Flamenco-rock is a popular Spanish dance and music genre.
Layers of historic traditions and deep roots combine with European and African influences to form Spain's greatest glory: its culture. Spain's cosmopolitan architects, artists, filmmakers, musicians, and writers contributed everything from Gothic spires to unmistakable flamenco-rock sounds, from Goya to film stars Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Spanish culture is one of the country's greatest exports.
Early Music
In early Spain, music depended on Roman, Moorish, and Italian influences. The Mozarabic Chant and a form of light opera called Zarzuela are two genres developed specifically in Spain. Flamenco developed regionally, then spread throughout Spain over centuries.
20th- and 21st-Century Music
Spain relied on outside influences through the 20th century, borrowing from rock and pop to suit Spanish tastes. In the 1970s and 1980s, Madrid's Movida movement heated up innovation in the Spanish music scene. Top recording artists included Mecano, Héroes del Silencio, Gabinete Caligari, and Alaska.
Spain's current music scene spans hip-hop to flamenco. Along with Spanish versions of rock, pop, punk, and hip-hop, there is a popular Spanish techno genre known as Bakalao. New flamenco genres including nuevo flamenco, flamenco-rock, and flamenco fusion, bring a surge of new life into a traditional favorite.
Besides popular music, Spain has produced world-class composers and classical musicians. World-renowned artists include composers Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, Manuel de Falla, and Federico Mompou, cellist Pablo Casals, guitarist Andrés Segovia, pianists Alicia de Larrocha and Esteban Sánchez, and opera singers Victoria de los Angeles and Placido Domingo.
Dance
Regional dance is a popular staple in Spain. Examples are the sardana from Cataluña, a group circle dance, flamenco and sevillanas from Andalucía, and muñeira from Galicia and Asturias. Widespread are regional variations to the jota, a castanet dance. Today a fusion of Spanish styles, as exemplified by flamenco, flamenco-ballet, and contemporary dance, dominates Spain.
Early Art
Art existed in Spain from the beginning of the peninsula's history. Some early examples include the Altamira cave paintings in Cantabria (reproductions can be seen in Madrid). El Greco joined Diego Velásquez at the pinnacle of Spanish painting during the Renaissance, and Goya was the great Spanish painter of the Romantic era.
20th- and 21st-Century Art
Dali's surrealism dominated Spanish art in the 20th century.
In the 20th century, Picasso and Juan Gris in cubism and Salvador Dali and Joan Miró in surrealism dominated Spanish painting. Highly influential in sculpture was Eduardo Chillida, whose art decorates many public areas in Spain.
Popular modern artists include Christine Lecrivain, Luis Bujalance, Nathalie Prados, and Isabel Rondle.
Cinematic Art
In recent decades, the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers and regional cinema produced strong box office appeal, bringing Spanish cinema critical international acclaim. Three directors of the 1980s and 1990s launched this new era: Jaime Camino, who directed the historical drama "Dragon Rapide" (1986), Ventura Pons with urban comedies set in Barcelona and Luna, and cult figure Pedro Almodóvar, who attained international celebrity status, winning Oscars in 1999 and 2002. Spain's most influential and infamous auteur director is Luis Buñuel, who collaborated with Dali on the well-known surreal silent film "Un chien andalou" (1929).
