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
How good are you at giving jaleos?
Whether you dance, sing play guitar, or play cajón, you must also give jaleos. In fact, even if you prefer only to watch flamenco, you’ll want to give some jaleos. It’s almost disrespectful not to.
Below find three activities to help you strengthen your ability to give these calls of encouragement along with ten straight minutes of bulerías to practice to.
Tangos or bulerías?
Qué cositas que no pueden ser
De la noche a la mañana
tú cambiaste de parecer
This is the letra we are dancing to this month in Beginning Baile
En Málaga, los serenos
van diciendo por las calles
que duerma el que tenga sueño
que yo no despierto a nadie.
You are going to LOVE the following video of Farruquito, El Yiyo, and friends in fin de fiesta at Café Berlin.
But first, here’s one of the letras you’ll hear:
A few weeks ago a flamenco loving Spanish student contacted me and asked if I could help her with the words from the following tangos sung by Luis Ortega.
As with any traditional flamenco song, this one is a collection of unrelated verses that Luis puts together to form a “song.”
This is a rather depressing letra,
but I promise you’ll be moved to the core watching and listening to el Pericón de Cádiz sing it in the video below.
Siguiriyas
Traditional
Detrás del carrito
lloraba mi madre
la pobrecita no lloraba agüita,
que lloraba sangre.
I first heard this letra when Diana sang it for tangos, and it made me think of my best friend Felicia who absolutely loves radishes. In the video below you can watch and listen to La Paquera sing it as soleá por bulerías:
Here’s a letra and a video of Fernando de la Morena to make you feel like you’re in Jerez:
I found this in the little book of letras that Melinda gave to me years ago. The book classifies this verse as Soleariyas, a specific type of soleá.
Bulerías
Traditional
No me mires malamente
que yo no tengo la culpa
que no me quiera tu gente
Here is a tangos along with interpretations by Camarón and Porrina de Badajoz:
Si el agua se va a los ríos
y los ríos se van a los mares
El pobre corazón mío
Detrás del tuyo se va
Bulerías
Traditional
Dinero
no te he pedido nada
quiero que vengas a verme
por tu propia voluntad
