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
Perico Navarro.
I've mentioned him before.
Should you ever meet him you'll see what I mean about his eyes.
And you'll see that he's nice, so nice. I mean it, súper simpatico.
I interviewed him last fall in Jerez. That's where he's from. You can read the first segment here where he shares some thoughts on bulerías.
Today we talk about how he first became interested in the cajón, how he learned to play, and when he started getting into flamenco.
Another story from Jerez...
I told them how it terrified me. I told them I was terrorized by it. But they still wanted to go.
I took them there even before our first class with Mercedes.
I needed for them to see it. I was hoping they would want to take it too. I was worried they might think it was too much on top everything else.
Physically it is not demanding. So, that would be no issue.
But mentally, well...
They were ready for certain things.
Es oficial. Spring has sprung! And so today an estribillo from the song Primavera from José Mercé's Del Amanacer. One of the very first flamenco albums I ever purchased... the very very first one was Manolo Sanlúcar's Tauromagia...
But anyway, in honor of springtime,
You've heard me talk about Ani and her bulerías class and about bits of wisdom I've learned from her. I want to share another bit today.
It's one of those things she said that sent me scurrying to my notebook. I didn't think much about it when she said it. I just knew it was importante and that I wanted to write it down.
In bulerías class you learn steps.
But you don't have to do them.
You can. Or you can do your own. Or someone else’s.
So, yes, you learn steps.
But you're really there to learn concepts.
I can't stop thinking about doing bulerías in Jerez. And with that on my mind, here's a letra for today.
Bulerias
Como revienta un cañón
a fuerza de tantos golpes
así voy a reventar yo
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I wrote and posted this story about two years ago. I was so inspired by Akiko that I wanted to repost it today, with a few adjustments. Today when I am feeling overwhelmed and stressed out about all kinds of things.
Today when I am feeling shut down and scared to perform this weekend, as I so often get.
Today when I need grounding and inspiration.
Allow me to tell you a bit about Akiko, one of the many inspiring people I've met during my time here in Jerez.
Not too long ago Akiko began taking classes in Japan from Harumi, an incredibly graceful flamenco dancer from Osaka who básicamente seems to have mastered las bulerías de Jerez. She even co-teaches with Ana María López at la Peña los Cernícalos when she is in town.
But back to Akiko.
A letra and a video of Miguel Poveda and Moraíto Chico and family.
¿No te acuerdas cuando entonces
venías en busca mía?
y ahora tú no me conoces
A video interview with Ricardo López to calm your nerves...
Not behind his back, don't worry. We do it both when he's here and when he's not. We pretend we're him, and we walk around with intense looks on our faces, vigilando.
Other times we just pretend he's there in the room with us, looking like he looks.
It's fun. You should try it.
In the video below, you can see for yourself.
I ask him about getting nervous before a workshop. Because the thought of studying with an out-of-this-world amazing dancer from Spain who is used to dancing with the best of the best can feel a little bit intimidating to some of us around here.
You can’t do flamenco and not do jaleos. You just can’t. It can feel awkward at first, I know. No te preocupes. I have some ideas on how to become more comfortable with this whole jaleos thing.
First, a few and how to pronounce them:
como es eso [coh-moh eh eh-so]
vamos allá [vah-moh ah-yah]
que toma toma toma toma toma [kay toh-mah...]
Here is a list of some common (& simpler) ones, along with some embarrassing admissions of accidentally giving them in English. Oops.
I thought I would sound stupid. I thought people would laugh at me. But mostly, it just felt so unnatural.
But not anymore.
It was Mercedes who introduced me to El Londro, (musically that is). Below find a mariana from El Londro's Luna de Enero album along with a video of Mercedes Ruíz dancing in the streets of Jerez.
Yo vengo de Hungria
con mi Mariana…
Pay no attention to what people say
They are jealous, for I love freely
because my love is like a wild bird …
Ven a borrrame los fracasos de mi mente ven a llenarme de caricias diferentes ven a sacarme de este pozo de amargura donde me encuentro yo...
Today a video of Vicente Amigo and Diego el Cigala along with a letra and a discussion. Enjoy!
La Tarde es Caramelo
Vicente Amigo
Cerca del río hay un sendero
donde la tarde es caramelo
cerca del río yo me pierdo
me encontraré cuando me encuentre con tus besos.
Here's a bulerías for you...
Yo tenía una prima hermana
que por irse con el novio
se tiró por la ventana.
I had a first cousin
who in following her boyfriend
jumped out of the window.
Actually, that's not what I think at all, it's just today's letra...
More Tangos del Titi
It was November 2012, and I was in Jerez. My exotic pets had all gone home, except for one that is. And I kept getting messages, important messages... November 7, 2012
I started getting them about a week ago, the messages. Or that's when I started hearing them.
They were sent on various occasions.
But always during class.
And they were all more or less the same.
Things changed in bulerías this week.
There was a request for the words to the song in this post...
They're rather fuerte.
You can hear Camarón singing it here and again here.
Tientos
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Tienes que derramar más sangre
que un torito bravo en su muerte
no sé como tienes valor
pá hablar de mi malamente.
You have to shed more blood
than a fighting bull at his death
I don't know how you have the courage
to speak badly of me.
Dime que no estoy sola
When I have to stop what I'm doing and close my eyes. Cerrar mis ojos y pararme.
Because I hear something too beautiful not to. Not to stop. To listen, to take it in, to feel. And to let myself cry.
Close my eyes and stop
to
just
listen.
And then do it again.
Today's letra has me dreaming. I wish it had occurred to me a couple of weeks ago while in San Diego when Margot asked to learn a new song. Because this one feels just right for my sobrinas.
I want what it speaks of.
Un puente. Yes, a bridge. And I would make it a magic bridge. A bridge that could take us over a thousand miles in mere minutes. Oh the visits we would have!
Anyway, we can sing it together next time.
For today, I share it with you.
The other day I made a great discovery. (I'll tell you about it in a minute.) But first I want to talk about noticing, something I did a lot of last year. It helps me to focus. It teaches me all kinds of things. And I intend to keep it up.
At times I record the noticings in little books. At times I share them with others, like you. At times they just stay in my cabeza. Other times in my cuerpo.
It shows me stuff. Like tendencies to rush, to stop listening, to leave my body.
It tells me what I need to work on.
It points out when I’m enjoying myself and when I’m not, to what factors into that, and how certain things feel.
It teaches me about how I like to create, about environments I work best in, about how I like to dance, why I like to dance, and who I like to dance with.
