A Zapateado is a Spanish folk dance from Andalusia, a form that is known in Flamenco as well. This version, however has a slightly different background because by the theme the piece seems to originate from the ballet La Gipsy by Thomas Ambroise (1811 -1896).
The three-act ballet is based on a libretto after the novel Novelas ejemplares: La gitanilla by Miguel de Cervantes, the author of the famous Don Quijote. The in those time famous dancer Fanny Elssler was the prima donna in this ballet.
The French composer Thomas Ambroise enjoyed his greatest successes in the Opera Comique, a theatre which was quite popular with the 19th century Parisian bourgeoisie.
This piece has a little more body than the arrangement that you can find elsewhere on this site under Trois Airs de Ballet. So more practice is required to achieve a brisk tempo.