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{{Short description|Musical form and a music genre typical of Spain and parts of Latin America}}
{{About|the dance||Fandango (disambiguation)}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=May 2012}}
[[File:Fandango-chasselat.jpg|thumb|Eighteenth century [[Castile (historical region)|Castilian]] fandango dancers (by [[Pierre Chasselat]]) (1753–1814)]]
[[File:Fandango dance pattern.png|thumb|right|250px|Fandango [[rhythm]].<ref name="Blatter">Blatter, Alfred (2007). ''Revisiting music theory: a guide to the practice'', p. 28. {{ISBN|0-415-97440-2}}.</ref>]]

'''Fandango''' is a lively [[partner dance]] originating in Portugal {{citation needed|date=October 2025}} and Spain, usually in [[triple metre|triple meter]], traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, tambourine or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has an instrumental introduction followed by "variaciones". Sung fandango usually follows the structure of "cante" that consist of four or five [[octosyllabic]] verses (coplas) or musical phrases (tercios). Occasionally, the first copla is repeated.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hispano Fandango – Welcome to Walsenburg |url=https://www.walkingwalsenburg.org/hispano/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The meter of fandango is similar to that of the [[bolero]] and [[seguidilla]]. It was originally notated in {{music|time|6|8}} time, of slow tempo, mostly in the minor, with a trio in the major; sometimes, however, the whole was in a major key. Later it took the 3-4 tempo, and the characteristic Spanish rhythm.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Grove|first=Sir George|title=Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians|publisher=McMIllan|year=1908|location=New York|page=5}}</ref>

==Origins==
The earliest fandango melody is found in the anonymous "Libro de diferentes cifras de guitarra" from 1705,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rhythm Through Diversity: Fandango |url=https://www.metronomeonline.com/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=METRONOME ONLINE - free online metronome |language=en}}</ref> and the earliest description of the dance itself is found in a 1712 letter by Martín Martí, a Spanish priest. The fandango's first sighting in a theatrical work was in [[Francisco de Leefadeal]]'s ''entremés'' "El novio de la aldeana"  staged in Seville, ca. 1720. By the late 18th century it had become fashionable among the aristocracy and was often included in [[tonadilla]]s, [[zarzuela]]s, [[ballet]]s and [[opera]]s, not only in Spain, but also elsewhere in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008 |title=Can the Pope Fandango? |url=http://old.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=11017&start=0&sid=bb39c4a7010e0404db95f120471b13e6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529185244/http://old.qi.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=11017&start=0&sid=bb39c4a7010e0404db95f120471b13e6 |archive-date=2022-05-29 |website=Quite Interesting Limited |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=2020 |title=From lavapiés to stockholm: eighteenth-century violin fandangos and the shaping of musical 'spanishness' |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/eighteenth-century-music/article/abs/from-lavapies-to-stockholm-eighteenthcentury-violin-fandangos-and-the-shaping-of-musical-spanishness/A43221FB32DE693BB9E70662F82B5CE5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220529185302/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/eighteenth-century-music/article/abs/from-lavapies-to-stockholm-eighteenthcentury-violin-fandangos-and-the-shaping-of-musical-spanishness/A43221FB32DE693BB9E70662F82B5CE5 |archive-date=2022-05-29 |journal=Eighteenth Century Music |doi=10.1017/S147857062000007X |language=en |last1=Lombardía |first1=ANA |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=177–199 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Widely varying claims have been made about the origin of fandango: its relation to the jabera, the [[soleá]], and the [[petenera]]; to the Andalusian [[malagueñas (flamenco style)|malagueña]], [[granadina]], [[murciana]] and [[rondeña]]; to the [[canary dance|canario]] and [[Gitanos|gitano]]; to the [[jota (music)|jota]] aragonesa.<ref>‘La jota y el fandango’, La correspondencia musical, iv/198 (1884), 2–3</ref>

