Tenley Martin - Transnational Flamenco: Exchange and the Individual in British and Spanish Flamenco Culture

In this book series, we defend leisure as a meaningful, theoretical, framing concept; and critical studies of leisure as a worthwhile intellectual and pedagogical activity. This is what makes this book series distinctive: we want to enhance the discipline of leisure studies and open it up to a richer range of ideas; and, conversely, we want sociology, cultural geographies and other social sciences and humanities to open up to engaging with critical and rigorous arguments from leisure studies. Getting beyond concerns about the grand project of leisure, we will use the series to demonstrate that leisure theory is central to understanding wider debates about identity, postmodernity and globalisation in contemporary societies across the world. The series combines the search for local, qualitatively rich accounts of everyday leisure with the international reach of debates in politics, leisure and social and cultural theory. In doing this, we will show that critical studies of leisure can and should continue to play a central role in understanding society. The scope will be global, striving to be truly international and truly diverse in the range of authors and topics. Editorial Board: John Connell, Professor of Geography, University of Sydney, USA; Yoshitaka Mori, Associate Professor, Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan; Smitha Radhakrishnan, Assistant Professor, Wellesley College, USA; Diane M. Samdahl, Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Georgia, USA; Chiung-Tzu Lucetta Tsai, Associate Professor, National Taipei University, Taiwan; Walter van Beek, Professor of Anthropology and Religion, Tilburg University, The Netherlands; Sharon D. Welch, Professor of Religion and Society, Meadville Theological School, Chicago, USA; Leslie Witz, Professor of History, University of the Western Cape, South Africa.

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Flamenco, an art complex with its roots situated in Andaluca , is often assumed by outsiders to be a representative of a coherent national identity. This is a false assumption, both with regards to the realities of the art form and in terms of Spanish identity. My research suggests flamenco is a subculture appreciated by a minority of Andaluca-centric Spanish aficionados . Most outside of the scene reject it for reasons including identifying with another region, preferring popular music, or negatively associating flamenco with Franco andGitanos. Significantly, as early as the nineteenth century, it developed a considerable following outside of Spains borders amongst non-Spanish aficionados . Utilising information acquired from ethnomusicological fieldwork in Sevilla, Madrid , and the UK, the book examines the relationship between local (Spanish) and foreign flamenco culture. The aim is to provide insight into how flamenco travels, manifestations in its new locale, and possible effects on the Sevilla scene . Preliminary UK investigations revealed sub-scenes revolving around the efforts of singular cultural brokers who developed connections with flamenco in Spain and transported the information to the UK forming a glocal cultural model. This foreign interest has resulted in a commercial flamenco industry in Sevilla, as well as a vibrant associated ex-pat community there. These realisations inspired a methodological approach involving the individual experience and its importance in music migration. Further research revealed that flamenco is transmitted outside of Spain primarily by foreign individuals ( cosmopolitan hubs ) who possess transcultural capital from the Andalucan flamenco community, as well as from their home country. This transcultural capital is utilised to create economic capital in the UK. Overall this research suggests a postnational approach and explores the role of cosmopolitan hubs in cultural transmission , thus suggesting an alternative approach to music migration and glocalisation in a world increasingly less focused on ethnicity or nationality for individual identity formation.