The Petenera 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 ...
palo
Palo may refer to:
Places
* Palo, Argentina, a village in Argentina
* Palo, Estonia, village in Meremäe Parish, Võru County, Estonia
* Palo, Huesca, municipality in the province of Huesca, Spain
* Palo, Iowa, United States, a town located wit ...
in a 12-beat
metre
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...
, with strong
beats distributed as follows:
2''
2]
''
5]
''
''
''
''
0''
1 It is therefore identical with the 16th century
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
dances
zarabanda and the
jácara.
The
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a " libretto" and their writer, ...
are in 4-line stanzas.
It is believed to be a very old style of song, as it was already mentioned by writer Serafín Estébanez Calderón in the mid 19th century, and the adherence to the rhythm of the old
zarabanda seems to confirm its age. Several theories have been suggested as to its origin, although there is not enough evidence to sustain any of them unerringly:
* Theory of
Paterna
Paterna is a city and a municipality in the province of Valencia in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located northeast of the comarca of '' L'Horta de Valencia'', northwest of the inland suburbs of Valencia, and on the left bank of the riv ...
. This popular theory sustains that this ''palo'' originated in the town of
Paterna de Rivera in the
Province of Cádiz. According to a legend, the name of the song refers to a ''cantaora'' (woman singer) called "La Petenera", who was born there. She was reported to be, owing to her seduction power, the "damnation of men". The name "Petenera" would be a phonetic corruption of "Paternera" (born in Paterna). This theory was sustained by folklorist
Demófilo.
* Theory of the Jewish origin. According to this theory, suggested by flamencologist Hipólito Rossy, the petenera originated in the songs of
Sephardi Jews
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
. He even assured that Sephardi Jews in the Balkans still sang the lyrics that contain the verse of the Petenera as the "damnation of men"
* Some modern theories situate the origin of the Petenera in
Petén, a department (administrative region) of
Guatemala.
Sources
*ÁLVAREZ CABALLERO, Ángel: ''La discoteca ideal del flamenco'', Planeta, 1995
*CASTAÑO, José María:
Conferencia sobre la Serranía de Cádiz y sus cantes, Circuito "Caminos del Flamenco" de la Diputación de Cádiz, Peña Flamenca de Grazalema, 26 de mayo de 2001.
*MARTÍN SALAZAR, Jorge: ''Los cantes flamencos'', Diputación Provincial de Granada
*ROSSY, Hipólito: ''Teoría del cante jondo'', CREDSA, second edition, 1998 (first edition 1966)
References
Flamenco styles
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