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The Romans called them "puellae Gaditanae" and appreciated their dancing skills. Lord Byron praised (one of them) in a poem, Luis Mariano did the same in a song. Where in Spain do these "belles" hail from?

Question #101645. Asked by flem-ish.
Last updated May 01 2023.

queproblema
Answer has 4 votes
Currently Best Answer
queproblema
18 year member
2119 replies

Answer has 4 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
Well, Mr. Flamingo, I don't have time to do justice to this question, but...

It must be Flamenco dancers you have in mind, from Cadiz.
link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco

The Romans called them The Dancing Girls from Cadiz.
link https://www.jstor.org/stable/643110

"Luis Mariano was a Spanish Basque popular tenor who reached celebrity in 1946 with « La belle de Cadix » (« The Beautiful Lady of Cadix ») an operetta by Francis Lopez."
link http://www.answers.com/topic/luis-mariano

And Byron wrote "Girl of Cadiz."
link http://readytogoebooks.com/LB-GOC-P60.html


Response last updated by gtho4 on May 01 2023.
Dec 12 2008, 1:10 AM
avatar
flem-ish
Answer has 3 votes
flem-ish
23 year member
894 replies avatar

Answer has 3 votes.
Flaming Flemings, huh? From what I heard the flamingo birds were named after the Flemish merchants who in Middle Ages caught the eye of the Spaniards and Italians with their excessively coloured dress. In Roman times however what the Belles de Cadiz danced cannot have been called the Flamenco yet because we still had to be invented and our area was the territory of the Morini and Menapii, all "marsh-dwellers" well at ease in the creeks, sea-inlets, "bayous" of what is now Northern France and North-Belgium. link http://www.yourdictionary.com/flamingo

Dec 12 2008, 2:20 AM
queproblema
Answer has 3 votes
queproblema
18 year member
2119 replies

Answer has 3 votes.
But, what's a little anachronism among friends?

You're right, of course, and I hurriedly came up with the first bit, not intending to look up the rest, but couldn't quit.

"The first time flamenco is mentioned in literature is in 1774 in the book Cartas Marruecas by José Cadalso."

So, no flamenco, flamingos, or Flemish allowed.

link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco

Dec 12 2008, 8:59 AM
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flem-ish
Answer has 3 votes
flem-ish
23 year member
894 replies avatar

Answer has 3 votes.
It may be worth mentioning in this context that "Flemish" is in itself more a geographic than a linguistic term. The rootword 'Flandr' refers to 'flooding': land that is daily partially flooded by high tide and therefore difficult to penetrate fro invading armies. There always have been francophones within the County of Flanders, the Count of Flanders and a large part of the aristocracy were French-speakers. Only we were not on very good terms with "Paris" and the French King. And by the way we were there at the Battle of Hastings, and William the Conqueror 's Queen was not unfamilar with the Flemish floodlands.
link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flemish#Etymology

Dec 12 2008, 11:34 AM
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