Verdiales ( Spanish Verdiales - a variety of olives from Malaga that remain green and after ripening) is a flamenco musical style belonging to folk songs ( Spanish Canté Chico ).
Originating in the area of the Spanish port of Malaga ( Andalusia , Spain ), the Verdiales took the Spanish folk dance - fandango (therefore, the Malaga fandango is sometimes also called it). Verdiales, as a rule, was performed at large peasant festivals accompanied by an orchestra called the panda . The instrumental group traditionally consisted of a violin, a tambourine, 2–4 guitars, at least 2 cymbals, castanets, and sometimes a mandolin joined. All the dancers, musicians and singers in the local dialect were called “Verdiales's Group”, and the performance itself was called “Verdiales's Holiday”. Peasant origin of this style significantly influenced the style of its execution. Performed mainly in E-major (less often in A-minor), Verdiales has a 12-long rhythmic pattern, similar to Soaleres and Boolerias .
From a musical point of view, Verdiales is of great interest for three reasons:
- prescription of its origin: according to experts of flamenco , Verdiles is the earliest form of fandango in Malaga, and possibly the whole fandango of Andalusia. There is an opinion that “the Malagan fandango is the oldest fandango in the history of Spain”;
- his originality: it is about the peasant origin of style; according to experts, the rural execution of Verdiales has changed very little and has retained its original, harsh and authentic nature;
- its relevance: in contrast to other Andalusian celebratory performances, which have lost their relevance due to changes in the cultural environment, the art of Verdiales continues to be transmitted from father to son in our time; therefore, in this case we are talking about real live folklore.
Up until the middle of the 20th century, the Verdiales were attributed to rural folklore, but the mass migration of peasants from village to city gradually brought the urban population closer to this type of fandango, over time, Verdiales became practically a symbol of Malaga.