Taranto
Also known as: Tarantos, Cante minero, Taranta bailable
History & Cultural Context
Taranto comes out of the mining country of Almería and the wider Levante, where Andalusian labourers moved between the pits of Almería, Linares and La Unión and carried cantes with them. Emilio Lafuente Alcántara first documented the taranto as a miners' song in 1865, and early singers include Pedro el Morato, El Cabogatero (1810-1880), El Ciego de la Playa and Juan Abad Díaz 'Chilares'. It differs from its parent, the taranta, in one decisive respect: taranta is cante libre, sung without fixed metre, while taranto holds enough of a compás to be danced. Antonio Mairena, who called the taranto the Sistine Chapel of flamenco singing, argued it must originally have been sung freely, with the guitar arriving later to shape its nuances. The guitar uses the distinctive taranta position with its dissonant open strings, giving the palo its unresolved, mineral colour. Carmen Amaya is credited as the mother of the taranto dance, which emerged around the 1940s; her heavy, weighted attack set the template of dragged steps and abrupt, effortful accents that evoke work underground.
Cultural Significance
The cantes mineros are flamenco's clearest industrial repertoire, made by migrant Andalusian workers in the lead and iron mines of the Levante. The Almería-Linares mining railway carried singers and styles between provinces, and the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas at La Unión, running since 1961, exists to preserve them.
Characteristic Movement & Technique
Dragged, weighted steps; low centre of gravity; angular arms and clenched hands; heavy single golpes rather than rapid rolls; sudden freezes. Dancers often begin motionless through the free-metre taranta before the compás enters.
Partnering Dynamics
Solo. The free opening puts the dancer entirely at the singer's disposal until the compás establishes itself.
Competitive Context
Taranto and the wider cantes mineros are the core repertoire of the Festival Internacional del Cante de las Minas in La Unión, Murcia, held annually since 1961, whose top cante prize is the Lámpara Minera.
Regional Variations
Almería is the reference; related Levante forms include taranta (Linares), cartagenera and minera (La Unión and Cartagena), and murciana. Only taranto is reliably danceable.
Common Misconceptions
That taranto and taranta are interchangeable; the first has compás and the second does not. That the danced taranto is ancient — it dates from around the 1940s and is credited to Carmen Amaya. That the mining cantes are Gitano in origin in the same way seguiriya is; their milieu was mixed Andalusian labour.
Peak Popularity
Signature Figures
- Pedro el Morato
- El Cabogatero
- El Ciego de la Playa
- Juan Abad Díaz 'Chilares'
- Manuel Torre
- Antonio Mairena
- Carmen Amaya
Notable Codifiers
- Carmen Amaya
- Antonio Mairena
Sources & Further Reading
Cultural & Historical Context
Taranto emerged from Almería and the Levante mining districts of Almería, Jaén and Murcia, Spain during the 1860s—1940s. Understanding the cultural roots, musical traditions, and social circumstances of this era enriches appreciation for the dance's characteristics and significance.
Formative Influences
Codifiers & Standardizers:
Carmen Amaya, Antonio Mairena
Signature Movement Vocabulary:
Pedro el Morato, El Cabogatero, El Ciego de la Playa, Juan Abad Díaz 'Chilares', Manuel Torre, Antonio Mairena, Carmen Amaya
Primary Source Documents
The Library of Dance contains public-domain primary sources for dance history. Copyrighted modern syllabi are indexed with purchase links to their respective copyright owners. Search by dance name or codifier to discover primary source documents.
Last reviewed: August 2026 — This dance profile synthesizes historical research, cultural documentation, and contemporary practice knowledge to provide authoritative context.
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