You've heard many examples of different artists singing cuplés in the previous four posts. Now it's time to see how one dances to a cuplé, and I've got one of the best possible examples for you, Carmen Herrera. Following the video I'll talk about how to dance bulerías to a cuplé then share one of the songs you'll hear and its translation. 

Let's begin by watching Carmen as she dances to the singing of father and sons "Los Mijitas." They are at a juerga at Peña de la Bulería in Jerez. The video is queued to begin where Carmen starts dancing at 4 minutes 30 seconds (though I'm pretty sure you'll want to go back and watch the whole thing at some point.) Today's song begins about five minutes in. The guys share in the singing, and it's kind of impossible not to get excited watching the interplay between them. 

While you watch, notice how Carmen's dancing changes as the song progresses. Notice how she reacts to her three singers and where she puts her remates. Notice when she brings the energy up ...

Dancing bulerías to cuplé means dancing a lot longer than one would for a typical bulerías. Rather than dancing for one or two letras, the dancer stays out for the length of the song! (At least the length the singer decides to make it; while they may not sing the whole song, it will still be quite a bit longer than a typical bulerías por fiesta letra.) The dancer listens for the transitions and reacts to them with remates or enganches and does a lot of marking in-between.

As you can see in the video, this is Carmen's jam. ¡Qué arte!

Not only is this a typical way of dancing in La Plazuela where she's from (and where we stay on the Flamenco Tour to Jerez) but she and these singers, namely José, have been working together since she was little. She told me once she knows his cante so well that she can anticipate what he's going to do. Though honestly, with Carmen, no matter who is singing, she always rocks her bulerías.

Okay, ready for those words?

It took a lot of searching to find them. First I had to listen and listen and listen to the singing in the video then search from the bits I could understand for the song that those words came from. Finally, I discovered it to be this one, phew!

from Romance de Juan Teba
Antonio Quintero y Rafael de León (words) Manuel Quiroga (music) 

(This piece is comprised of two parts, spoken and sung. In the video they do the singing part which you will find the words to below. You can read the full piece and find out a bit about its history here. And here you can listen to the whole song, a zambra, performed by Lola Flores and Manolo Caracol and here you can listen to another version by Manolo Caracol.

No me compadezcas, 
ni llores mi muerte… 
Después de tus besos, morir por España, 
después de tus besos, morir por España… 
Qué grande es mi suerte!

La luz de mis ojos
te van a quitar… 
Tú mira a los cielos, que en el arco iris
me vas a encontrar.

Los firmes cordeles
y el negro fusil, 
me huelen a flores si España y Dolores
suspiran por mí.

No me compadezcas, 
ni llores mi muerte… 
Después de tus besos, morir por España,
¡Qué grande es mi suerte! 
Después de tus besos, morir por España… 
¡Qué grande es mi suerte! 

No me compadezcas, 
ni llores mi muerte… 

Don't pity me, 
or cry over my death… 
After your kisses, to die for Spain, 
after your kisses, to die for Spain… 
How lucky I am!

The light of my eyes
they will take from you… 
Look at the sky, for in the rainbow
you will find me.

The strong cords
and the black rifle, 
smell to me of Spanish flowers and Dolores
they breathe for me.

Don't pity me,  
or cry over my death…  
After your kisses, to die for Spain, 
How lucky I am!
After your kisses, to die for Spain, 
How lucky I am! 

Don't pity me,  
or cry over my death…

This series was supposed to end here, but I've got one more thing I'd like to share with you, so stick around.

More on How to Dance Bulerías

One Way to Train Your Ear So That You Dance Well With the Cante

How To Improvise in Por Fiesta Flamenco Dances

How To Dance To The Cante

Bulerías Made Simple [The Structure of a Bulerías Dance & How It Relates to the Cante]

Here's Frances the Kitty Cat getting involved in the process: