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Gypsies (Roma ) arrived in Eastern Europe in the 14th century and in Andalucía in the 15th century. Linguistic research shows that their language, Romany, was related to ancient dialects from northern India. Why they left India is unclear, but was possibly due to war with invading Muslims.

Although gypsies have remained outsiders throughout their history, they found a more congenial civilization in Andalucía than anywhere else. The culture was decidedly Middle Eastern and not dissimilar to that of their native land. With the Christian reconquest, however, “pagan” gypsies were forced into hiding or into further wanderings.

Fortunately for Andalucían culture, many gypsies stayed, and eventually developed a unique strain of music, flamenco, drawing on Arabic, Jewish and Byzantine sources, as well as their own Indian traditions. Similar to the American Blues, it is the raucous, rhythmic music of the dispossessed and marginalized, full of pathos and catharsis. The word flamenco is probably a corruption of the Arabic felag mengu (fugitive peasant), an epithet that 19th-century Andalucían gypsies used with one another.

Similarities between Middle Eastern and North African dance forms and flamenco are obvious. But using the feet to create rapid and complex staccato rhythms, combined with the expressive arm and hand gestures, clearly resembles traditional kathak dancing from northern India, confirming its true roots.

The six-stringed flamenco guitar can be traced back to the medieval lute. Compared to the classical guitar, it is lighter, shallower and less resonant, so that it can be played extremely fast, and also features a thick plate below the soundhole for tapping out rhythms.

A few of the names who advanced the art include: singers El Fillo and La Niña de los Peines; guitarist Paco de Lucía; and dancers La Macarrona and Carmen Amaya.

This strident dance, with clapping rhythms, has been infused with the flamenco spirit. It is danced with enthusiasm at festivals throughout the region.

Andalucían gypsies have a reputation for their ability to train their steeds. To watch a gypsy horseman putting an animal through its paces is to witness an amazing display of communication between man and beast.

In remote hills and mountains gypsies escaped Christian persecution by turning caves into homes. Although flooding and other natural mishaps have decimated these communities in recent decades, many gypsies return to their former dwellings to perform lively and authentic flamenco shows for visitors.

Historically, flamenco is an improvized performance that arises spontaneously from a gathering, but the rule these days tends towards scheduled spectacles. Still, if the mood is right, these events still generate a great deal of emotion.