Flamenco is one of the older homegrown Spanish music styles and remains beloved in the country today. Although flamenco originated in Andalusia, it has spread throughout Spain and the rest of the world and is considered to be the quintessential Spanish music. Flamenco is most often played with classical and mild percussion and, like many of the country's musical genres, is often accompanied by a dance fueled by energetic rhythms and passionate strumming. Today, more modern forms of flamenco, such as nuevo flamenco played with electric guitars, can be heard throughout Spain as well.
Spain's late night, party lifestyle has always been fertile ground for dance music. Electronica, specifically, has been immensely popular in the country's club scene. The now infamous island of Ibiza, with its dozens of clubs with nightly world-renowned DJs, is considered by many to be the mecca of electronic dance culture in Europe. Of course, other major cities like Barcelona and Madrid aren't far behind, each with their own all-night electronica clubs. This is why Spain has become a large tourist destination for dance and electro-enthusiasts from around the world.
Although the Spanish rumba has its own distinct style, the genre itself descends from the Afro-rumba music played in Cuba and around the Caribbean. Either way, it's a type of music that took in the Catalonia region in the mid-1950s and is now popular throughout Spain. Rumba, like flamenco, is based heavily around rhythm, often featuring sections with various percussion instruments, both large and small. Although traditionally linked with gypsy music, modern rumba has turned up in pop songs and even some of the electronic dance music played in Spanish nightclubs.
Like England and the United States, rock 'n' roll has been a popular style of music in Spain for decades. Aside from enjoying the classics, Spaniards have developed many of their own unique styles of rock by infusing flamenco and gypsy rhythms and instruments with the typical rock 'n' roll setup. They even have their own particular brand of punk rock music, known as "rock radical vasco," which came out of the Basque region of the country during the 1980s. This musical style was fueled by the tense political climate of the time and produced many classic Spanish rock protest songs.