Fandangos de Huelva. Música, género y tradición

Résumé

Among the different musical manifestations that take place in Huelva, the fandangos constitute a very lively musical tradition, of great artistic richness and socio-cultural value, getting to have an emblematic character for its population. They have a wide presence throughout the province and their interpretation takes place in a wide variety of contexts, from deep-rooted music and dance practices to local manifestations that continue to be experienced intensely in their traditional performance contexts, to manifestations that have become part of the profesional world, the commercial circuit and an increasingly global audience. This thesis deals with the study of the musical traditions of fandangos from Huelva at decisive moments of its recent history from the disciplines of ethnomusicology, musicology and from gender studies. It proposes an investigation of diferent musical traditions of fandangos of Huelva in their original context of performance, putting itself in relation to social, ideological and cultural processes in which they take place, as well as certain experiences, meanings and values that people assign to them in those places. The research deepens in the study of the role of women in these musical practices, their role in the conservation and transmission of music and poetry traditions and repertoiresr in musical performances, creative processes, models and constructions of gender. We have focused on three ideal models of study, in which women have made a relevant contribution to musical practice, Three specific contexts in the province of Huelva in which gender is a significant factor: Almonaster la Real, Alosno and the city of Huelva. In the town of Almonaster, women display their own or mostly female fandango performance practices. There we have analyzed their musical activity within the framework of a festive ritual, the May Cross, which represents an emphasized example of the link between the festival and women and where we find a relevant presence of this music, of different variants and manifestations of fandangos sung and played with the tambourine by women. In Alosno, the main nucleus of fandango singing and playing that provides a wide variety of styles, musical richness and outstanding and striking contexts of interpretation such as the colás or Cruces de Mayo, where we examine the contribution of women to this practice, to fandango singing accompanied by the guitar, forms of interpretation, feminine manifestations and strategies of gender performance, identity, affection and feminine subjectivity. In the dynamic and heterogeneous urban framework of the capital Huelva, the feminine musical activity is analyzed, contributions to the recreation of musical styles and expressive forms of women ts singing, presenting a chapter on the Peña Flamenca Femenina de Huelva and another one on female singers of new generations and outstanding professional cantaoras. With the realization of a wide ethnographic field work, musical transcriptions, musical analysis and critical interpretation, this thesis provides original results by exploring gender issues that articulate the musical action, stylistic variants and expressive forms of the female voice in the cante of the fandangos of Huelva.