Se llama copla

Apologies to those fans of American Idol, but I´ve never counted myself amongst your ranks. I think AI, and most of its international doppelganagers, encourages spectacularly crappy singing and gives untold masses inflated hopes about their own blah voices. Admittedly, some of the contestants over the years have been good, but what´s the point of adding one more wailing voice to the overly electronic and uninspired music that is so popular today?

That being said, I love the Andalusian version,"Se llama copla" (copla being the word for traditional flamenco songs). The contestants are given a flamenco song every week to work on, and perform it complete with frilly dresses, flamenco hand movements, and voices that waver so much I expect them to actually burst out in tears at any moment. And after each one sings, the other contestants stand to applaud and stamp out a flamenco beat perfectly in unison with each other.

The fun part is that, "Se llama copla" being specifically Andalusian, small towns have taken on contestants as their personal cause. In Arcos, I have seen several window signs promoting a female contestant named Rocío and reminding passersby to vote for her on Saturday nights. In Puerto de Santa María, a town on the ocean, the signs are all for Nico. I can only imagine a Minnesotan version in which St. Paul would back Sven, Duluth would fight for Lena. But what would they sing?

In one of our orientation sessions about Spanish culture, the instructor talked about different understandings of time. In the United States, we reward innovation, always look toward and plan for the future. Spaniards, in general, concentrate more on the past, on keeping alive traditions and remembering roots. Therefore, the contestants on "Se llama copla," all of them in their mid- to late-twenties, are familiar with and already love the flamenco songs with which they´re presented every week. I must admit, I am jealous of their heritage, jealous of traditions that date back centuries. Meanwhile, on American Idol, contestants sing "classics" from the 1980s...