How to dance flamenco, flamenco travel in Spain, flamenco dance students and their experiences, interviews with flamenco artists, translations of flamenco letras (songs) from Spanish to English
I can't imagine learning flamenco without pens and paper. I really can't.
On paper I take notes. On paper I figure things out. On paper I put the thoughts that circle inside my head. And there's just something I like so much about the feel of the pen moving atop the paper.
They helped me a lot in the beginning, in Sevilla.
They help me today.
And they helped me a lot in Jerez.
Today another one that I got from Zorri. He is full of letras.
Literally.
This one is kind of fuerte.
Bulerías
Popular
Contigo bajé la cuesta
y ahora que quiero subirla
que trabajito me cuesta
I went down the hill with you
and now that I want to go back up,
Oh how much work it is
We all know a lot of the sentido gets lost in translation. The letras just don't have the same feeling in English. And then at times there are specific things that really cannot be translated within the verse itself.
Thank you for reading.
Thank you for supporting.
Thank you for being here.
Happy Thanksgiving.
I originally posted this here just before the very first Flamenco Tour in 2012. I wanted to share it with you today on the eve of Thanksgiving. Rereading it I feel grateful. Grateful for trust.
Grateful for the trust that allows me to do certain things that I fear. Things that I really want to do. Things that make my life richer. Without trust, I would miss out on so much.
So, thank you, trust.
have happened since my trip began. And I've already learned something very important.
Os cuento...
On Monday I went to the Portland airport.
I am in the province of Málaga, so I am thinking of malagueñas. which I love.
Apparently the original malagueñas had folkloric and rhythmic origins from here in Málaga. It would make sense to share one of those letras with you.
But I don't want to.
(Anyway, I posted a verdiales last week.)
Today I want to share this Malagueña del Mellizo with you.
It is said that Enrique el Mellizo's influence transformed malagueñas into the cante libre style we hear today. (He was not from Málaga.)
This week, since I am in Málaga, verdiales and a video.
Verdiales
Hojita de limón verde
y flor blanca de azahar…
sale mi niña a bailar,
y un rayo de sol se prende
en sus enaguas bordás.
If you've ever taken class with Mercedes Ruíz, you will likely recognize the words and phrases below. If you have not yet studied with her and plan to, prepare, because you are sure to hear these utterances over and over again.
If you have previously studied with her but were unsure of what she meant, read on, and find out.
If you have not studied with her and don't plan to, read anyway because the first eight are important tips to remember all of the time in your independent practice or in anybody's class.
This is a letra that Zorri sang the other night.
Watching Zorri laugh after singing it was the best, and then hearing him laugh because, well, if you've ever heard his laugh,
It's a laugh that makes you laugh. That on top of the meaning of the letra, let's just say it made for a good laughing session.
Bulerías
Popular
Ten cuidao con ese gato
que se coma una a una
las sardinitas del plato
Be careful with that cat
because one by one it eats
the little sardines from the plate
We were supposed to go to a tablao that night, but that didn't happen.
It is Halloween, and I just returned home from the peña. I am in Jerez.
On the way I saw a family dressed up in zombie-style Halloween costumes. Their two dogs were dressed as jack-o-lanters.
We saw Manuel Agujetas Hijo sing with Domingo Rubichi accompanying on guitar.
Below is a letra por fandangos that he sang.
(You can hear El Chocolate singing it here.)
Fandangos
No me quites la botella
que yo me quiero emborrachar
no me quites la botella
voy a beber de verdad
y a ver si no pienso en ella
y yo la consigo olvidar
You've read my thoughts on avoiding castanets burn-out, and you've read about what made castanets finally doable for me. Today I'll share with you five important technique tips. But first, a castanets confession.
It has to do with my moving thumb.
My right thumb, that is. My right thumb that moves when I am doing the roll with my four fingers, well, and when doing postiseo, but it's supposed to move then, so that's a good thing.
It's a bad habit that I formed in my alone practicing.
I don't know if I could have avoided it had I spent more time studying under someone else's guidance in the beginning. I don't know if the teacher would have noticed it happening and helped me to prevent it from continuing and developing into a habit. These are things I wonder about.
Most people tell me it's almost impossible to "fix" at this point.
Most people except for Emilio.
Soleá
Dicen que no siento nada
y las carnes de mis huesos
a pedazos se me van
They say that I don't feel anything
and the skin from my bones
falls off in pieces
Yesterday I told you we’d talk about what to do when castanets frustration hits. Because it will.
Below are some ideas:
1. Don’t worry that you’re not producing the right (or any) sound.
This is part of the castanets learning process.
The movements are AWKWARD. Please give your sweet fingers some time to assimilate new movements they’re not used to making.
Sometimes remembering you’re not alone helps a lot. (You're not alone!)
2. Keep trying.
When I would tell Mercedes I can’t do it, she would always say the same thing,
As you know I stayed away from castanets for quite some time. I had my reasons.
Which I’ll share with you today along with the best thing you can do for yourself when starting out.
Reason #1: Rebellion.
In part I was rebelling, at least that’s what I told myself.
Rebelling because when I would mention that I danced flamenco it seemed just about every other person would assume I played castanets,
"Ohhhhhh, so you play those things,” making motions with their fingers, “that make the clacking sounds?”
“No, I do not play those things, and actually you don’t need to play those things to do flamenco,” I’d say.
It’s true, one does not have to play castanets to do flamenco, but there was certainly a little bit of defensive me who-didn’t-know-how-to-play-so-don't-ask-me-that talking.
And then there was Reason #2,
Ricardo is here, and I’m already disappointing him. He arrived on Tuesday, and it didn’t take long.
I’ll tell you about the desilusión and share three dance tips (Ricardo López) from his class last night. Three tips that are important to keep in mind at all times.
There’s really a lot of me feeling disappointed with myself going on.
Why didn’t I study before he came?
Why didn’t I make it a point to remember things he’d taught me in the past?
Why don’t I just pick things up quickly and do them well right away?
Why haven’t I been working on my technique more?
It started on Tuesday when he arrived.
Last night at Manuel Liñan’s show, I heard this letra and had to write it down.
So I took out my little book and scribbled the first line down.
Ricardo looked at me and laughed.
I'm in the mood for tangos.
Tangos
Popular
Amparo
El enfermo busca el alivio
yo lo busco y no lo hallo
Protection
The sick one looks for relief
I look for it and I don't find it
You can hear La Paquera sing this letra in the video below at 1 minute 59 seconds:
