The Petenera is a
flamenco
Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...
palo in a 12-beat
metre
The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
, with strong
beats distributed as follows:
2''
2]
''
5]
''
''
''
''
0''
1 It is therefore identical with the 16th century
Spanish dances
zarabanda and the
jácara.
The
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
are in 4-line stanzas.
It is believed to be a very old style of song, as it was already mentioned by writer Serafín Estébanez Calderón in the mid 19th century, and the adherence to the rhythm of the old
zarabanda seems to confirm its age. Several theories have been suggested as to its origin, although there is not enough evidence to sustain any of them unerringly:
* Theory of
Paterna. This popular theory sustains that this ''palo'' originated in the town of
Paterna de Rivera in the
Province of Cádiz
Cádiz is a Provinces of Spain, province of southern Spain, in the southwestern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is the southernmost part of mainland Spain, as well as the southernmost part of ...
. According to a legend, the name of the song refers to a ''cantaora'' (woman singer) called "La Petenera", who was born there. She was reported to be, owing to her seduction power, the "damnation of men". The name "Petenera" would be a phonetic corruption of "Paternera" (born in Paterna). This theory was sustained by folklorist
Demófilo.
* Theory of the Jewish origin. According to this theory, suggested by flamencologist Hipólito Rossy, the petenera originated in the songs of
Sephardi Jews
Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
. He even assured that Sephardi Jews in the Balkans still sang the lyrics that contain the verse of the Petenera as the "damnation of men"
* Some modern theories situate the origin of the Petenera in
Petén, a department (administrative region) of
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
.
Sources
*ÁLVAREZ CABALLERO, Ángel: ''La discoteca ideal del flamenco'', Planeta, 1995
*CASTAÑO, José María:
Conferencia sobre la Serranía de Cádiz y sus cantes, Circuito "Caminos del Flamenco" de la Diputación de Cádiz, Peña Flamenca de Grazalema, 26 de mayo de 2001.
*MARTÍN SALAZAR, Jorge: ''Los cantes flamencos'', Diputación Provincial de Granada
*ROSSY, Hipólito: ''Teoría del cante jondo'', CREDSA, second edition, 1998 (first edition 1966)
References
Flamenco styles
{{music-genre-stub