“‘Del “din y el don” al “qué y el con’: circunstancias y narratividad en la construcción de la heroína sentimental en la canción española.

The type of song that features a female voice in the first person –many of the songs that constitute the better-known corpus of copla or canción española–  is articulated according to certain communicative schemes among which we should highlight lamentation (“Tus ojos negros”, 1940), plea (“Dime que me quieres”, 1941), declaration of love (“Y sin embargo te quiero”, 1948) and curse (“Arrieros somos”, 1948). However, there is another less frequent formula in the anthologies of the genre: the one that, in order to articulate the sentimental authority of the female voice, places the speaker in very specific narrative circumstances –sometimes evoking historic or legendary situations, sometimes simply creating elaborate fictions about situations from popular imagery–, in such a way that these circumstances, expressed through authentic expressive innovations, justify the transformation of the female protagonists and their empowerment in the sphere of affection. The stylistic balance between lyricism and narration in classic pieces by Quintero, León and Quiroga that showcase names or nicknames of women –“Rocío” (1933), “Almudena” (1941), “Romance de La Otra” (1943), “La Zarzamora” (1947)– is diversified in less-known tunes by the same masters and different authors, unsuspectingly broadening the sentimental map of the heroines of copla.

About Dr. Gómez Lara

Manuel J. Gómez Lara is an associate professor of English and American theatre at University of Seville, where he graduated and wrote his PhD, after working for a year at Sheffield University under the supervision of Prof. Norman Blake. Dr. Gómez Lara subsequent career as a teacher and researcher has developed mainly within the field of dramatic literature, both as part of the curricula of literature in English, but also connected to popular forms such as Spanish civic performances and musical drama. He has published several books on the history of Spanish musicals (1940-60) and has edited the works of the leading figure within the genre: Rafael de León. Dr. Gómez Lara has also worked with emblems as an instrument to analyze popular representations of affectivity. As a result of this combined interests he was invited as keynote speaker at the 2019 Spanish Textual Analysis Society ‘Trama y Fondo’ annual conference (De cómo la copla canta el deseo de la mujer).