Flamenco and Memory in Post-Dictatorial Spain

In this event, Carlos van Tongeren (University of Manchester) and Pedro Ordóñez Eslava (Universidad de Granada) will publicly launch their research project “Flamenco after Franco: New Interdisciplinary Approaches to Performances of Memory in Post-Dictatorial Spain”, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Between 2021 and 2023, they will create an international network of scholars and flamenco artists to investigate how personal and collective memories of the Franco-dictatorship (1939-1975) have shaped the musical culture of flamenco, and to explore interdisciplinary and artistic methods for the transmission of that knowledge in a transnational context. The unresolved legacy of the Franco-dictatorship still causes heated debates, and this is one of the first projects that will examine in detail how Spain’s complex past has impacted flamenco. In the presentation, they will introduce the key objectives of their project, give an overview of activities that will be taking place in the United Kingdom, Spain and beyond, and give musical examples to illustrate what their research is about.