ABSTRACT
This chapter examines discourses surrounding the regionalisation of flamenco across Andalusia, but particularly in Granada. Educational initiatives, promotion and the development of festivals/productions have helped to disseminate flamenco and provide some artists with stable career paths. While artists may twin flamenco with their own sense of Andalusian identity, they are primarily concerned with gaining economic and cultural capital in a competitive industry. At one level, the multi-layered politics that underline flamenco policy across the region are characterised by a lack of cooperation between the different institutional levels. The chapter considers that claims of politicisation, favouritism, a lack of artistic freedom and marginalisation of other Andalusian provinces are difficult to verify. However, these claims are discursive constructs that represent general concerns regarding the monopoly of the public sector in the flamenco industry. The chapter overviews some of the issues facing flamenco artists in an era of institutional support and regional politics.
