Our Apartment In Spain –
Plaza de Santa Cruz N. 2 – 1º B-2
41004 Sevilla, España SPAIN
Our cell phone: 686-752-918 alternate number: 649-14-92-82
Home phone: 954-22-01-41

Sunday, September 14, 2003

There was a time when I would have loved the thought of living in the white house, surrounded by dirt and fig trees, by the side of the road. We passed it on the bus from Sanlucar to Sevilla. The Andalucian countryside is still picturesque – spotted with “Ventas” (Inns) and white little houses. Spaces between the small pueblos.

Last night we went to la Fiesta de la Bulería in Jerez, – Freddie, Concha and me. In the afternoon we took the bus there from Sevilla and then rested in Hostel San Miguel, an old and funky hostel in the Plaza San Miguel in Jerez. We were up two flights of steep stairs in an attic room that smelled of mold. But, luckily there was an extra bed so Concha had her own place to lie down. We decided then that for sure we would take a taxi to Concha’s light and airy place in Sanlucar to sleep when the fiesta ended, which would be about four or five o’clock in the morning. By ten o’clock that evening we were standing in line to buy our tickets. It was held at the bullring. We sat to the far left but fairly near the front, on hard folding chairs on dirt, the dirt where they fight the bulls. All around us were the bleacher seats arising above us in a circle, some labeled for Sol (sun) and some for Sombra (shade). This is how the bullring must look for the bullfighters looking out at their public. The show went on until four that morning. The highlight for us was hearing the singer, Capullo, from Jerez. He was second to last and the whole audience woke up with his show. Last was Remedios Amaya, a black haired Gypsy female singer and the featured draw of the festival. But for us, Capullo was it. We also got to see Mercedes Ruiz, a famous up and coming dancer from Jerez who dances in a style reminiscent of Sara Baras. She was young and slender and she was very good but I wasn’t moved. Concha liked her dancing. In the line to the bathroom we ran into Diane Marvin from Santa Cruz. Diane, who is staying at Tibu’s house in Jerez, was there with Roberta and Charlie (Santa Cruz friends who now live near Malaga, in Spain) and Beverly Christi, a friend from San Francisco. Those were the only Americans we knew there this year, at least whom we saw. Last year there seemed to be many more Americans.

We also saw the singer Silverio Heredia and his wife Keka there. They live in Chiclana, Spain. They had visited us two years ago in Santa Cruz and Silverio taught a workshop in our dance studio then. Keka was pregnant. They now have a two-year old baby, Antonio. They will be in California again in October. If they are still around in November when we return, we will organize another workshop for them.

After the Fiesta de la Bulería the three of us took a taxi to our hostel, collected our suitcases and headed to Concha’s place in Sanlucar, about twenty minutes away without traffic. We got to bed about five AM and slept and rested there all day. We are now on the bus back to Sevilla and I am typing on my palm pilot and my portable keyboard. This is an experiment that worked. It is much easier than writing by hand, although it weighs a little more than paper. I unfold a black square box about the size of a cigarette case. I open it and it turns into a keyboard. I then open the palm pilot, a slim little blue rectangular thing with a lot of memory. I slip it onto the keyboard and then I can type documents into it, like this. I also store all my addresses, appointments and documents I might want from my computer, like medication lists and directions, in it. So I can write my Chronicles on the “run” and then plug the palm pilot into my computer, push a button, and transfer what I have written into the computer. What a trip! This is what I love about the world of technology. I can re-write this, (and will) after I have put it into my laptop.

