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El Mal Querer: Merging Flamenco with a Postmodern Universe

This thesis examines how the postmodern fusion of flamenco and non-flamenco elements in Rosalía's sophomore album, El mal querer (2018), not only justifies the artist's place within the "Experimental Generations" of flamenco fusion artists but also distances her from the rest. The thesis builds off the work of Carlos Morales Gálvez by centering its analyses around three of the album's video chapters; "Malamente," "Pienso en tu mirá," and "De aquí no sales." Through an exploration of the aural and visual manifestations of flamenco within these three video chapters, this thesis will first reveal how Rosalía aligns with other flamenco fusion artists through her ability to find a liminal space between flamenco's "traditions" and "innovations." The thesis will demonstrate how flamenco manifests itself in the album in ways that honor past forms and figures of flamenco while also cohabitating with non-flamenco elements in ways that allow it to adapt to the postmodern context of the album and the globalized context of our world. Then, through an analysis of the nature of flamenco's fusion with non-flamenco elements in the same three video chapters, the thesis will highlight the importance of Rosalía apart from other flamenco fusion artists. Unlike others, Rosalía's aural and visual melding of flamenco and non-flamenco elements creates an intertextual "universe" that gives global viewers the agency to create their own meanings alongside Rosalía. / Master of Arts / This thesis examines the ways in which Spanish artist Rosalía's usage of flamenco in her album El mal querer (2018) establishes her within a genealogy of flamenco fusion artists while also distancing her from that same genealogy. By exploring the presence of the art form within three of the album's video chapters, this thesis will first demonstrate that Rosalía, like other flamenco fusion artists, has found ways to honor flamenco's "traditions," meaning its past notable performers and artistic styles, while also allowing flamenco to continue evolving with the globalized world around it. Yet, by also exploring the nature of flamenco's fusion with other non-flamenco elements in the same three video chapters, this thesis will subsequently reveal that the implications of Rosalía's eclectic combination of flamenco with other art forms and cultural references distances her from other flamenco fusion artists. Her aural and visual fusion of many distinct artistic and cultural elements lead it to become a "universe" of meanings which encourages viewers from around the world to contribute their own interpretations.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/103618
Date04 June 2021
CreatorsDriggs, Victoria Katherine
ContributorsForeign Languages, Cana Jimenez, Maria D., Chacon-Carmona, Vicente, Venkatesh, Vinodh
PublisherVirginia Tech
Source SetsVirginia Tech Theses and Dissertation
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
FormatETD, application/pdf
RightsIn Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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