Hey you all, just found some archived entries from our trip to Sevilla in 2006. Thought we would share them with you below:
 | Hola amigos, Encarna and I just arrived and are staying in |
Monday, September 18, 2006
| It has been a little harder to get in touch with the whole scene compared to last time. Some of our favorite places have closed, and we are finding out where everything is. Saw our friend Chico the last 2 nights, the singer from Martires del Compas, an awesome flamenco rock group from Sevilla. Again, we laughed so hard our stomachs hurt. How cool to be back at Chiringuito, are favorite local hang. Many of our friends live in this alley bar at night, playing and singing flamenco, telling jokes, smoking the the good Moroccan stuff, and drinking Cruzcampo, the local pilsner. There is a feeling of freedom here that is hard to describe. On a sadder note, we found out 2 of our amigos have died since we left. Javi, got cancer in his leg and died quickly. El Indio, our homeless flamenco friend who was featured in the movie ¨Tres Mil Viviendos¨ died from the cold outside a hospital waiting to get surgery. I guess there was a big protest here after. You have to understand here, the few homeless are not outcasts in the flamenco scene, they are part of it. El Indio was one of the sweetest people we met in our travels here. From the first time he saw us, he screamed ¨Pelo Largo¨(long hair) to me from across the street, asked if I had Indian blood and if I played flamenco. I told him yes to both, and we became instant friends. This guy spoke fluent Apache somehow, after living with them for 6 months. He truly welcomed us to his world here, a beautiful world of late night flamenco, and many laughs. He chose his Gypsy life, as he saw it as the only way for him to live free, the way the Indians used too. You have arrived mi Tio, ¨¡ |
| ¡Ole! Everything has fallen in place as of last night. We have found that our neighborhood has more flamenco then the last, and is a barrio where the flamenco culture permeates the scene. There is a peña every Friday and Saturday at midnight, with flamencos that are preserving the Cante Jondo y flamenco antiquo(the oldest flamenco forms and poems), and the bar a block from our place is were all the old aficionados go to discuss the shows and flamenco history. Encarna has started dance classes with Miguel Vargas, and will be studying the cante with Esperanza Fernandez(his wife) in 2 weeks. These people are as good as it gets. Encarna is in heaven. Every Wednesday has an intimate theater flamenco show at a very high level. The show we saw last night was great, and I met another guitarist, Jose Manuel Tuleda, who I will be taking some technique classes with starting Friday. Then we went to see my teacher, Martin, kick some ass at the Pata Negra, a beautiful outdoor acoustic tablao. I was once again reminded that Martin carries the flamenco with him everywhere he goes. All the greatest flamenco moments for us have been with him. It would be hard to find a guitar player who enjoys playing more than him. At the end of the set, the singer´s son (about 7 years old) sang por buleria and fandangos. Incredible! We can learn alot as Americans from the Gypsies here in the way they nurture their children´s talent in music. They have the blessing at birth from their parents to live the life of an artist if they wish. After that we went to Though the Bienal is here, which is the biggest flamenco festival in Spain, this is what we came for. Flamenco is much more than music or dance. It is a way of life. How blessed we are to be here and to be in the company such generous and talented people. ¡Vive Sevilla! |
| Hola from Sevilla again. Classes are going well. I´ve been studying bulería and alegrías again with Martín and Tudela, and starting on some new soleá por bulería today. The practice is hard as ever, and long hours. Just how I like it :-) Plenty of time to party in the evening(though I usually come back and keep practicing). Encarna is still studying with Miguel Vargas, and is very happy with him. Great technique and knowledge of the cante. I am playing for his classes once a week now. Encarna also starts voice classes with his wife Esperanza Fernadez today, as well as a seguirilla dance workshop with Belen Maya. |
| Hey all, just another quick post. Both of us are still practicing hard out here. Things are good with our teachers. I played with the gitanos at El Montoncillo, the bar my teacher plays for the first time and received a warm welcome. And met 2 Mexicans! It was cool to see La Raza out here with the Gitanos. We returned the next night and Encarna danced and recieved a great response too. |
