Our Story
Cueva Flamenca Los Parrones is a living part of the history of Sacromonte and of the origins of the gypsy zambra in Granada.
Set on the old Camino del Sacromonte no. 24, today no. 23, this cave belonged to Carmen Maya Campos and her second husband Pablo Moreno Morante, who lived here from the end of the 19th century.
The Origins
Carmen Maya began dancing in the first zambra of El Humilladero and later continued in the zambras of Sacromonte, where she stood out for her art and her duende.
After the caves separated, she went on singing and dancing alongside her nephews the Amayas, a family that has kept the flamenco tradition alive for generations.
The cave and its history
In 1944, Cueva Los Parrones was the first cave in Sacromonte to have running water. That made it a much-visited place for the women of the neighbourhood, who came for water or even to give birth.
Back then the supply was "hooked up" without permission and the family received a hefty fine, a detail that is now part of local history.
The cave hosted emblematic weddings, such as that of Rafael Farina and La Pillina and that of Juanito Varea and Carmela Amaya, a celebrated bailaora of Sacromonte.
As well as her art, Carmen Maya sold baskets at the Alhambra, read fortunes and offered the famous "powders of Mother Celestina" to the young ladies of Granada looking for luck in love.
The Maya family came to Sacromonte from Alhama. With eleven children, the Maya surname is still present today in many families in the neighbourhood.
One of the first to settle here was Pedro Maya Vasallo, known as El Tío Pello, a bailaor and collaborator of the guitarist El Murciano. According to various documents, the two created the soleá granaína, and Tío Pello even taught dance to the composer Glinka. His nickname is the origin of Los Pellos.
Carmen Maya, aunt of La Parrona, left a mark that lives on today in every show in our cave.
Tradition you can feel
