The origin of the Sevillana dances must be searched for in the
Castilian seguidilla. It's formed by four verses with seven odd
syllables and five even syllables in constant rhythm. It has a refrain
of three verses, with the first and the third that rhyme with five
syllables, the second with seven. The "seguidillas" were founded
for the first time in the "Cancionero de Palacio" (Palace
Entertainment Area), that goes back to the time of the Catholic Kingdom.
Normally they used short story songs as well as other short songs or
verses, which could be related to its name. They came to have their own
literary uniqueness in the last years of the 16th century when they
adquired great popularity because of the catchiness of their composition,
its light-footed dancing and hearty music. From the union of the verses
came the refrain.
In the 17th century came the Sevillian seguidillas,
powered and elaborated by the picaresque and marginal part of Sevillian
society that in turn had become the "queen of frolicking"
during the era. In the 18th century with the arrival of the Bourbons
and the French influence, Spain created the bolero. This dance has been
adapted to the seguidilla and it is thought to be the main beginning of
sevillanas boleras.
Until 1847, right before the year of the founding of the April Fair in
Seville, nobody knew about the Sevillian seguidilla of the seguidilla bolero,
they just called it sevillana. The first time they were
called this was April 4, 1847, in the Liceo Theatre in Barcelona. The
Spanish Royal Academy did not include the word in the Spanish Dictionary
until 1884.
Many sevillanas were composed by anonymous poets and were later passed
on to the general public. Until this century they didn't give the song
writers much credit, now documenting and listing each song writer as
well the music. Because of the wide variety of topics, they can be sorted
in different groups: Love and sentimental, "corraleras",
sevillian (about the city, the April Fair, Holy Week, Bull-fighting,
popular characters), about the sea, about everyday life and politics,
about other Andalusian provinces, etc.
At the end of the seventies, the sevillanas began to live an era of
great popularity, thanks to the professionlism of its artists. For this
reason, the era flourished with soloists, duos, and musical groups, some
still active today. Some of its myths include: Los Romeros de la Puebla,
Amigos de Gines, Los Marismeños, Los
Romeros de la Puebla, Amigos de Gines, Los Marismeños, Los
del Río, Paco
Palacios "El Pali" and an endless list of names.
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