"La Barrosa" (meaning ''Mud coloured''
) is a
flamenco
Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...
piece by Spanish virtuoso guitarist
Paco de Lucía
Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flame ...
. An
alegrías
''Alegrías'' () is a flamenco palo or musical form, which has a rhythm consisting of 12 beats. It is similar to Soleares. Its beat emphasis is as follows: 1 2 '' 4 5 '' 7 '' 9 0'' 11 2''. Alegrías originated in Cádiz. Alegrías belongs to ...
, it featured on his 1987 album ''
Siroco'' and is one of his best known and acclaimed works. The piece is named after
Playa la Barrosa
Playa de la Barrosa is a long beach in the municipality of Chiclana de la Frontera, Province of Cádiz, Spain. It was the site of the Battle of Barrosa in 1811. It is separated from the Playa de Sancti Petri by a cliff. The resort of Novo Sanc ...
, a 6 km long beach in
Chiclana de la Frontera
Chiclana de la Frontera () is a town and municipality in southwestern Spain, in the province of Cádiz, Andalucía, near the Gulf of Cádiz. It belongs to the association of municipalities of the Bay of Cádiz (Bahía de Cádiz), the provincial c ...
,
Cadiz.
He has performed it all across the world including a performance in front of the
Plaza Mayor in Madrid in 1996 and televised nationally on
TVE1
La 1 (, ''The One'') is a Spanish free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Televisión Española (TVE), the television division of state-owned public broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE). It is the corporation's flagship te ...
. It is played in the key of B major with a
capo on the second fret.
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
and
Richard Chapman described the piece as "full of effortless delicacy with cascading phrases".
References
External links
1996 performance of La Barrosa in Madrid
Flamenco compositions
Paco de Lucía songs
1987 compositions
{{1980s-song-stub