‘Sé quién soy, y a donde voy ya nunca se me olvida’
Rosalía sings in Andalusian, the historical language of flamenco.
She, Catalan by birth, chooses this language incurring the wrath of the unionists, telling everyone that she doesn’t give a damn. Nor does she speak out on the issue of Catalan independence.
Her movements, warm, slightly raspy voice and nude look are reminiscent of an elegant, natural sensuality, which makes her look more like a flamenco dancer than a Trap singer.
Rosalía‘s musical style, in fact, is absolutely born with her. A mixture of harmonic sounds derived from flamenco with the rhythmic sounds of trap: the result is a voluptuous ballad.
She has modernised the idea of flamenco – which is never “old”, but still anchored in classical Spanish folklore – and made it innovative, bringing it closer to the very new generations.
She sings of female independence, gypsy communities, rural Spain and of not being able to manage emotions, negative and positive, when you love.
Her Andalusian soul comes from afar: she started studying flamenco at a young age, even though she is neither from that region, nor gypsy; just like the language issue, the gypsy community has turned against her, pointing at her as a ‘paya’ – someone who appropriates a culture that is not her own in order to distort it.
