Flamenco dancer: doll

Flamenco dolls represent flamenco culture, making them an emblem of Spain. A rhythmic style of music and dance, accompanied by hand clapping and interjections, flamenco developed in Southern Spain (Andalusia, Murcia). While the origin is still enigmatic, it seems to lie in the migration of Roma from Rajasthan, India, to Spain from the 9th to 14th centuries. They brought instruments such as tambourines and wooden castanets and a repertoire of songs and dance. The golden age of flamenco is generally considered to be in the 19th century with the rise of cafés cantantes (singing cafés) in major cities such as Seville or Granada. Evoking the vibrant movement of flamenco is a crucial feature of the doll, with its coloured dress, the fringes around the waist that move with the beat and the tambourine that creates the rhythm. Male dancers are also represented, wearing wide-brimmed hats, a fitted dark-coloured suit with elaborate embroidery and black high-heeled flamenco shoes. Found in many European homes, flamenco dolls became popular souvenirs and decorative items following the growth of tourism in Spain from the 1960s onwards. They are also collectors’ items among flamenco enthusiasts. Today, however, they tend to be less popular than in the last decades of the 20th century. The last handmade Spanish manufacturer of flamenco dolls, Muñecas Marín, founded in 1928, closed in 2014, facing a drop in sales and competition from Asia.