarzuelas (Spanish musical theater), which helped spread its influence to other important flamenco cities in Spain, such as Sevilla, Granada, and Málaga. It was referred to as a ‘habanera’ when performed in its slower, sentimental form and as a ‘tango​ ​americano’ when performed in a more festive, jovial manner. From this latter version of tangos, the tanguillos or ‘the tango of Cádiz’ was born, a style performed in minor or major mode and in 6/8 time. Singers who specialized in these tangos at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century were called ‘tangueros’ or ‘tangueras.’ 

Because these tangos were not yet entirely accepted as members of the flamenco repertoire, these singers were not considered as equal to other flamenco singers. But, these artists were vital to the creative evolution of what would become the flamenco tangos (and variants) that are so celebrated today. 

Artists, pioneered by singers like El Mellizo, solidified tangos as a flamenco form by changing the tone from major or minor to ​por medio​ (also called flamenco or phrygian mode, the same mode as the seguiriya and soleá), with the feel of the tango de Cádiz, but set to a slower pace. The first flamenco tango to emerge from this recipe was the tientos, originally in 6/8 time. 

Tangos that developed in western Andalusia (Cádiz and Sevilla/Triana for example) preserved a deeper African stylistic influence, especially in the dance, due to the prevalent presence of African slaves in these port cities and the artistic exchanged that traveled between these ports and Latin America. In eastern Andalusia (Granada most notably), the longer influence of Arabic rulers (the Moors) in this region gave eastern tangos a more Arabic-stylistic feel, with movements that reflect the long and important presence of Arabic leaders in this part of Andalusia. 

The crystallization process of the tangos family also involved a process of rhythmic binarization, consisting of creating a binary (2/4) rhythm out of the original African 6/8 rhythm. Over time, this binarization process would enter and nourish the rhythmic characteristics of almost all the styles of the tangos generic complex, adding a new rhythmic family to the genre of flamenco in the 1880s, which until then had been dominated by ternary rhythms. 

The styles that would come to acquire the binary rhythm (or in the case of polyrhythmic styles, those that would include this rhythm) consist of: tangos, tientos, tanguillos, farruca, garrotín, rumbas, colombianas, milongas, vidalitas, zambras, as well as tarantos from the fandangos generic complex.