This is the first chance I’ve had to write since we arrived. Each trip is so different! We had help this year finding an apartment from a wonderful mother/daughter team. Delia, a youthful looking and acting gray haired woman in her 70s, is the mother. A British citizen, she was born in the US to parents of Spanish and English decent and as an adult she then moved to Spain. She and her daughter also lived in the US for ten years and so both of course speak perfect English. Her daughter, Francesca-Diana, a dark haired, slender half Gitana woman, is now in her thirties and is the other half of FlamencArte, their brilliant Flamenco organization, which is actually a cultural association. Francesca-Diana has danced professionally both ballet and Flamenco Danza Española. Last year she married Toshi, a gifted physiotherapist from Japan who is also a Flamenco dancer and aficionado. I happened to be at la Carbonería that night when they were having their wedding reception in the patio there. But I didn’t know them yet. They are also good friends of Paco Lira. FlamencArte is dedicated to helping Flamenco visitors get situated in Sevilla and Jerez. Francesca-Diana and Delia are wonderful people offering a wonderful and helpful service. They match the association’s members to classes and lodgings. They give out bus schedules and bus passes and maps. They picked us up at the airport. They are a resource in themselves. They helped me get my e-mail and telephone set up, got our hostel in Jerez, tickets to Carmen, the flamenco theater with dancing horses, trumpets and drums, and now to a show with Antonio Canales, a famous Flamenco dancer. Concha and I went this last Friday night to the Carmen production and loved it, especially the incredible dancing horses. Concha introduced me to the choreographer, Salvador Távora, and to the lead dancer Lalo Tejada.

But now -more of our arrival in Sevilla. We had originally rented an apartment above the knife shop on Santa Maria la Blanca, where it turns to Calle San Jose and meets Calle Cespedes. It was in the middle of everything, right near Carmela restaurant and La Carboneria. But what I didn’t realize was that the two flights of narrow, steep stairs would almost destroy my sprained ankle. I sprained it three months ago and have re-injured it twice before Spain, both times dancing at weddings! I thought it would be all better before we even went to Spain. But it wasn’t. And my re-injuring it had made the injury a bit chronic, which can be serious. I don’t think of myself with special needs so I didn’t know I would need an elevator or a ground floor apartment. But after dragging myself up once, I knew that I couldn’t do it and still walk, and in Sevilla you have to walk. Well by luck, Francesca-Diana is married to Toshi, Sevilla’s gifted physiotherapist from Japan. He looked at my ankle and told me that I couldn’t dance for 1 or 2 weeks, that I had to ice it twice a day and rest it or I could lose even my walking function entirely! My ligament was like a loose clothesline, all stretched out with no elasticity left. That scared me. The next day Delia helped us look for another apartment on a ground floor or with an elevator, but what we saw we hated and they were very expensive as well. We were discouraged, hot and tired. On the way back, passing through Plaza de Santa Cruz, Delia remembered a couple who had rented a beautiful apartment there. She called Francesca-Diana who called the owner and by incredible luck, it was available. It was cheaper than the one we left, much nicer than the expensive ones we had just looked at, has an elevator and marble floors, air conditioning and is Plaza de Santa Cruz next to the famous Flamenco club, Los Gallos. It is owned by the owner of Los Gallos, a woman named Blanca. We moved in that day. Unfortunately, we will only get half our money back from the other place, a month’s rent will be lost, but that is better than losing my ability to walk and dance. And we sure do love this new place. It is like a palace. It is very quiet and in a very luxurious and famous neighborhood. It is close to everything and so beautiful. The photos we have taken do not do it justice.

So what am I doing in Spain without taking dancing classes? I am learning to sing. Concha is teaching me to sing a Solea and she says that this will also make my compás (rhythm) that much better, and it is fun. Freddie has started to study guitar with Concha’s nephew, Pacquito, a very gifted guitarist and a good teacher too.

We saw Carlos, Freddie’s other guitar teacher here, the other night. He took us in his car to visit him and his family in Tres Mil, the Gypsy housing project that everyone is afraid to go to. Carlos and his wife Pili have opened a small convenience store from one room of their house, a room that faces the street. That is where Carlos had first set up his recording studio. Now it is in another room. They are doing better than ever and their family seems well and happy. Carlos just bought a computer to do sound editing and to make CDs.

