Disability, Hybridity, and Flamenco Cante

Using my personal experience as a performer, I demonstrate how my vocals are exemplary of the hybridity that often defines flamenco history and performance. Disability and diasporic identity have allowed me to connect to the deeper emotions of duende in flamenco as I contemplate themes of loss, anger, and displacement in flamenco lyrics. My body, deserted by health, has deeply embraced the agony erupting in the lyrics of palos (flamenco styles) such as “Solea” and “Martinete.” In this essay, I explore the following questions: When expressing authentic emotions around disability through cante, do I transcend the oppression of the audience gaze? When performing an art form marked by cultural fluidity and a diverse plethora of global influences, how is my expression of flamenco cante representative of its true, vibrant spirit, as I personify the cantaora operating, even flourishing, at the intense intersection of race, disability, and performance?