Get ready to be blown away by the video below of Rancapino Chico singing por tangos during his performance at the Peña Tío José de Paula during the last Flamenco Tour to Jerez.
There was so much going on this particular night in Jerez (most exciting of which was the procession of the Cristo de la Expiración returning to his newly renovated home right in our neighborhood, Barrio San Miguel, but 'll tell you more about that later). I abandoned my post in the Plaza Cruz Vieja where I was waiting to see Niño de la Fragua perform and made it just in time to see Rancapino Chico across town in the Santiago neighborhood.
And I was SO glad I did. (Much to my surprise I still made it back in time to see Niño de la Fragua as he went on over four hours later than planned...)
The recording below is one of those you’ll need to close your eyes to and listen to again and again. It’s so good I can hardly stand it:
You can hear him sing the final verse of Camarón’s hit Rosa María at 1:10.
Rosa María
Antonio Sánchez Pecino
Flores silvestres del campo
y agua de laguna clara
y asi tengo comparaos
a los colores de tu cara
Rosa María, Rosa María
si tú me quisieras qué feliz sería
Tengo celos de las flores
del espejo en que te miras
del peine con que te peinas
y del aire que respiras
Rosa María, Rosa María
si tú me quisieras qué feliz sería
Tiene alegría y belleza
y finura en el andar
y hasta tu risa es bonita
y distinta a las demás
Rosa María, Rosa María
si tú me quisieras qué feliz sería
Wildflowers from the countryside
and water from the clear lake
this is what I compare
to the colors of your face
Rosa María, Rosa María
If you loved me how happy I would be
I’m jealous of the flowers
of the mirror you look into
of the brush you use
and of the air you breathe
Rosa María, Rosa María
If you loved me how happy I would be
She has joy and beauty
and finesse in her step
Even your smile is beautiful
and different from everybody else’s
Rosa María, Rosa María
If you loved me how happy I would be
You can hear Camarón sing the whole song (and original version) here.
And here you can see La Mari’s interpretation.
You can see a couple more videos from that performance here and here.
What was your favorite part?
My favorite part goes from about 45 seconds in through Antonio Higuero’s falseta ending about 2 minutes in. I love the way the palmas come back in about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Ahhh. It’s all so good I don’t know what to do! What part do you like most?
*BTW, I debated whether to translate that first line as “She is joyful and beautiful “ or literally as “She has joy and beauty.” I even wondered if the first line was more connected to the second and should have been, “She walks with joy, beauty and finesse,” Hmm. Which do you think best fits? Let me know below!
EDIT: Thank you Emily of Saffron Translations for your help with that line! And thank you Andreas for bringing to my attention the tense in the third verse. (See comments.)
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