Spain Chronicles 1999 – June 16 – 21

Written by Marianna Mejia

June 16, 1999

As to the subject of age, I wrote about it the other day. But to reflect more on it, I had these thoughts today in response to an e-mail I received.

I was recently asked in Santa Cruz if I were the mother of a beautiful Flamenco dancer who had just danced on the stage. At first I was taken aback but as I thought about it, I could have been her mother. I was old enough. I don’t think I am aware often of how I look, except mainly when I dress myself.

I also have an article on my web site about Sweet’s Mill, Dance of Mortality, about passing on the art of dance to the younger generation and becoming the elder generation. The only thing I really don’t like about aging is the deteriorating and often aching body. The rest just keeps on getting better. And I do like my gray hair!

June 17, 1999

Unfortunately, today, Thursday, while pedal boating on the Guadalquivir river with Lainey and Ken (my sister and my brother-in-law who are visiting us for three days) our wonderful mvil phone fell into the river. Freddie grabbed it out of the water immediately; the writing on the screen went blank but the green “on” light was still blinking. A little later Freddie took out the battery and when he put it back in the green light was off and we haven’t been able to get the phone back on since. It beeps in the charger and the light comes on but nothing appears on the screen and the green “on” light does not come on. So for right now we are out of the instant communication of a telephone. Lainey (known to her friends as Elaine) and Ken arrived today and will leave on Sunday so we might not find out whether the phone is fixable until Monday. But luckily, the e-mail is still working. (Calling the Carboneria and leaving us a message is still an option, but difficult unless you speak Spanish.) But hopefully, no one will need to call us before we have it fixed.

Sister Elaine comes to visit

Brother-in-law Ken visits with Elaine

Marianna and Elaine on Guadalquivir river bridge

Marianna, Freddie, and Elaine on bridge

June 21, 1999

This day of the Solstice is so hot that it is hard to move. The fan blows the hot air around and around without cooling anything, and almost everywhere it is like being in a oven. Inside the air conditioned Alta Mira we sit at the bar for coffee with ice in it and cold gazpacho. The air conditioning in Sevilla is not cold like in the US, but is cooler than outside and quite pleasant. Paco now sits inside for breakfast and we have finally followed his example! It is lovely inside, away from the furnace of summer.

We had to replace our beloved drowned phone today and I do not like the new and cheaper one as much, but at least we have a phone again. And we were able to keep the same number because the card in the other phone was not damaged and in these Alcatel GSM phones the cards (“tarjetas”) are interchangeable. And the phone repair store had air conditioning so at least this errand was bearable. At first I was a snob about air conditioning, not wanting to get used to a “false” cooler temperature and not be able to get used to the heat, but now that the heat of summer has started I am appreciating air conditioning in a new way. After fifteen minutes inside an air conditioned restaurant, we felt renewed when we again walked out into the heat.

This morning (Monday) and Sunday morning too I set the clock alarm and got up early to practice, before the worst part of the heat. Yesterday Lainey and Ken saw the end of my practice around 11:30 AM. Freddie and I were hot and tired and I made some mistakes, but I danced the Siguiriyas through what I have learned so far, almost to the end of the second escobilla. They loved it and Ken said that he had tears in his eyes. They both loved Freddie’s and my interaction which I think by now we often take for granted. They were able to see that artistic and emotional connection between us that is so much a part of our relationship. It was so nice to have that kind of acknowledgment from my family! Freddie and I both enjoyed Lainey and Ken’s visit. I took a break from practicing for two days and classes for four days and went sight seeing in Sevilla with them instead. We saw the Giralda and the Alcazar, Casa Pilota, and the museums in the Parque Maria Luisa. I skipped the Belles Artes museum because I had seen it once already and I had to take a nap. Ken has almost unlimited energy and each day he went running in the morning, exploring almost every part of Sevilla. With his map in hand, he became our guide. It was fun to be a tourist in Sevilla for a while and I enjoyed my time wandering through the beautiful Alcazar gardens with Lainey and visiting with both Lainey and Ken. But now again, I am the dance student. After not having dance classes since Wednesday, I am happy to be back to it again, heat and all. It was so hot at five PM today that Concha decided to change my class to seven o’clock and to stop her group classes, which have become smaller since the heat of summer and the vacations began. I am almost done with the second escobilla, progressing a little bit more with each class. Practicing in the morning is my solution to learning in this heat. I just have to make time to take a siesta, which I wasn’t able to do today. The other day, at the Alta Mira, we ran into a nineteen year old Flamenco guitarist from Santa Cruz, Ilan, and his seventeen year old girlfriend and dance student, Gabrielle who have come to Spain to study. They came up to our room last night and we did a little Flamenco. It was fun. Luis stopped in for a little while until he had to change clothes to perform. That night Freddie made a break through and his playing was clean and beautiful. Luis had a big smile on his face as he watched Freddie play. Freddie was able to play his old falsetas finally with his new technique. This evening at Freddie’s class Carlos kept commenting on how well Freddie was playing and how well Freddie kept his hands in the right position and his fingers from too much movement. He kept saying (in Spanish), “Marianna, look at this, look at Freddie. He’s doing it all right! It’s perfect.” All Freddie’s work is finally paying off. It is exciting and I am very proud of him. We are both so lucky to be able to take these classes so consistently. We appreciate our luck and are working hard to take advantage of it. And so our saga continues, class by class, day by day.