=== Condemnation and liberation by Spanish Church ===
There is a curious piece of history said to be connected with this dance. Soon after its first introduction, in the 17th century, it was condemned by the ecclesiastical authorities in Spain as a "godless dance". Just as the [[Ecclesiastical court#Catholic Church|Consistory]] were about to prohibit it, one of the judges remarked that it was not fair to condemn anyone unheard. Two celebrated dancers were accordingly introduced to perform the fandango before the Consistory. This they did with such effect, that, according to the old chronicler, "every one joined in, and the hall of the consistorium was turned into a dancing saloon". No more was heard of the condemnation of the fandango.<ref name=":0" />

==Classical music==
The form of fandango has been used by many European composers, and often included in stage and instrumental works. Notable examples include [[J. P. Rameau]]'s "Les trois mains" (in "Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin", ca. 1729–30); Fandango forms #19 in the part 2 of [[Christoph Willibald Gluck|Gluck]]'s ballet ''[[Don Juan (ballet)|Don Juan]]'' (1761); in the third-act finale of [[Mozart]]'s opera ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'' (1786); in the finale of [[Luigi Boccherini]]'s String Quartet Op. 40 No. 2 (1798)<ref name=":0" />{{clarify|G.236?|date=November 2019}} and Guitar Quintet G.448; [[Antonio Soler (composer)|Antonio Soler]]'s Fandango for harpsichord; and the finale of [[Rimsky-Korsakov]]'s ''[[Capriccio Espagnol]]''.<ref>{{cite web | title=Capriccio espagnol, Op.34 (Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolay) | website=International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) / Petrucci Music Library | date=2024-12-27 | url=https://imslp.org/wiki/Capriccio_espagnol%2C_Op.34_(Rimsky-Korsakov%2C_Nikolay) | access-date=2025-08-18}}</ref> [[Luis de Freitas Branco]]'s third movement of his "Suite Alentejana No. 1" is inspired on the fandango of the regions of [[Alentejo]] and [[Ribatejo]] of Portugal.<ref>{{cite web | title=Freitas Branco, L. de: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (Cassuto) - Symphony No. 1 / Scherzo fantasique / Suite alentejana No. 1 | website=Naxos | url=https://www.naxos.com/Review/Detail/?catalogueid=8.570765&languageid=EN | access-date=2025-08-18}}</ref> Camille Saint-Saëns' "Danse Macabre" also follows the rhythm of the fandango. In the 21st century, Italian composer Carlotta Ferrari has written several Fandangos; particularly, her 2020 "Fandango RPS"<ref>{{cite web | title=Fandango RPS (Ferrari, Carlotta) | website=International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) / Petrucci Music Library | url=https://imslp.org/wiki/Fandango_RPS_(Ferrari%2C_Carlotta) | access-date=2025-08-18}}</ref> uses the Restarting Pitch Space harmony system.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://carsoncooman.com/restarting-pitch-space/ | title=Restarting Pitch Space &#124; Carson Cooman – Composer }}</ref>

Italian composer [[Domenico Scarlatti]], who was influenced by Iberian folk music, had several passages reminiscent of fandango, such as in his keyboard sonata K. 492 (1756) which has been called "Fandango portugués".<ref name=scarlatti>{{cite web|access-date=1 February 2019|language=es|title=A vueltas con el fandango|first=Guillermo |last=Castro Buendía|issn=1886-9505|number=24|date=January 2013|website=Sinfonía Virtual|url=http://www.sinfoniavirtual.com/flamenco/ritmica_fandango.pdf|page=6 (also footnotes 14 and 15)|url-status=live|archive-date=7 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207015428/http://www.sinfoniavirtual.com/flamenco/ritmica_fandango.pdf}}</ref> The piece "Fandango del Sigr. Escarlate" has been attributed to him, but some scholars dispute this claim and its similarity to fandangos.<ref name=scarlatti/>

The Spanish form of fandango is given by Dohrn in the ''Neue Zeitschrift für Musik.''<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dohrn|first=Carl August|title=Neue Zeitschrift für Musik|year=1839|pages=163–164}}</ref>

==Spanish dance==
The current {{music|time|3|4}} pattern of the fandango, its distinctive progression (i–iv–V) lyrics with octosyllabic verses and the use of castanets and guitars are well-documented from the 18th century. The ''fandangos grandes'' (big fandangos) are normally danced by couples, which start out slowly with gradually increasing tempo.  Many varieties are derived from this one. The ''fandanguillos'' (little fandangos) are livelier, more festive derivations of fandangos. Some regions of Spain have developed their own style of fandangos, such as [[Huelva]] ''(fandangos de Huelva)'' and [[Málaga]] ''(fandangos de Málaga'', or ''[[Verdiales]])''.  Northern areas such as the [[Principality of Asturias]], the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]] and [[Castile and León]] have preserved a more relaxed performance.

