Talking about Spain we can’t forget to mention flamenco!
This music and dance style has very ancient origins and has been developed in Andalusia through the centuries, where the Gipsy community had a key role in the diffusion of this culture.

Through the years, flamenco differentiated into different styles, called palos. Some of them are very ancient and some others are more recent and modern. There are 50 different ones and some of the most popular names are bulería, tangos and siguiriyas. Palos are classified by their rhythmic pattern, their mode, the chord progression, the form of the verse, or the geographic origin. There are also some big differences among the traditions related to each palo. For example some of them are sung, some are danced, some are only for men, others only for women and some for either sex.

Flamenco dance is highly expressive, especially known for the dramatic movements of the arms and hands together with the stomping of the feet. The dances are improvised along the palo or the rhythm.

Since the second half of the XIX century flamenco artists start arriving in Barcelona and some bars offered shows. Pretty soon the city became one of the most important ones in Spain for flamenco, with the biggest number of bars and shows. The most popular artists were performing here.
As well Catalonia started to have its own flamenco musician and dancers and over the years in this region it developed a particular style, called rumba catalana. This started in the ‘50s and mix together Cuban rumba, flamenco and rock&roll.

In Barcelona, such as in Vic, Tárrega, Lérida and in French Camargue there are big communities of gipsies, who speak Catalan together with Spanish and Caló (the gipsy language) and they use the three of them in their songs too.

The typical bar where there are flamenco shows is called tablao.

Here you will find some of the best places to enjoy a flamenco show together with a drink or a typical Spanish dinner:

-    El Tablao Cordobes
Ramblas, 35
www.tablaocordobes.com
dinner + show, about 50€
drink + show, about 29€

-    El Tablao de Carmen
Avda. Marqués de Comillas s/n (Poble Espanyol)
www.tablaodecarmen.com
Restaurant + show

-    El Tablao Tarantos
Plaça Reial, 17
www.masimas.com

-    El Patio Andaluz
C/ Arribau, 242
www.gargallo-hotels.com
dinner + show, about 67€
drink + show, about 29€

-    El Palacio del Flamenco
C/ Balmes, 139
www.palaciodelflamenco.com
Restaurant + show