Recent advances in flamencology have unveiled the sophisticated and intricate musical language of flamenco, grounded in its own grammar and syntax. The analysis of this language, governed by often unspoken codes and guidelines, requires deep insider knowledge. In this context, the article features the outcomes from the combination of the viewpoint and criteria of flamenco practitioners with a pulse-level analysis according to the model by North American music theorist Fred Lerdahl and linguist Ray Jackendoff (1983).

This dual-method analysis (emic-etic), applied systematically across each flamenco genre or palo, culminates in a comprehensive classification of metered flamenco, distributed into five metric groups according to their specific type of metric tension. Following this classification, the article reveals the two metric matrices of flamenco, both incorporating a hemiolic cell, which might support the idea of flamenco’s complete Hispano-American identity.

In the definition of flamenco's essential features and origins, this focus on musicological analysis—rather than overemphasizing nonmusical aspects such as the name, the lyrics, or the emotional tone of each genre—also seeks to forge a new path for phylogenetic research into flamenco.

Keywords: flamenco, pulse-level analysis, metric groups, metric matrices, hemiola, Hispano-American.