==Portuguese dance==
Fandango is one of the main folk dances in [[Portugal]]. The choreography is quite simple: on its more frequent setting two male dancers face each other, dancing and tap-dancing one at a time, showing which has the most lightness and repertoire of feet changes in the tap-dancing. The dancers can be boy and girl, boy and boy (most frequent) or, rarely, two girls. While one of the dancers dances, the other just "goes along". Afterwards, they "both drag their feet for a while"{{Quote without source|date=May 2012}} until the other one takes his turn. They stay there, disputing, seeing which one of them makes the feet transitions more eye-catching.

The "fandango do Ribatejo" refers specifically to the form of fandango practiced in [[Ribatejo Province|Ribatejo]], Portugal. The dance is usually performed by two [[Campino (profession)|Campino]]s.

==Figurative meaning==
[[File:The Fandango.JPG|thumb|''The Fandango'' (1873; [[Charles Christian Nahl]]) depicts a fiesta of [[Californios]] dancing the fandango in [[Mexican California]].]]
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2019}}

As a result of the extravagant features of the dance, the word ''fandango'' is used as a synonym for "a quarrel", "a big fuss" or " a foolish or pretentious act"<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-19 |title=Definition of FANDANGO |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fandango |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fandango definition and meaning {{!}} Collins English Dictionary |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fandango |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515030637/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fandango |archive-date=2023-05-15 |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=www.collinsdictionary.com |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Fandango in Veracruz ==
In [[Veracruz|Veracruz, Mexico]], a fandango is a party where people get together to dance, to play and to sing in a community setting. As local musicians perform the [[Son Jarocho]] music, people dance "[[zapateado (Mexico)|zapateado]]" atop a large wooden platform known as a [[:es:Entarimado|Tarima]].<ref name="ATC20120930" /><ref name="sonjarocho_com" />

==Philippine Pandanggo==
The Fandango became one of the most influential and widespread dance style within the Islands during the Spanish colonial period, along with the [[Jota (music)]]. The dance was first popularized by the upper class [[Illustrados]] and was later adapted by the local masses, becoming a staple of rural Filipino folk dances.  Spelled as "[[Pandanggo]]" in Filipino languages, the dance branched into different local variations. One of the most well-known Filipino adaption is the Pandanggo sa Ilaw from [[Mindoro]]. The Fandango was also used as musical basis for other Traditional Philippine folk dances, including [[Cariñosa]] and Pandanggo Rinconada from [[Nabua]], Camarines Sur. The Fandango was also utilized in Religious celebrations and devotional dances, such as the [[Obando Fertility Rites]], and the Pandangguhan of [[Pateros]] in honor of Saint [[Martha]].<ref>Nocheseda, E. I. (2002). Ecological and ritual change in the devotion to Santa Marta of Pateros. Philippine quarterly of culture and society, 30(1/2), 65-110.http://pascal-francis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=getRecordDetail&idt=15028695</ref><ref>Prudente, F. (2017). Expressing Religiosity through the Performing Arts Among the Tagalog-Speaking People in the Philippines. the ICtM Study Group on perforMInG ArtS of SoutheASt ASIA, 231.https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/64443312/PASEA_Proceedings04_upload-libre.pdf?1600229302=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DNegotiating_Modernity_in_the_History_of.pdf&Expires=1760528869&Signature=TUuo0pO7W24E-P4seJzTrcuJ7YgK7xexM7LC8pQrcBnZUlpaIf2tQRsrLRgzXpLxVcHfuVcZRUOsmgoxJWNpjneFJw4BMkVZQOpxGqYBqZ~zeUDoh0cEc2FCmHlR3UZTT-eS7hvMQYEVC~EsXBG5qdHeFlSoPRnLTb-V80R36tYElOQUNJUvuBxBbZ3SThaWyHO83bgFRGT-xTSNk3y2ZC16p02D0numcQp5oLhfIhQJkuNFkxdK5GelWAJl1tWjm-6WuiVmGQzdrYID35IUAfBhm9VHliMHT8RRoilTD1OWzhjUMFMFNoG1He771stesBX~wTkPAmj-mVbEYL8VrQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA#page=251</ref><ref>Dioquino, C. C. (1982). Musicology in the Philippines. Acta Musicologica, 54(Fasc. 1/2), 124-147.http://pascal-francis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=getRecordDetail&idt=12431739</ref>

