Last week we were remembering Paco de Lucía.
Today let's remember Camarón with this video and this song
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Letras
Today a song that Paco de Lucía composed for his mother from the album of the same name which he dedicated to her, Luzía.
Las cuerdas de mi guitarra
están llorando…
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Today marks the one year anniversary of Paco de Lucía's passing. I reposted some words I wrote last year after it happened along with a favorite video (with you-know-who playing palmas) on the experience flamenco site.
Below, let's revisit one of his most popular pieces,
The classic Entre dos Aguas:
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The sun and the moon have been hanging out together in Portland today. I guess they're getting along.
(Below you can see the crescent moon I've been admiring in today's blue sky.)
Sol y Luna
El sol le dijo a la luna
vivir contigo no puedo
porque cuando digo blanco
tú siempre me dices negro
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Here’s a letra Sol, our visiting artist right now, loves
Soleá is said to be the backbone of flamenco,
"It touches my soul," she says.
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Cat lovers and cat haters (dislikers?), come one, come all. It's a coletilla por bulerías that we sang with Oscar last month, and it has to do with kitty cats:
Me araña
me araña el gatito
échalo pá trás
He scratches me
The cat scratches me
Get him away
(By the way, I myself am a cat lover.)
This is a version of this one.
A note about dancing bulerías and coletillas:
In class, Oscar talked about how when a singer runs out of coletilla while singing for you, he might start doing jaleo instead. (And Ani always says once you hear just jaleos, it is definitely time to get out!)
Feliz finde ~ Happy weekend!
Free Demo Class with Sol 'La Argentinita!'
Sol 'La Argentinita' is in town with the Portland Opera's production of Carmen. Lucky us! And the luckiest bit of all is that she's sticking around after the shows to give us workshops. They're happening February 18-22, and she'll be giving a free preview class next Wednesday, February 11 at 5:30pm. Come meet her and even dance and sing a bit too...
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We wrap up Ida y Vuelta month with one more guajiras. Check it out then watch Concha Jareño dance.
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Today a vidalita letra and a video of Mayte Martín teaching cante...
This is part of the vidalita that Mayte Martin sings on her album Querencia. It's her adaptation of one by Juan Valderrama.
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The second letra in this month's Ida y Vuelta series. A guajiras letra and a video of Rocío Márquez.
Aquella noche, caía
la lluvia muy lentamente,
cantaba triste la fuente…
Get the translation and video here
This song will make your life better the moment you press play. You could even just listen to the first twenty seconds though that will likely be impossible because I imagine once you get started you probably will want to hear the whole song.
It's Enrique Morente and his daughter Estrella singing colombianas.
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It's the winter solstice! (This is how we were celebrating last year.)
Though classes are out for winter vacation, I'm still itching to dance, and I know you might be too.
Dancing is one of my favorite ways to cure holiday and sometimes family overwhelm.
If you too feel like dancing during this coming week but have no class to go to, tune into the experience flamenco blog and join me for the Dance as if You Were in Class With Mercedes Holiday Challenge. (You can do it in your bedroom.)
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Will 2015 be the year to go to Spain? More on that below, but first a letra:
Bulerías
Popular
Qué dolor de mi mare
tengo la camisa sucia
no tengo quien me la lave
The sorrow of my mother
I have a dirty shirt
I have nobody to wash it for me
You can listen to it here.
Stay tuned next week for the final letra of 2014 and the final installment of this series of bulerías shared by Zorri. (Don't worry, you'll see more letras from him here and there in the future.)
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This afternoon I was working on the letra.
I translated it, wrote it out, took a picture of it, and then decided I’d better hurry up and take a quick walk before the sun went down. It was nice out, and I could finish the post later.
It began to rain minutes after I began my walk.
I guess I needed to be rained on.
The sky had given me no indication that this was going to happen. It had been sunny all day, and all I noticed were beautiful nearning sunset colors from the moment I stepped outside. So many colors and shades of brightness that I didn’t really see the grey rain clouds.
I notice lots of things,
But sometimes I miss certain things that would be most helpful to notice,
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It's week two of bulerías shared by Zorri.
Bulerías
Popular
No sé lo que te han contao
que hasta vuelve la cabeza
cuando pasa por mi lao
I don't know what they told you
that has you turn your head,
when you pass by my side
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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.
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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.)
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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.