One Saturday during the last Flamenco Tour to Jerez, after finishing class with Mercedes Ruíz, we showered and headed over to El Porrón for a lunchtime fiesta. José Luís had gotten us some delicious merluza fish from El Puerto de Santa María which Maribel prepared along with lots of aliños (marinated salads), a guiso (stew), and other goodies. Zorri sang, José Luís sang, Maribel danced, we danced, people stopped in to say hello. Afterward we went home and rested so that we could go out and see more flamenco later that night.

During the fiesta Zorri sang the song below. It is originally a milonga, but he sang it his way, por bulerías.

You can see pictures of that fiesta below, and if you're looking for a dose of alegría (happiness), DEFINITELY watch this video of Zorri dancing for us during bulerías class. I call Zorri El Embajador de la Alegría, The Ambassador of Happiness. One can't not feel happy around him, and watching him dance, well, it can make your face hurt from smiling so much.

At the end of the post you can listen to Atahualpa Yupanqui sing the song in its original form.

Los Ejes De Mi Carreta
Atahualpa Yupanqui

Porque no engraso los ejes,
Me llaman abandonao.
Si a mi me gusta que suenen,
¿Pa’ que los quiero engrasar?

Es demasiado aburrido
seguir y seguir la huella,
demasiado largo el camino
sin nada que me entretenga.

No necesito silencio.
Yo no tengo en quién pensar.
Tenía, pero hace tiempo,
ahora ya no pienso más.

Los ejes de mi carreta,
Nunca los voy a engrasar.

The Axles of My Wagon

Because I don't grease the axles,
They call me careless.
If I like how they sound,
why would I want to grease them?

It's too boring
to keep following the path.
Too long the trip
with nothing to entertain me.

I don't need silence,
I have no one to think about.
I did, but long ago,
and now I no longer think.

The axles of my wagon,
I'm never going to grease them.

Here’s Chano Dominguez interpreting it his way.