El Mal Querer: Merging Flamenco with a Postmodern Universe

Abstract

This thesis examines how the postmodern fusion of flamenco and non-flamenco elements in Rosalía's sophomore album, El mal querer (2018), not only justifies the artist's place within the "Experimental Generations" of flamenco fusion artists but also distances her from the rest. The thesis builds off the work of Carlos Morales Gálvez by centering its analyses around three of the album's video chapters; "Malamente," "Pienso en tu mirá," and "De aquí no sales." Through an exploration of the aural and visual manifestations of flamenco within these three video chapters, this thesis will first reveal how Rosalía aligns with other flamenco fusion artists through her ability to find a liminal space between flamenco's "traditions" and "innovations." The thesis will demonstrate how flamenco manifests itself in the album in ways that honor past forms and figures of flamenco while also cohabitating with non-flamenco elements in ways that allow it to adapt to the postmodern context of the album and the globalized context of our world. Then, through an analysis of the nature of flamenco's fusion with non-flamenco elements in the same three video chapters, the thesis will highlight the importance of Rosalía apart from other flamenco fusion artists. Unlike others, Rosalía's aural and visual melding of flamenco and non-flamenco elements creates an intertextual "universe" that gives global viewers the agency to create their own meanings alongside Rosalía.