The copla,copla andaluza, canción andaluza, canción española, tonadilla or canción folklórica is a form of Spanishpopular song, deriving from the poetic form of the same name. Although the genre has a long heritage, it flourished in the 1930s and 1940s, and is epitomized by songwriters :es:Antonio Quintero|Antonio Quintero, :es:Rafael de León|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, :es:Manolo Corrales|Manolo Corrales, :es:Estrellita Castro|Estrellita Castro, Concha Piquer, :es:Miguel de Molina|Miguel de Molina, Lola Flores, :es:Marifé de Triana|Marifé de Triana, Juanita Reina, Manolo Escobar, Juanito Valderrama, Sara Montiel and Antonio Molina. Particularly of note is :es:Carlos Cano|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, :es:Bambino|Bambino, María Jiménez, Isabel Pantoja, Martirio, and :es:Miguel Poveda|Miguel Poveda and, even more recently, :es:Pasión Vega|Pasión Vega, :es:Clara Montes|Clara Montes, Pastora Soler, :es:Aurora Guirado|Aurora Guirado, :es:Diana Navarro|Diana Navarro, Concha Buika, :es:Montse Delgado|Montse Delgado and opera singerPlácido Domingo, who released an album of coplas entitled Pasión Española in 2008. Some of these artists, particularly Pasión Vega and Diana Navarro, have bent and stretched the genre in directions that have come to be known as Nueva Copla. Some examples of famouscoplas include "Ojos verdes", "Tatuaje", "La falsa moneda", "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". 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. However, more recently, modern performers have given the songs a new twist by "selecting coplas that vindicate a women's power, their independence and their passion." Id. at 287.
