Duende flamenco

A pure flamenco term that is difficult to explain

The concept of duende flamenco is not easy to understand. Any flamenco artist will say, “You either have it or you don’t.” It is difficult to explain as it is so spiritual and spontaneous that it is not possible to give it a specific meaning.

What does the expression “duende flamenco” mean?

There is no one definition of the duende, but some flamenco studies define it as the ability that a flamenco artist has to excite the audience during the live performance of a flamenco show. It is the emotional state of the artist that becomes an expression of flamenco. Even the Real Academia Española can’t really give a true meaning, defining the duende as a mysterious and ethereal spirit.

The nearest possible way to identify the duende flamenco would be to look at the definitions of renowned flamenco artists and scholars. Federico García Lorca described the duende flamenco as “a power but not an action, a struggle but not a thought.” The academic, Anselmo González Climent, defines it as “ a special state of flamenco grace.”

The great flamenco singer, Manuel Torre, tells the story of what he said to a friend, “You have a voice, you understand about styles but you will never triumph because you don’t have the duende.” This anecdote shows that not all flamenco artists have this special gift, the spirit of flamenco, el duende.

Federico García Lorca and the duende flamenco

Federico García Lorca lived flamenco from when he was born as he was constantly surrounded by flamenco artists from his mother to his great uncle, who was an expert in habeas, a rough and sombre style of flamenco song.

Lorca gave his famous speech entitled “Theory and Play of the Duende Flamenco” in Buenos Aires in 1933.

The duende is closely linked to flamenco culture, but Lorca defines it as a universal concept. In this fragment of his poem he refers to the duende flamenco, “And Manuel Torre, the man with the highest level of culture in his blood, said, while listening to Falla perform his Nights in the Generalife, this splendid phrase, ‘All the dark sounds have duende’.”

Knowing more about Lorca’s opinion about the concept of the duende flamenco, we can say that for him, the duende has nothing to do with social class, nor nationality, o education, it is something natural that flows in the blood of flamenco artists capable of provoking emotion in the audience. 

Artists renowned for their duende flamenco

There are many well-known flamenco artists that have the gift of the duende flamenco, but, without a doubt the artist that stands out for his possession of the duende is the legendary Camarón de la Isla. This flamenco singer said that the duende flamenco, “can’t be explained, sometimes I do something in my song that I have never done before and that I couldn’t repeat even if I wanted to.”

Other artists famous for their duende flamenco include: Pepe el Lebrijano, Enrique Morente, Carmen Linares and Paco de Lucía amongst others.

The duende flamenco at Teatro Flamenco Sevilla

If you want to experience the duende flamenco in a live flamenco show, don’t miss Passion, the most exciting flamenco show in Seville, performed by a cast of the Teatro Flamenco Sevilla’s best flamenco artists. Duende or no duende, that’s for you to decide. Don’t miss out, book your tickets here.