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
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Letras
Today, as promised, a mirabrás and a video of Juan Valderrama.
Mirabrás
(Popular)
Venga usted a mi puesto Hermosa,
y no se ponga usted salero
castañas de Galarosa
yo vendo camuesas y peros
Ay Marina,
yo traigo naranjas
y son de la China
batatitas borondas*
melocotones de Ronda
agua de la nevería
suspiritos de canela
The other day my friend David posted a snippet of the video below to my Facebook wall. It's from the 2013 Fiesta de la Bulería, and you'll see Triana dancing when she was even younger (so great!) along with a lot of strong women doing their flamenco thing.
Let's start with this:
I'm still in a bulerías mood as I prepare to head to Jerez for the Flamenco Tour in a couple of weeks.
And so, today I have a video clip to share with you of a little girl from Jerez named Triana dancing bulerías (her signature dance of course) for Rafael Amargo. She starts off by singing the following letra then dances while her dad sings and plays guitar for her. You're going to love it.
If you like exploring how letras can vary, if you're looking to practice bulerías to cante at a comfortable speed, or if you just want to get better at bulerías, then consider today's post a treat. You'll find a video with examples of one letra interpreted in two different ways along with a short activity to help you train your ear and get better at improvising.
First, the letra:
Bulerías
Popular
El sitio donde te hablé
ganas me dan de volverme
y sentarme un ratito en él
A letra por bulerías and a video of Pastora Galván dancing bulerías at the Feria de Utrera last year with Tomás de Perrate and Cristian Guerrero.
Bulerías
Popular
Ahí viene mi moreno
por la plazuela
y yo lo estoy esperando
tras la cancela
y es que en Triana,
los niños chiquititos cantando al alba
After today's letra you'll find that video I promised you of Mercedes Ruíz dancing at this year's Fiesta de la Bulería (and really getting into it) followed by an explanation of what's happening at the end between the dancer (Mercedes) and the singer (David Carpio) along with an important concept to understand that can help you when dancing bulerías por fiesta by yourself. (I've also included a short activity for you to do at the end.)
Bulerías
Popular
No sé por qué será
me duelen más que las mías
las penas de los demás
I'm still on a tangos kick.
Here's another letra for you followed by a video of Camarón singing it.
I'm still on a high from last weekend's tangos workshops. Por eso, a tangos letra for you today along with a video of Rocío Segura singing all kinds of letras, and an activity to improve your tangos dancing from home.
Tangos de la Repompa
Mamá, mamá no quiero eso,
Mamá, mamá no quiero na,
Quiero que vengas a verme
de tu propia voluntad
Mom, Mom I don't want that,
Mom, Mom, I don't want anything,
I want you to come to see me
of your own accord
Ever experienced pain and sorrow and struggled to truly feel into it even though you knew you needed to? Today's letra and video might be able to help with that. Below find a fandangos letra and a video of Rocío Márquez.
Fandangos
La pena grande que se llora
con las lágrimas se va;
la pena grande es la pena
que no se puede llorar;
esa no se va, se queda.
Lately I've had bulerías on my mind . . . I've been watching bulerías, listening to bulerías, dancing bulerías (in class, at home, in my head).
Naturally, the moves I'm currently working with during the 10-Day Dance Like You're In Class With Mercedes Ruíz Home Challenge are por bulerías.
So, today I offer you some bulerías inspiration via a video of Manuel Liñan dancing and a letra that David Carpio sings to him. There's also a quick activity for you at the end of the post. (I know, I'm big on activities this week.)
Below find a letra that David Lagos sang during our private show on the Flamenco Tour to Jerez.
That night David sang granaína, rondeñas, caña, fandangos por bulerías, alegrías, bulerías...
We were all in HEAVEN.
Last week I wrote about some challenges I experienced while dancing bulerías and eight lessons I learned in the process. I'm not about to let those lessons go to waste, so I'm holding myself accountable by reporting back to you: Below I share one simple way I've been actively applying those lessons. It's something you too can do, today, to improve your bulerías. (You'll also find a letra at the end of the post.)
So as you know, I learned that I needed to practice more and listen more. One thing I've been doing that addresses both at the same time is to squeeze them in while driving in the car.
How?
I want to share a story with you about how I messed up dancing bulerías last weekend, how it left me feeling not so happy about my dancing, eight important lessons about flamenco (and life) I learned in the process, and how those lessons served me when I applied them to a sticky situation in my life.
So last weekend I took a workshop with Alfonso Cid. He shared bunches of bulerías letras with us (you'll find one below) and gave a very informative introduction to flamenco, with a focus on cante. He had us all singing and doing palmas and even got some of us up dancing.
Toward the end of the workshop someone asked Alfonso to address how to dance bulerías por fiesta, how to dance to the cante. (As you know, this is one of my favorite things.)
Yay! (and Olé).
Some people got up to dance, mess up or not mess up, and learn along the way.
I was one of those people.
And here is what I learned:
Mercedes Ruíz, our teacher on the Flamenco Tour to Jerez, was awarded the 'Flamenco Hoy' prize for the Best Flamenco Dancer of 2015 (Mejor Bailaora). You can watch a new video of her below as well as read a flamenco letra on love.
The great flamenco guitarist Juan Habichuela, 'Tío Juan,' known as the best cante accompanist, passed away last week.
You can see a video of him playing below along with an interview where he talks about his life as a flamenco guitarist. He says he is a guitarist who plays for cante, who loves accompanying cante, who loves cante, who loves flamenco, and that he'll die with all of that.
But first, a poem.
I saw this on Facebook, written and posted by guitarist Paco Cepero, and I wanted to share it with you:
I just returned home from Jerez, and naturally, I'm missing bulerías.
I have a letra to share with you today. It's one that David Lagos sang during our private show there, but before I do, I want to tell you a quick story.
It's one that Julie, a student on the Flamenco Tour, shared with me just before she departed Jerez.
On her last morning there, Julie took a final stroll around the city before she caught her train to Granada. On her way back to the apartments she found herself behind an older couple walking down the street. T
I'm in Jerez.
One by one the Flamenco Tour students are arriving. It's so exciting.
Tonight we get to know each other at the opening night tapas reception. Then we'll go to the Peña los Cernícalos to watch Ana María López's Fin de Curso. Tomorrow we begin our workshop with Mercedes Ruíz. The next day we start our bulerías class . . .
Below find another tangos from La Niña de los Peines followed by a recording and a palmas activity for you.
A mi madre abandoné
por tu querer solamente
Ahora me veo solita
sin madre y sin tu querer
Soleá apolá
Todo el mundo le pide a Dios
la salud y la libertad
y yo le pido la muerte
no me la quiere mandar
The whole world asks God
for health and freedom
And I ask for death
He doesn't want to send it to me
With just about every bulerías letra Zorri dictates to me, he smiles and laughs while explaining the meaning. (I really wish you could see him do this.)
So, below find another one from Zorri.
Once you've read it, scroll down to the bottom of the post to see three awesome videos of people (Joaquin Grilo, Rocío Molina, and Midori) dancing por bulerías.
Bulerías
Popular
Me acuesto y no cojo cama
Me acuesto con el sentío
a ver quién a la puerta llama
