What flamenco is NOT

It's not a pink bird
You would think this goes without saying, but it's amazing how many people say flamingo when they want to describe Spanish music or dance.

In the minds of these   people there must be some connection between a tropical wading bird and Andalucian gypsy music, but one can only speculate as to what that connection could possibly be. Perhaps if I can convince my therapist to increase my medication, I will begin to understand what this flamingo business is all about.

But let's not be too harsh on the general public because a lot of the blame for these strange ideas has to go to inferior definitions like this; "The word flamenco is derived from association with flamingos. The movements made during the dance are likened to those made by the elegant bird."

Duh! Talk about clueless. Even the Encarta dictionary spreads this sort of silliness. Through a bizarre twist of logic, the old Dutch word "Vlaming" (with a presumed Latin root) is touted as being theoretically responsible for two completely different words, flamingo and flamenco. Consequently, the phonetic similarity of the two words lingers on as a linguistic curse we cannot escape from.

The most unfortunate aspect of all this is that once someone has learned to say something one way, it sticks for life. Example: I know some adults who say "sumfink" instead of "something". The flamingo - flamenco anomaly is a bit like the sloppy street language that passes for English in some chat rooms and message forums. im shure u no wot i meen.


In the real world, flamingo still means a pink tropical bird and can never mean anything else. To my dismay, I have discovered there is no point in trying to educate someone to say flamenco instead of flamingo. My best advice is to just take a deep breath and walk the other way because you're in the wrong neighborhood. A flamingo is very pretty, I'll grant you that, but it doesn't have a clue about dancing in compás. I've often wondered what it tastes like.
Feeling hungry: Check out this recipe for Boiled Flamingo

Random Quotes I found on the Web

Sam learned flamingo guitar at the knee of his Cuban grandfather
...great fun with flamingo guitar ... - CD review
It has an old world flamingo flavor that puts you into the streets of Madrid - CD review
...while the flamingo guitar plays softly
a splash of flamingo guitar, and captivating rhythms. - CD review
Hobbies: Skiing, reading, jogging and flamingo guitar
has a Hawaiian flavor with a flamingo guitar riff.

I can't remember the last time I heard a gypsy refer to a flamenco falseta as a "lick" or a "riff". Excuse me while I turn off my wah wah pedal. I'm sorry. I don't get out much. Gosh! I only recently discovered what a power chord is. Now I know why "tuff" musicians in noisy bands sling their guitars down around their groin.

Still confused? Please listen closely.
Flamingo	Flamenco
Get it straight - It's FLAMENCO
Don't be a goose ALL your life

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