The Celts in Spain

Critics, theories and facts
The Celts Settled in Spain between 1,000BC and 1,000AD, mainly in the Northern areas of Galicia and Asturias. Some sources put their initial immigration as early as 7,000BC. They mixed with the indigenous Iberians and became known as the Celtiberians.

Iberian Celts in Ireland
"Ancient traditions in Ireland have it that the early Celtic invaders there were from Iberia (now Spain) -- they were thought to be Celtic seafarers from the northern portions of the Iberian peninsula. Writer Thomas Cahill ("How the Irish Saved Civilization") contends that some of the early Irish Celts were from Britain, but the dominant Celts there were from what is now Spain." (1)

I have received some criticism for mentioning Celtic influence on flamenco music and dance. One Spanish gentleman wrote to me and argued that the Celts were in Spain too long ago to be credited with influencing an art form that is essentially only a couple of centuries old. He said I shouldn't be saying that Farruca and Garrotín were of Celtic origin, but a product of the modern inhabitants of the northern province of Galicia. Mmmm! This is really fascinating because we seem to have stumbled on a paradox here, or rather a conflict of perception. Isn't it interesting that despite this sort of criticism, Galicians tend to consider themselves Celts, as opposed to Iberian or Spanish. I'm sure this critic would argue that the Greek influence upon flamenco is non existent since they were in Spain so long ago. Maybe. Maybe not. How can you conclusively prove or disprove such a thing. And what about Indian influence? Should we dismiss this also? Have you ever closely observed the hand and foot movements of northern Indian dancers? Anyway, in the case of the Celtic connection, I'm only repeating what other, more knowledgeable flamenco commentators have said.

Hazy cultural inheritance

Celtic Spain The fact remains that the Celts were in Spain for a long time and so were Jews, Greeks, Romans, Phoenicians, Vikings and many other ancient peoples at various times. Even though the Barbarian tribes in the region around the time of the Romans are not remembered because of their dancing skills, how do we know for sure that the settled Celts in the North did not borrow a few musical ideas from them? Surely some got close enough to each other to converse in friendly tones and be invited to lunch at each other's place.

Likewise, much as the Celts hated the Romans, are we to believe that the two peoples never got close enough to hear each other's music or watch the dances? "The Roman Cicero was able to become friends with a Celtic druid from Gaul named Diviciacus, and Cicero said that a Celtic leader from Galatia named Dejotarus was "gentle and honest." (2)

The point is that there has always been ample opportunities for different cultures to borrow music and dance ideas from each other. Once these ideas get integrated, refined and passed down through the generations, we are left with only speculation as to their real origins. I am not so quick to dismiss a reasonable theory if it sounds....reasonable, even if I did read it on the back of a chewing gum wrapper.

Song and dance migration

The port of Cádiz was an important stop-over point for ship travelers of the past. These visitors brought the songs and dances with them, many of which were adopted by the people of Cádiz and converted into flamenco. This, says Sr. Manfredi is what happened to the Farruca, which is nothing more than an Asturian dance strongly influenced by the Tangos of Cádiz... There are two schools of thought concerning the origin of Garrotín. One states that is has taken the same road as the Farruca. The other school, led by Vicente Escudero, insists that the Garrotín is a creation of the gypsies of Lerida, in northern Spain. (3)

If you have a look at Sr. Pohren's Flamenco family tree chart on Page 102, you will notice that not only Farruca and Garrotín is placed under the "Celtico" umbrella, but also Sevillanas and Fandango family of song forms (4)

First cousins of the Irish

Celtic warrior "The Galicians are Celts, first cousins to the Irish, Welsh, Scots, Cornish and Bretons and used to speak a language of the same family... They have many ancient customs in common with the Irish (their music sounds Irish too!) and the same laws of inheritance"

"Around 1,000 BC the whole of western Europe was overrun by a group of people called Celts. Those in France were called Gauls, and those in Spain were called Celtiberans. They were tribal not "civilized" and lived in small settlements... The Celts in many cases finally stopped struggling and became colonials... but many fled to the west, to Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and Galicia in north west Spain... Basques were in the Pyrenees before anyone then, and Basques aren't Celts, at least linguistically. The Celtiberans came there a couple of thousand years later than the Basques. Basques and Celts probably interbred over 3,000 years of living close to each other... The people in Galicia, northwest Spain around Santiago de Compostela near north Portugal, are descendents of the same people that covered western Europe for a thousand years, until about the time of Christ, when the Romans overran them and they fled west."

GALICIA (anc. Gallaecia or Callaecia)
Galicia

An autonomous region (also a Duchy of the Spanish Monarchy) of north west Spain, comprising the provinces of La Coruna, Lugo, Orense, and Pontevedra. The capital is Santiago de Compostela .

