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What I Do Not Want Right Now | Viernes con una Letra

What I don't want right now

For Katie to leave today.

But she has already gone...Last Sunday when everybody else left, I felt like a mother whose babies were leaving.  Even though I don't really know how that feels.  

What else don't I want right now?

For myself to leave...

Read on for a video of Miguel Poveda, Jesús Méndez, and Perico Navarro and a beautiful letra by Antonio Gallardo.

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An email from Becky...read it

Ok, so I told you that I might share some bulerías tesoros directly from the mouth of Ana María López with you today or tomorrow.  Well, it's not happening today because I just got this great email from Becky. Becky is a student.  She came on the Spain Tour.

Below you'll find an email that she sent to her husband.

She passed it along to me. and I asked her if I could post it.  She was sending it to me for me, but she very graciously agreed.

I read it as a series of snapshots showing how life has been going here in Jerez, which is why I wanted to share it with all of you. So, here you go, from Becky...

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A Show in Jerez on a Saturday Night

La Gitanería is having these Saturday night flamenco cante shows.  There was one last night.  It started at 10:30.  Only, it didn’t actually begin until 11:30, maybe even a bit later than that.  We didn’t even start walking there until after 11. As we came in we walked by Diego del Morao.  He was not performing, just hanging out...

The first set was excellent.  Two young guys, a singer and a guitarist.  Sorry, I don't know their names.  The first set also ended up being the only set.

It was one of those Jerez shows where most of the people in the audience are Jerezanos.

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A Snippet from Jerez

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A Snippet from Jerez

I am feeling quite behind in blog publication.  Every day I feel pressed to get something up but don't end up doing so.  Rather than wait any longer and add still more to my collection of daily notes and beginnings of entries, please allow me to express to you briefly some of what has been going through my mind here in Jerez lately.  

There are many things I wish to write about how flamenco permeates this city. 

Like how just this afternoon on my way home from bata class with Mercedes I heard an old guajiras recording playing as I walked by a house on La Calle Duende. Or how yesterday during siesta on our way to meet a friend for afternoon café the two little boys walking in front of Diana and me were discussing fútbol when suddenly and seemingly without any awareness of it one started doing palmas and singing never losing sight of the conversation he was having with his amigo. Junquerita, who often comes to sing for our bulerías class told me that here in Jerez the scent of flamenco is everywhere; there is no need to go looking for it.  

That may be an understatement. 

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Festival de Jerez 2011 - Week Two

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Festival de Jerez 2011 - Week Two

March 6 Sunday There is a different energy this week compared to last week.  Is it due to the rain?  - actually closer to the way I remember spring weather in Spain -  Or perhaps it is that some of the excitement has worn off?  Or is it that I am taking classes by myself this week, without any of my compañeras from home.  I was only signed up for one festival course, so I decided to take a tangos workshop from Tatiana Ruíz, the daughter of Chiqui de Jerez.  The girl ought to be a sergeant in the US Army, though I suppose she talks too much for that.  In any case, she worked us hard today and clearly took great pleasure in doing so.  My brain quickly went into overload as I tried to execute the steps at a seemingly impossible pace while at the same time struggling to understand how in the world Tatiana moved her body as she did.  Later that afternoon I headed to my bata de cola class with Alicia Márquez.  It moved slowly, so I was able to get things, but still, how ever do I get this awkward train to cooperate and do what Alicia's does?!  As I walked down the halls of the bodega after class, I poked my head in the various rooms and fantasized that it was my home.

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