The word jaleo has several meanings. In this post we explain all the meanings that can be found in the world of flamenco.
If we go back to the 19th century, jaleo appears as a term under which a great variety of musical and dance forms coexisted; the Olé, Vito, the Boleras de Jaleo…. All of them are precedents to flamenco styles such as cantiñas, soleares and bulerías.
In the press of this century, the term jaleo appeared as a “way of doing” the different types of music, associated with the gypsy people.
The jaleo dances appear as direct precedents of flamenco dance.
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Jaleando a la puerta del cortijo. Manuel Cabral Aguado Bejarano. 1854
Bulla
This term appears as one of the synonyms of jaleo. It is defined as “shouting or noise made by one or more people”. In flamenco we can associate it with the effect of “jalear”. That is to say, to make a noise with the clapping of the hands or the voice or a shout that encourages those who dance, sing or play with words like ole, arsa, agua, ¡vamos allá!
In short, the noise creates a festive atmosphere.
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Fuensanta La Moneta en Cardamomo
Jaleos extremeños
This is a palo (style) associated with the Spanish province of Extremadura. It maintains a fairly close relationship with the gypsy people, being a style used for partying. They are short songs that are performed within the compás and tonality of bulerías.
In tablaos such as Cardamomo you can see great flamenco figures dancing this style. It is a very complex palo to perform due to its lack of structure and the brevity of its lyrics. It is a style for which the bailaor or bailaora has to have a large number of resources, as it can become monotonous.
