Antonio Mandly Robles

Antonio Mandly Robles is a Professor in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Seville and a member of the Etnomedia CD Research and Technological Development Group. His research focuses on the cultural and historical dimensions of flamenco, exploring its roots in Andalusian popular culture and its connections to broader European traditions of resistance and counter-hegemonic expression. Mandly employs methodologies influenced by theorists such as Mikhail Bakhtin, Gaston Bachelard, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, emphasizing phenomenological and carnivalesque frameworks to analyze flamenco's socio-cultural significance.

His major work, *Los caminos del flamenco*, examines the role of historical routes like those documented by Pedro Juan Villuga (1546) in shaping flamenco's cultural identity. The book integrates ethno-historical analysis with multimedia elements, mapping key locations and their symbolic connections to flamenco traditions. Mandly also participates in interdisciplinary projects such as the Independent Platform for Modern and Contemporary Flemish Studies (PIE.FMC), contributing to discussions on border subjectivities and Mediterranean cultural narratives.

His theoretical contributions emphasize flamenco's capacity to embody marginalized voices and subvert dominant cultural narratives, linking it to a 'cursed branch' of European popular culture stretching back to Hellenistic antiquity. Mandly's work bridges academic rigor with cultural activism, advocating for flamenco as both an artistic form and a site of critical socio-political reflection.