The eastern sound
Cantes de Levante, explained
The cantes de Levante are the flamenco songs of Spain's east, tied to Murcia's mining towns. What they are, who sings them and how they relate to Alicante.
Book flamenco in Alicante ↗Quick answer
The cantes de Levante are a group of flamenco songs from eastern Andalusia, from Almería to Valencia, also called cantes de las minas. Spain's tourist board says Murcia fused Andalusian flamenco with the cantes and fandangos of its mining towns. They are a regional tradition, not a standard part of a tablao programme.
What they are
Studio Flamenco describes the cantes de Levante as a group of flamenco songs from eastern Andalusia, from Almería to Valencia, including Granada and Murcia. The name refers to the region's eastern position. The page says they are also called cantes de las minas, because the region is mining country and many of the songs are about miners' experiences. It names tarantas, tarantos, mineras, fandangos mineros, murcianas, cartageneras and granaínas among them.
A family of fandangos
Studio Flamenco says these forms are essentially fandangos, similar to the fandangos of Málaga. Wikipedia lists cartageneras and tarantas among the free cantes derived from fandangos, and says fandangos orientales originated in the eastern part of Andalusia and Murcia. Free here means without a fixed beat: Wikipedia's page on tarantas calls it a cante libre, with no fixed compás or regular beat. It is a quite different sound from a dance rhythm such as tangos, which runs in a steady four.
Murcia's part
UNESCO says flamenco has roots in regions such as Murcia and Extremadura, and Spain's tourist board says Murcia took the flamenco of Andalusia and fused it with the cantes and fandangos emerging from its mining towns. Wikipedia adds that eastern Andalusian peasants emigrated to Murcian mining sites, where the tarantos and taranta evolved. That is the story of the east: a flamenco that travelled with workers and took on a local character.
How the sound differs
Studio Flamenco says the distinctive tono of the tarantos is centred on F sharp phrygian, and that the granaínas use B phrygian. Wikipedia says tarantas and taranto share a modality and a harmonic progression, and that on the guitar both draw a distinctive sound from dissonances among the first three open strings. You do not need the theory to hear the difference in rhythm: tarantas has no fixed beat, so it floats, while a dance palo keeps time.
The festival at La Unión
Festivales de España describes the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas as a flamenco competition held each summer in La Unión, Murcia, and says its top prize, the Lámpara Minera, goes to the best cantaor of each edition. It names Camarón de la Isla, Carmen Linares, Mayte Martín and Miguel Poveda among past winners, and the venue as the Catedral del Cante, a former public market. Spain's tourist board also lists the festival as an event of Murcia.
Tarantas and taranto
Wikipedia says tarantas and taranto are two related styles from Almería province that share a modality and a harmonic progression but differ in rhythm. Tarantas is a cante libre and cannot be danced, while taranto has a regular 2/4 meter and is danceable. For the listener the difference is the beat: one floats, the other keeps time. Both belong to the eastern family of cantes that Studio Flamenco groups under the cantes de Levante.
Who sings them
Studio Flamenco names Carmen Linares, Rafael Riqueni, Luis de Córdoba, Ramón de Algeciras, Camarón de la Isla and Paco de Lucía as performers on its sample recordings of these styles, and says Antonio Chacón created the media granaína version of the granaína. It also names Frasquito Yerbabuena, an amateur singer from Granada, in connection with the granaínas. Festivales de España lists Camarón de la Isla and Carmen Linares among winners of the Lámpara Minera. The names show how far these songs travelled from the mining towns into the wider flamenco repertoire.
What this means in Alicante
The cantes de Levante are a regional tradition, tied by these sources to Almería, Murcia and the mining towns, and not a promised part of a tablao programme in Alicante. The booking page for El Mentidero describes singing, guitar and dance without listing styles, and programmes change with the artists. If a tarantas or a minera appears, you will know what you are hearing. If not, the standard palos in the palos guide are the likelier sounds. For a longer look at the tradition itself, the festival at La Unión is where the genre is competed and celebrated each summer.
Read next: Palos you may hear in Alicante
Frequently asked questions
What are the cantes de Levante?
A group of flamenco songs from eastern Andalusia, from Almería to Valencia, also called cantes de las minas.
Why are they called cantes de las minas?
Studio Flamenco says the region is mining country and many songs are about miners' experiences.
Will I hear them in Alicante?
Possibly, but no style can be promised. Programmes change with the night's artists.
Where is the Cante de las Minas festival?
In La Unión, Murcia, each summer, according to Festivales de España.
Sources