Andalusian dance of a popular character that has no desplantes (series of hard stepping movements that end, or climax, a series of steps, or section, of the dance) or convulsive movements. It involves jumping and requires the participation of at least one pair of dancers. José Luque, a student of this style, believes that “verdiales are the oldest and most genuine expression of the traditional popular music of Málaga. It is a fandango that can be danced to, with probable Moorish origins”, which has gained strength in Málaga. It can be danced with castanets and using finger-clicking as accompaniment.
It represents a basic example of a ternary meter, that is, it is in three times:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The cante (style of song) is rich in variety, tradition and customs. Apart from the guitar, they used to be accompanied with violins, tambourines and castanets, and in earlier times using vihuelas (an ancient traditional Spanish string instrument) and bandurrias, which were sometimes substituted by rustic or domestic objects such as mortars, small cane tubes, pots and pans, and spoons. These musical collectives performing verdiales are known as Panda de Verdiales. As a result of its copious accompaniment, it has evolved very little within flamenco and it still preserves its primitive essence. Juan Breva was the artist who was most important for spreading this style. The lyrics are simple and happy. This cante is considered the prototype of the peasant fandango, and its lyrics are characterised by coplas (poetic compositions, in verse, used as lyrics) consisting of five eight-syllable verses (the first of which tends to be repeated as the third) or, at times, of four verses.