We heard El Almendro sing the following at Peña La Bulería on the last Flamenco Tour to Jerez. It was written by El Torta who, though illiterate, wrote many (very beautiful) letras. At the end of this post you'll find a video of him singing this, which I absolutely promise you you'll want to watch.

Momentos Solo (Bulerías)
Juan Moneo 'El Torta'

Cuántos momentos
Cuántas cosas me recuerdan que tuve contigo
Tuvimos juntos
No se me apaga la vela que
Tengo por tu cariño

Solo, siempre voy solo
Debo de ser un solitario
Entre quebrantos y penas
Entre sueños y desengaños

De nuevo a casa
Sabiendo que no hay nadie
Y yo me vuelvo loco
Me pongo a hablar con el aire

No se me va
De mi cabeza a mí no se me va
De que me trataste bien
Y de que te pagué muy mal

No se me va
Por mucho que yo quiera
Me tengo que acordar
De aquellos momentos
Que me hiciste pasar
De aquellos momentos
Que no volverán

De prisa como el agua del río
Como el aire que va yo voy a verte
Pero tu cara se me pierde entre las sombras
Porque la noche es más larga que la muerte

Ay, cuanto te quiero
Me estoy muriendo
Y tú no estás aquí
Y yo quiero abrazarte
Quiero abrazarte y acariciarte
Y por mil años poder besarte

Moments Alone

So many moments
So many things I remember that I had with you
We had together
The candle that I lit for your love
Does not go out

Alone, I'm always alone
I should be on my own*
Between losses and sorrows
Between dreams and disappointments

I go back home
Knowing that there’s nobody there
And it drives me crazy
I start talking to the air

It doesn’t leave
It doesn’t leave my head
How you treated me well
And how I paid you back poorly

It doesn’t leave
As much as I’d like it to
I have to remember
Those moments
That you gave to me
Those moments
That will not come back

Fast like the water of a river
Like the air that goes I'm going to see you
But I lose your face between the shadows
Because the night is longer than death

Oh how I love you
I’m dying
And you’re not here
And I want to hold you
I want to hold you and caress you
And be able to kiss you for a thousand years

Want to see more?

Check out this performance from El Sol, La Sal, El Son here and one more version here. Oh, and here you can see him with Jesús Méndez in a show we saw at Teatro Villamarta on the first Flamenco Tour (just about one year before he passed away).

You can read an interview with El Torta here and learn even more about him here.

*I decided to translate 'un solitario' as the description, on my own. I contemplated translating it as a noun as he sings it in Spanish; I tried 'a loner, a recluse, a solitary,' but on my own felt most appropriate. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

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