Did you enjoy yesterday’s video of Carmen Herrera José Mijita?

Here is another letra he sang to Carmen during that house concert:

Soleá por Bulerías
Traditional

Al de la Puerta Real
me aliviara estas duquelas tan grandes que yo tengo
que no las puedo aguantar

The Lord of the Chapel of the Royal Gate
may he relieve these horrible sorrows I have
for I can’t take it anymore

You have probably heard many variations of this letra.

Here are some examples with different words:

Listen to José sing it here about two and a half minutes in.

Listen to Antonio Mairena sing it here.

Listen to Agujetas sing his version here.

(And you can hear Terremoto sing it por tientos here.)

This following video shows the letra interpreted a couple of different ways, first by Aurora Vargas though I don’t know the name of the second singer.

A Note

This is one of those where much is lost in the translation to English...

Once José Mijita explained to me that La Puerta Real in this letra refers to the small chapel just past the Plaza Arenal in Jerez it made much more sense. I never knew the name of this chapel - where the devoted leave objects such as these in gratitude - that we walk past again and again on the Flamenco Tour to Jerez. ¡Gracias, José!

Understanding Bulerías Cante Workshop Online

Join me from wherever you are in the world for a virtual workshop with José and Carmen Herrera to learn about cante por bulerías and how to respond to it with palmas and baile. You won’t want to miss it!

Cover photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash