The majority of this week was spent in bed with a little bit of a cold, but I have started feeling better during the past few days.Last night to celebrate my return to society, Angel took me on a wonderful date. We got dressed up fancy and went to dinner at a place a little outside of town with a huge terrace. We ate something involving a “spicy meat”, and something else that was so delicious I didn’t want to know what it was followed by a strawberry and cinnamon crepe. Deeeeeelicious. Then, as the sun was setting, we hopped on the moto and headed to the Alhambra- we had tickets to see a show in the Generalife gardens. 
This show is officially called Poema del cante jondo en el café de Chinitas, and is a poem written by the Granadinian poet/playwright Frederico Garcia Lorca. (Cafe de Chinitas is a 19th century building that houses one of the oldest flamenco clubs in Madrid. www.chinitas.com) The stage is beautifully set up in the Gardins, surrounded by a line of tall pine(?) trees and across from the Alhambra, which is lit up at night. We were lucky enough to have a full moon last night, which added to the ambiance. Every summer this theater produces a show that combines the works of Lorca and Andalucían flamenco singing and dancing— a breathtaking combination. It is also worth noting that the costumes were astonishing.
I liked the large, colorful, intricate group dance numbers the best, but there was another bit that was beautiful, a solo male dancer during “Silence” followed by “Grito” (yell) which was sung by 3 deep slow voices.
EL SILENCIO
Oye. Hijo mío, el silencio.
Es un silencio ondulado,
un silencio donde resbalan valles
y ecos y que inclina las frentes hacia el suelo.
EL GRITO
La elipse de un grito,va de monte a monte.
Desde los olivos, sera un arco iris negro sobre la noche azul.
¡Ay! Como un arco de virola el grito ha hecho vibrar largas cuerdas del viento.
¡Ay! (Las gentes de las cueves asoman sus velones.) ¡Ay!
SABES QUE…Manolo Blahnik is SPANISH!!! His dad was Czech and his mom Spanish, and he was raised here in the Canary Islands. I love his work. I see no reason why we're not best friends.
Wow! Now I am homesick for Granada. Gracias for transporting me back there!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of “El Silencio”, Gill and I are about to head off to a little riverside village in the middle of nowhere, Panama, called El Silencio – don’t you just think that’s the best name for a place? I can picture it already.
Hasta luego
Paul