We are slowly getting adjusted to being here. The weather was cool and pleasant when we arrived but now we are into another heat wave. Even Sanlucar, a beach town where people come to escape the heat, was hot today. The bus zooms along the highway, now dark, filled with cars returning to Sevilla from the weekend vacations. The lights of Sevilla glitter in the distance. Spain continues to be a magic place for us, with beauty and ambience.

Plaza de Santa Cruz, where we live, in the Barrio Santa Cruz, was once settled by the Jews centuries ago. The narrow streets are mostly cool, even in the heat of summer. Nowadays it is filled with tourists and tourist shops and restaurants. Cars can enter Plaza de Santa Cruz, but not the surrounding streets. We are a minute away from the Murillo gardens, a beautiful park, soothing, with ceramic tile benches, trees and flowers. We are five minutes from la Carboneria, walking. Concha’s oldest son, Quintin, played blues there the night after we arrived. It was fun seeing him perform in the patio, under the stars in the night sky. He is studying to be a sound technician in school. Our friend Rebecca, a Californian who has been living in Spain for two years now (see prior Chronicles), belly danced there that night too. Rebecca has been going out with Concha’s nephew Alfonso for over a year now. I noticed that she now seems close to and accepted by Alfonso’s mother too, Concha’s sister Esperanza. Her husband, Alfonso’s father, died this year of cancer.

Rafael, Concha’s singer husband, is now working at a bar that serves delicious seafood. We ate there Friday night after seeing the Carmen production. Rafael is such a good waiter that he just got promoted to be manager of another bar in Los Remedios, a fancy district next to Triana. He will start Monday. It is for the same chain, Hermanos Gomez. He will be going to Japan for a month with Concha in February to teach cante (singing) classes. His boss knows of this and is willing to let him travel and then return to work.

He and Concha will be coming to Santa Cruz in May. The Flamenco Society of San Jose is bringing Concha and Carlos to do a big show and to teach workshops. Rafael will teach cante workshops in Santa Cruz too. We are so glad to have all of them come to stay with us. It will be so much fun. And we love to have such incredible Flamenco artists in Santa Cruz and available for classes. We are hoping that we can even enlarge our dance studio before that.

Monday, September 15, 2003

I sit here, at a small round table covered by course white lace over a gray blue material, protected on top by a round pane of glass. My Titanium laptop, Oriental rug mouse pad, and mouse share space on the tabletop with the other electronic things and their cords, earphones, mini-disks and writing paper and paper already written on. Paquito Fernandez, Concha’s nephew and son of Curro Fernandez and Pepa Vargas, is giving a lesson to Freddie right now. It is 10:30 at night and I have already had my Cante class with Concha. I am learning to sing a Solea and it seems hard to do the palmas and sing it all in compás at the same time! But, I am improving and we are having fun. Today Concha brought over her sister-in-law Frasqui. Concha tried to get Frasqui to sing, but she wouldn’t. She is shy, but it seems to me that her soul is coming back after the shock of her husband (Concha’s brother) dying two years ago. She is smiling more and there is now more light in her brown eyes. I think she will start taking dance lessons from Concha again. She did when she was a child in Lebrija (when Concha was living and teaching there) and then Frasqui met Concha’s brother and married him, and I assume, stopped dancing. I wrote about the death of her husband, Concha’s brother, when it happened (see prior Chronicles). That’s when I first met Frasqui and at that time she/her spirit looked blank, in the midst of her grief and shock. Over the years I am seeing her life coming back, more noticeable this year than last. She and her daughter Conchita have been living with Concha and Rafael almost since her husband died. Concha feels that Frasqui is like her own daughter. Frasqui is only in her early thirties. She and Concha have always been close.

Frasqui cleans in the same bar where Rafael works as a waiter, or did until this week when he got promoted. She works in the early mornings and late afternoons and so has some of the day to her self. Concha says that Frasqui gives her all the money she earns but Concha doesn’t want her to. There are a lot of people living with Concha and Rafael right now. Concha’s brother is there, so is Carlos, an old family friend who builds, repairs, and jokes. He is working on Concha’s new studio in Triana right now. Concha has such an open and loving heart. She takes in those in need, especially family. The more I know her, the more I love her.

