Thecopla,copla andaluza ("Andalusiancopla"),canción andaluza,canción española,^[1]tonadilla orcanción folklórica is a form ofSpanish popular song,^[2] deriving from thepoetic form of the same name. Although the genre has a long heritage, it flourished in the 1930s and 1940s, and is epitomized by songwritersAntonio Quintero,Rafael de León andManuel Quiroga.^[3]

One of the first singers ofcoplas wasRaquel Meller. Initially she sangcuplé, which later evolved in Andalusian and Spanish song into thecopla as it is known today. Other well-known singers ofcoplas areImperio Argentina,Manolo Corrales,Estrellita Castro,Concha Piquer,Miguel de Molina,Lola Flores,Marifé de Triana,Juanita Reina,Manolo Escobar,Juanito Valderrama,Sara Montiel andAntonio Molina.^[4]

Particularly of note isCarlos Cano, who was a key figure in reviving the popularity of thecopla in the later 20th century. More recent singers ofcoplas includeRocío Jurado,Bambino,María Jiménez,Isabel Pantoja,Martirio, andMiguel Poveda and, even more recently,Pasión Vega,Clara Montes,Pastora Soler,Aurora Guirado,Diana Navarro,Pilar Boyero,Concha Buika,Montse Delgado andopera singerPlácido Domingo, who released an album ofcoplas entitledPasión Española in 2008. 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 asNueva Copla ("NewCopla").

Some examples of famouscoplas include "Ojos verdes" (Green Eyes), "Tatuaje" (Tattoo), "La falsa moneda" (The Fake Coin), "María de la O," and "Rocío." The lyrics often feature marginalized characters, including prostitutes, sailors, escaped convicts, gypsies and so on, and have themes based on the "illegitimacy of all relationships outside the recognized heterosexual marriage" (i.e., mistreated women, abandoned children and extramarital affairs).^[5] Because these were stories of love gone wrong, of women who crossed the line of sexual mores, and of men's honor, they used to be criticized for being old-fashioned and sexist.^[6] However, more recently, modern performers have given the songs a new twist by "selectingcoplas that vindicate a women's power, their independence and their passion."Id. at 287.

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

• Music of Spain
• Spanish folklore
• Music of Andalusia
• Song forms
• 20th century in music

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata