Copla (music)

The copla or copla andaluza ("Andalusian copla") is a form of Spanish popular song, deriving from the poetic form of the same name. The genre arose in the 1940s, and is epitomized by songwriters Antonio Quintero, Rafael de León and Manuel Quiroga.

One of the first singers of coplas was Raquel Meller. Initially she sang cuplé, which later evolved in Andalusian and Spanish song into the copla as it is known today. Other well-known singers of coplas are Imperio Argentina, Manolo Corrales, Estrellita Castro, Concha Piquer, Miguel de Molina, Lola Flores, Marifé de Triana, Juanita Reina, Manolo Escobar, Juanito Valderrama, Sara Montiel and Antonio Molina.

Particularly of note is Carlos Cano, who was a key figure in reviving the popularity of the copla in the later 20th century. More recent singers of coplas include Rocío Jurado, Bambino, María Jiménez, Isabel Pantoja, Martirio, and Miguel Poveda and, even more recently, Pasión Vega, Clara Montes, Pastora Soler, Aurora Guirado, Diana Navarro, Concha Buika, La Shica, Montse Delgado. Some of these artists, particularly Pasión Vega (born 1976) and Diana Navarro (born 1978), have bent and stretched the genre in directions that have come to be known as Nueva Copla ("New Copla").

See also

• Cuplé - a genre of risqué cabaret songs in Spain of the 1890s-1910s