Paquito is playing some beautiful guitar exercises with Freddie. He is going to Japan for a month on Thursday so Freddie is taking a few two hour classes. He likes how Paquito teaches and of course how he plays guitar. We first met Paquito in La Carboneria, in the small stone room near the entrance. I think that was in 1999. He was sitting on a bench by the tables playing his guitar. I had to go up to him to ask him who he was, he played so well. I knew he had to be “somebody”. It turned out he was Concha’s nephew! Over the years we have gotten to know him. When Farruquito and Juana Amaya were in Berkeley and Santa Cruz this year we hung out with Pacquito a little and got to know him better. In Santa Cruz he visited our house when the whole company came to dinner! As I wrote last year, that dinner was requested in Sevilla by Raul, the guitarist “el Perla,” when I asked him last year what he wanted most when he came to Santa Cruz on tour. He answered, “a home cooked meal” but that it would have to be for the whole company. And so it happened. And that is when Paquito visited us, because he was one of the guitarists on tour with the group. And of course we got to know others in the group too. Now when we meet Juana Amaya on the street, which has been about three times so far, she says, “Hola Marianna. ¿Que hay? (How’s it going?)”. I watched her technique class the other day. I couldn’t take it because I can’t dance on my ankle yet. It was frustrating to watch and not be able to dance. But I enjoyed watching too. Juana has a humble, round moon face with brown hair tied back. She always seems to be wearing jeans and a tank top when I see her (except in class, of course). And what a great talent she is. She is currently one of the top dancers in Spain. When she mentioned that she is going to Japan and then other countries for a few months, I commented that she had a lot of work. She answered, “God Willing”. I saw her father bring her to class. He is a small, slender and dark Gypsy man wearing a hat in the old style. I passed Juana today with both her parents crossing the plaza near Bar Modesto on the way to Plaza de Santa Cruz. Her mother, I believe, is related (or perhaps is only very good friends with, but I think related) to Carmen, the singing cleaner at La Carboneria. She is also the mother of the famous Jairo who dances at Los Gallos and whom Farruquito was quoted saying was the best male dancer in Spain. They are all from Moron de la Frontera, the home of the famous Diego del Gastor, guitar guru for so many. Diego died in the 60’s or 70’s and has been a Flamenco legend every since.

I got up early this morning and went to the MAS, a cheap supermarket that is the closest to us that I know of. I had to finish shopping by noon in order to get the food delivered to our house, something we thought would be a good idea, especially since we had to stock up on laundry soap, olive oil, and other heavy staples as well as the fact that we both have our injuries. I made it in time; they said they would deliver it between twelve and two and I went home to wait. The groceries never came. I was very near the end of my toilet paper! Luckily Delia came by and we called the MAS when it opened again at 5:30 (after siesta) and she re-instructed the delivery boy, who had gotten confused earlier (and they didn’t have our phone number). Finally about six o’clock our groceries arrived! We waited all day!!! If you spend more than 30 euros you can get your groceries delivered for free. But is it worth it? Later this afternoon, after the groceries arrived, Freddie took our red shopping cart that we had stored at La Carbonería and went to get the other supplies we now decided we needed! He came back with cookies and pastries, cokes, olives, capers and coffee just after my singing class with Concha had started at seven. He was a gracious host, serving goodies and coffee to Concha and Frasqui.

SPAIN CHRONICLES 2003

Sept 14 – 15 Writings
Sept 17 – Oct 4 Writings
Oct 5 -12 Writings
Oct 17 – 20 Writings
Oct 25 – Nov 2 Writings
Nov 4 – 9 Writings
Nov 11 – 17 Writings
Nov 23 – 24 Writings
Nov 25 – Dec 2 Writings
Dec 5 – 8 Writings
Dec 10 – 14 Writings