ABSTRACT
The period from about 1860 to the first several decades of the twentieth century, often referred to as the Golden Age of flamenco, was the era of the singing cafés. Women were significant as performers in these cafés cantantes. They were singers and dancers and many were known to have accompanied themselves (and other singers) on guitar. (The gender bias in favor of solely male guitarists does no seem to have been the case in this earlier era of flamenco.) These singers inhabited a marginalized world that carried a stigma of disrespectability, of “mal vivir” or ill repute with connotations of prostitution. Many became well known, performing in cafés all over Andalusia and Madrid. Located on the margins of society they were often “wild women”: scandalous, provocative, ironic and mocking in their performances, which catered to an all male clientele. Their participation in flamenco is an important part of the history of cante. This chapter discusses cantaoras from the nineteenth century, from the earliest singers about whom we have documentation, to the many singers who formed an important part of the group of performers in the café cantante era, to prominent singers in the earlier part of the twentieth century, most notably La Serneta and Pastora Pavón, known as La Niña de los Peines.