Most of the people speak Galician, a language closely related to Portuguese with ancient roots to ancient Iberceltic and Latin. The region is mainly agricultural with a large fishing and timber industry. Galicia was a Celtic kingdom from 411 to 585, and again in the 11th century after the death of Ferdinand I King of Castile and Leon. It came under Spanish domination late in the 15th century. In 1833 it was divided into its present provinces. Area 29,434 sq kin (11,364 sq mi), population (1991) 2,731,669. Strong Celtic Customs. Language spoken : Galician and Spanish. (6)

"If you think it's strange, listen to their music; you'd swear it was Irish. Some Gallegos look Irish; there's a lot of red hair... The Galicians, on the Atlantic coast, are first cousins to the Irish/Scots/Welsh/Cornish and Bretons, with the same physical traits, customs, legends, music, etc. Gaelic has died out in Cornwall and Galicia, but the 3,000-year-old Celtic language is still spoken in parts of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. If you see a Restaurant or Bar Gallego, go in and try their cider and sea-food and you'll think the music is Irish. Like other Celts, they have emigrated in large numbers to the Americas." (5)

The long and short of all this is that the Celts who were in Spain (Galicia and Asturius) are still in Spain and speak their own language. "The music has more in common with Brittany, Wales and Ireland than Spanish music from Castille or Andalucia. They have their own bagpipes, called the Gaita. Asturias has its own musical tradition, with a focus on the Asturian gaita - the local bagpipe. Gijón, which is the largest town in Asturias (just bigger than the capital Oviedo), has an impressive bagpipe museum "museo de la gaita", containing dozens of examples of bagpipes from every corner of Europe and the middle east." (7)

Celtic influenced flamenco forms

Farruca

When sailors from Asturias and Galicia settled in the port of Cádiz, Andalucian's called them "farrucos". With that name, the songs of these immigrants entered the flamenco repertoire and were popularized in the early 1900 by singers like the great Manuel Torre. In his book "De cante grande y cante chico" (Madrid, 1926) José Carlos de Luna speaks of the "absurd, disjointed movements of the half-breed, farruca" which he calls the "unfortunate abortion of the Gallegos". Indeed, the word "farruca" is of Galician origin and means literally "cante de gallegos" (inhabitants of Galicia in north-western Spain bordered by the Atlantic ocean and Portugal). As for the rest of the statement, it is far easier to say nasty things about the cante of farruca than about its dance or music. In fact farruca as a cante is little more than a curiosity these days (if sung at all). The cante was first made popular in the beginning of this century by the great Manuel Torre (1878-1933), who surely gave it the only 'gracia' it ever had. Shortly thereafter, it reached sickening heights of popularity when it was sung in the one-act play "Alma de Dios" by a feminine falsetto voice. (8)

At its best, the cante is static and cadenced, similar to folk-songs of Italy, France and Germany (Marlene Dietrich style), and tends to reduce the "duende potential" of the dance. It is believed that the farruca was originally an Asturian dance which reached the seaport of Cádiz and eventually acquired the compás of the tangos of Cádiz. That is, 2/4 time, similar to the zambra of Granada. The music, which is the only flamenco form wholly in minor mode, occasionally shows other Granada influences in long, Arabic-sounding variations which tend more towards twos than fours. The actual creation of the flamenco farruca is attributed to the dancer Francisco Mendoza Ríos "Faíco" (1880-1938), and the guitarist don Ramón Montoya (1880-1949). (9)

Garrotin

The garrotín may also have roots in Asturias, but it is thought to have been developed by the gypsies of Lérida (about ninety miles west of Barcelona) and, later, Barcelona. If true, it would be the only flamenco song or dance form (other than the rumba) that developed outside of Andalucía. The garrotín really caught on when it was sung and recorded by La Niña de los Peines. It was Faíco, again, who recreated the garrotín and gave it the structure needed for dancing on stage. With its lively tango rhythm and major key, the garrotín enjoyed great popularity until it all but disappeared in the 1930s. Appropriately, it would be a catalán gypsy, Carmen Amaya, who would keep it alive and make possible its revival in the 1970s. (9)

Sources
(1) From an by Article by John Patrick Parle, 1999
(2) Article by John Patrick Parle 1999
(3) "Geografica del Cante Jondo" by Domingo Manfredi Cano
(4) The Art of Flamenco - D. E. Pohren
(5) Historical and Cultural Perspectives on Hispanic Culture - Anita Kelly, Ph. D.
(6) Modern lands of the Celts - home.exetel.com.au
(7) sfcelticmusic.com
(8) An article which originally appeared June, 1968 in Vol.1 No.2 of the FISLetter. - (deflamenco.com)

(9) "Carmen Amaya, Queen of the Gypsies". Author: Paco Sevilla.