Sacred Dance of Andalusia...and San Antonio

In search of the religious roots embedded in the dance of Andalusia (flamenco), I stumbled across the Fiesta Mass at San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, TX. After researching and watching a video of the Fiesta Mass, I cannot think of a place where the hermeneutic of Andalusia is more present than at the San Fernando Cathedral.

First, Harvard University features the congregation at San Fernando Cathedral as a part of their Pluralism Project, noting that the church is committed to interreligious dialogue, a key attribute of an Andalusian hermeneutic. The congregation is involved in an annual Thanksgiving Day service where flamenco dancers are a vital part of the liturgy and participants from various faith traditions are represented as worship leaders: Buddhists, Sikhs, Muslims, Baha'is, Hindus and Christians.

Furthermore, the Cathedral incorporates flamenco dance into several services throughout the liturgical year. From a celebratory and colorful flamenco mass on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the beginning of Advent to a dark and somber flamenco dance on Good Friday, where the dancers processed in with Our Lady of Sorrows, the dance of Andalusia (and also San Antonio it appears!) is interwoven throughout the service. The dance, music, clapping, stomping, and costuming involved in flamenco are all a part of the mass.

A newspaper reporter notes: “San Fernando Cathedral is home to the Flamenco Mass and many public rituals and celebrations of Mexican Catholic faith. It mirrors the emotional Latino experience of the Liturgy, and deepens the congregations' involvement in the Mass, by bringing passion, life and movement inside the Cathedral. Though some might think that the church is no place for dancing, Father Empereur disagrees-he says that the dignified nature of Flamenco dance conveys soul, depth and emotion to the service, deepening and revitalizing the experience of mass for his parishioners.”

It’s fascinating and encouraging to the think that there are little pockets of Andalusia throughout the world—sacred spaces that, though they may face controversy, still embrace a variety of religious traditions and the dances that accompany them!