Flamenco, Flamenquismo, and Social Control

This chapter describes how, toward the end of the nineteenth century, journalists and social scientists concerned about social degeneration and the moral effects of Madrid’s nightlife gradually turned their attention away from the Gypsy and the señorito, that is, the rich Andalusian immigrant who organized flamenco juergas or gatherings in Madrid. Instead, these writers focused on the environment in which flamenco was performed. They used their publications to present Madrid as a den of vice and degeneration and to call the authorities to take measures to prevent the rise of scandals and crime in Madrid’s drinking establishments. Madrid’s authorities responded by passing legislation aimed at restricting the operating times of cafés and protecting the peace of residents from the “noise” of taverns. The lobbying by representatives of the powerful alcohol industry, however, rendered those measures fruitless in the long term.