flamenco!

Hi friends!
I was lucky enough to have the chance to attend an amazing flamenco show in the country last night with some wonderful people. it was an unexpected journey and turned out to be quite the adventure.


We left Cadiz last night at around 8 pm, and after much navigation arrived in the very small town of Puebla, Spain a little before 11pm. The flamenco show started at 11 and went on through the night. Why 11 pm? you may ask. Well, i will tell you. Because at 11pm, it was still easily in the high 70s outside and I don't even want to think about how hot it had been in Puebla during the day. By the time we left the venue at about three in the morning, the air was finally getting enough chill in it for me to put on a thin scarf over my tank top.

The flamenco show was in a beautiful hacienda in the prettiest little town. It was off the beaten path, but we found it, and it was well worth the journey.

I had been expecting a blues fest type of atmosphere, however I had expected wrong! Instead of blankets laid out in the grass, nice wooden chairs with comfortable cushions lined the yard in from of the stage. Instead of flip flops and casual summer digs, the crowd was out in their finery, high heels, dresses and slacks.  The bar behind the venue was serving shot after shot of rum and sherry and the beer flowed freely. Fat bocadillos (baguettes with meat and cheese) passed from the grill to the hands of hungry flamenco enthusiasts, and as the night carried on, many of the men began to stumble from point a to point b, singing the gypsy songs under their breath as they moseyed over to the bar for another round.

The show was moving and had high energy. Even during the slower songs, you could feel the performers love of their craft. You could feel that Flamenco was something that came from within them, as though their hands and fingers and voices were meant to do nothing else but play those guitars and sing those songs. 

Toward the end, I did begin to fade a little bit. It had been a long, hot day and night was turning into morning. By the time we left the Flamenco show, it was a little after three in the morning. We got to El Puerto where a valiant effort was made to get me to my house. It didn't work. It was so frustrating for me, because I knew how to get to my house if I was walking, but you cannot drive in these small Spanish towns! Every other street dead ends, or turns into a one way or is covered with drunk teenagers. As it was nearly 6 am, we were all tired and decided just to head back to the small apartment in Cadiz. I made a small bed on the floor and slept (very comfortably) until about noon. It was the perfect evening (less the heart attack inducing stop in El Puerto) and although we were tired, all agreed that it had been a fun adventure and great look at one of the pinnacles of Spanish culture.