''Cante jondo'' (Andalusian ) is a vocal style in

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

, an unspoiled form of Andalusian folk music. The name means "deep song" in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, with ''hondo'' ("deep") spelled with J () as a form of eye dialect, because traditional Andalusian pronunciation has retained an aspirated H lost in other forms of Spanish. It is generally considered that the common traditional classification of flamenco music is divided into three groups of which the deepest, most serious forms are known as ''cante jondo''.

Cultural references to ''cante jondo''

In 1922 the Spanish composer

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first ...

led in the organization of the

Concurso de Cante Jondo El Concurso del Cante Jondo (Contest of the Deep Song) was a fiesta of flamenco arts, music, song, and dance, held in Granada in 1922. Conceived and initiated by composer Manuel de Falla, it enjoyed early and strong support from the poet Federico ...

for Granada. Many classical

musicians A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

, cultural and literary figures, including the young poet

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

, participated in the program. The result was the memorable series of

performances held at the Alhambra during June. Lorca had evidently used the title ' for a 1921 collection of poems, although he did not publish it for ten years. In 1931, García Lorca presented a conference devoted to keeping the rich tradition of the ''cante jondo'' alive. The following is translated from the conference notes by Lorca:

The ''cante jondo'' approaches the rhythm of the birds and the natural music of the black poplar and the waves; it is simple in oldness and style. It is also a rare example of primitive song, the oldest of all Europe, where the ruins of history, the lyrical fragment eaten by the sand, appear live like the first morning of its life. The illustrious Falla, who studied the question attentively, affirms that the
gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
'' siguiriya'' is the song type of the group ''cante jondo'' and declares that it is the only song on our continent that has been conserved in its pure form, because of its composition and its style and the qualities it has in itself, the primitive songs of the oriental people.Paraphrased slightly fro
"Cante Jondo" by Federico García Lorca
as translated on the Casa de la Guitarra Española site; the liberty has been taken of correcting their mistakes in English spelling and usage.

Notes

Flamenco Andalusian music {{Music-genre-stub es:Flamenco#Cante jondo