== Citations ==
{{Reflist|
refs=
<ref name="ATC20120930">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/09/30/161103952/son-jarocho-the-sound-of-veracruz |title=Son Jarocho, The Sound Of Veracruz |date=30 September 2012 |work=NPR.org([[All Things Considered|ATC]]) |access-date=11 January 2015}}</ref>
<ref name="sonjarocho_com">{{cite web|url=http://www.sonjarocho.com/#!about1/c1gi5 |title=WHAT IS THE SON JAROCHO ? |date=2000 |work=sonjarocho.com |access-date=11 January 2015}}</ref>
}}{{Source-attribution|{{cite book |last1=Grove |first1=Sir George |title=Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians |year=1908 |publisher=New York, McMillan.}}}}

== General and cited references ==
* Diccionario de la lengva castellana (Madrid, 1726–37/R1963 as Diccionario de autoridades) [pubn of the Real Academia Español]
* P. Minguet e Irol: Breve tratado de los pasos de danzar a la española que hoy se estilan en seguidillas, fandangos y otros tañidos (Madrid, 1760, 2/1764)
* F. M. López: : Variaciones al Minuet afandangado (late 18th century) E-Mn M.1742), ff. 1–6
* M. L. E. Moreau de Saint-Méry: Danse (Paris, 1798)
* B. Foz: Vida de Pedro Saputo (Zaragoza, 1844/R)
* E. Calderón: Escenas andaluzas (Madrid, 1847)
* E. Ocón y Rivas: Cantos españoles (Málaga, 1874, 2/1906)
* M. de Larramendi: Corografía o descripción general de la muy noble y muy real Provincia de Guipúzcoa (Barcelona, 1882)
* ‘La jota y el fandango’, La correspondencia musical, iv/198 (1884), 2–3
* J. Ribera y Tarragó: La música de la jota aragonesa: ensayo histórico (Madrid, 1928)
* M. N. Hamilton: Music in Eighteenth-Century Spain (Urbana, IL, 1937)
* P. Nettl: The Story of Dance Music (New York, 1947)
* B. Pottier: ‘A propos de fandango’, Les langues néo-latines, xlii (1947), 22–5
* A. Gobin: Le flamenco (Paris, 1975)
* J. Crivillé i Bargalló: El folklore musical (Madrid, 1983)
* M. R. Alvarez Martínez: ‘Dos obras inéditas de Domenico Scarlatti’, RdMc, viii (1985), 51–6
* E. Osorio Bolio de Saldívar: ‘El códice Saldívar: una nueva fuente de música para guitarra’, España en la música de occidente: Salamanca 1985, 87–91
* R. Puyana: ‘Influencias ibéricas y aspectos por investigar en la obra para clave de Domenico Scarlatti’, ibid., 39–49
* J. Blas Vega: ‘Fandango’, Diccionario enciclopédico ilustrado del flamenco (Madrid, 1988), 284–5
* J. Etzion: ‘The Spanish Fandango from Eighteenth-Century “Lasciviousness” to Nineteenth-Century Exoticism’, AnM, xlviii (1993), 229–50
* J.-M. Sellen: ‘Langage du fandango: de la poétique musicale au sens poétique du cante jondo’, AnM, 1 (1995), 245–70

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{{Music of Portugal}}
{{Music of Spain}}
{{Music in spanish}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fandango (Dance Style)}}
[[Category:Dance forms in classical music]]
[[Category:European folk dances]]
[[Category:Flamenco styles]]
[[Category:Music of Spain]]
[[Category:Portuguese folk dances]]
[[Category:Spanish dances]]
[[Category:Spanish folk music]]
[[Category:Triple time dances]]