The martinete is one of the main ‘cantes’ (songs) of flamenco and is considered a form of toná. Although its origin is uncertain, most researchers place it in the forges of Jerez, Cádiz and Triana (Seville), places where the Andalusian gypsies used to work, who began to develop these songs.

Considered a modality of the toná, the martinete is interpreted without guitar, ‘a palo seco’, although sometimes it is accompanied by the sounds that are reminiscent of those of a forge, hitting some metal.

In fact, the name of this song refers to the hammer with which the blacksmiths or the twin bellows used in the forges that are called hammers worked.

It is a song with a couplet, of four verses of eight syllables. His lyrics are characterized by having a sad content and a monochrome tone. It begins with an om ‘tran-tran’onomatopoeic, which recalls the sound of the hammer on the anvil, and ends with long ‘quejío’.

The martinete, together with the soleá, seguiriya or tonás, are considered “cantes grandes” of flamenco and styles that support the tree of this artistic genre.