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Going to Granada for a month!
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Munin
Posts: 595
Joined: Sep. 30 2008
From: Hong Kong
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 Going to Granada for a month!
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Okay, after countless threads of vague plans, I've finally made a firm decision.  Just received my booking confirmation, so, starting from September 26th, I will be in Granada for a month, at Carmen de las Cuevas, doing the intensive guitar course and the half intensive Spanish course. Will stay for a month and depending on my financial situation and my personal satisfaction, I might stay for a bit longer, or travel somewhere else in Spain. Not sure yet.
The thing is still kind of intimidating me, because my Spanish is pretty wonky up to this point (although I can get by with it), and I usually tend to get all nervous playing guitar in front of others or with others...actually I've never done it before, and now I have to do it among gitanos, seasoned pros and all kinds of people better than me and I will look like a total idiot.  But I guess that's part of the fun!
I look forward to meeting some of the Granada regulars, will anyone else be there around that time?
Also, does anyone know whether the city tends to have easy/free Wifi access - or if the accommodation residences provided by the school have it? It'd be kinda important for me, so if the situation is bad in that regard I'll have to make preparations, as I have to run a business on the side.
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Date Aug. 23 2010 19:40:24
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Munin
Posts: 595
Joined: Sep. 30 2008
From: Hong Kong
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RE: Going to Granada for a month! (in reply to Munin)
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OK so someone just asked me via PM to return to this thread and actually give an opinion about Carmen since very few people who ask about the Spanish schools actually come back with comments once they have been there.
I was at Carmen for a month and feel a bit conflicted. That may have been due to my expectations. First off, Carmen is much more tourist-oriented than I had initially thought - that's great on one hand because you will meet a lot of people from around the world but not really a whole lot of Spaniards. However I'd also like to add that the Spanish lessons I had at the school were really, really good.
As far as the guitar classes go, well...to begin with there isn't really a lot of overall structure in them, which isn't a surprise because people come and leave every week. So you do one palo each week. The teaching essentially consists of technical exercises and falsetas only. The majority of my classes were with Emilio Maya, and usually the teachers will let you tape/record, so I took away lots of material. However I wouldn't say that I learned anything I couldn't technically have learned by myself in some other place. Going by the people I had classes with I feel the school caters very much (and too much for my taste) to the kind of guitarists not very familiar with flamenco, who will come to "just check out that stuff" for a few weeks...this is less true for the intermediate/advanced level but still, don't expect any sort of deeper pedagogic structure, or even anything about cante/baile accompaniment...
Honestly I don't know how the school could improve on it and most schools are like that elsewhere as well probably. So I think for most people it will be fine. Personally I feel the lessons I am taking right now with another teacher in Granada have helped me more already when it comes to *actual understanding* of flamenco. But if you're just after more material, Carmen is OK. In any case classes there won't suffice if you want the "full" flamenco deal while in Spain. But the people are great, you'll make lots of friends, so it just depends on your priorities.
Hope that will help some people.
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Date Nov. 12 2010 11:57:15
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Adam
Posts: 1156
Joined: Dec. 6 2006
From: Hamilton, ON
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RE: Going to Granada for a month! (in reply to Munin)
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I hope you enjoyed it!! Granada is an amazing city.
I was at Carmen de las Cuevas for five weeks this summer (with a bit of traveling thrown in the middle ) and had a great time. I'd generally recommend it so I figured it would be useful to throw my two cents in, in case anyone sees this thread when trying to make a decision.
It's definitely true what you say about Carmen being oriented towards foreigners. But then again, so is Sanlúcar and it's not like you're getting a sub-par flamenco experience there. It's all about a) the people and b) what you make of it. In my experience, there were people who just passed through, learned some flamenco, saw the occasional show at Chien Andalous or the Peña la Platería, and left. There were also a lot of people - mostly on the course for at least a month - who really got into the town's flamenco scene. It's about social dynamics, I guess. The teachers there are real Granada flamencos and if you want to, you'll definitely end up hanging out with them and getting into Granada's flamenco "underground." I'd also add that knowing people like Kate and Mark helps, as they live there! Being a foro member give you an automatic advantage going in :)
I didn't have the same impression of the guitar classes you did (mine were with Jorge el Pisao, who's the normal teacher and is a phenomenal instructor, but really you can't go wrong with Emilio either). We learned a ton of material, very useful, and I'm still working to get a lot of it down (the first three weeks were 70s Paco stuff, e.g. Cepa Andaluza, and that is not something you pick up in a week!), and enough exercises to keep you going for the next year. For what it is, I couldn't really have asked for much more out of the guitar classes.
Also, what you said about cante and baile accompaniment should NOT be generalized. That might have been your experience and that sucks. With Jorge, we spent a day working with a singer for three of the first four weeks I was there, and then the topic of the entire fifth week was cante accompaniment por cantiñas. I mean, it's not much and you'll definitely want to try to practice outside of class in the caves or whatever, but it's not normal that you don't learn anything about accompaniment.
It sounds like you're upset with the school for not giving you instant immersion in Granada's flamenco scene. I mean.... duh. The school will do what it can (like cheaper tickets to the Peña and stuff) but they're there for classes, and it's your job to put the effort into discovering Granada. If you go in there expecting the school to do the work for you, you might be disappointed. If you go in there recognizing that it's a school and you'll have to do some extracurriculars, I think you'll have a great time.
A bit of advice for people who plan to do the school. The school accomodation doesn't have Wifi, but....... well, what I'll say publicly is that you should ask them for the apartment on Paseo de los Tristes if it's available, as I think it's miles better than the apartments they offer in the Albaicín, and I'll say more privately re:wifi if you PM me 
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Date Nov. 12 2010 23:18:23
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Munin
Posts: 595
Joined: Sep. 30 2008
From: Hong Kong
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RE: Going to Granada for a month! (in reply to Munin)
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Nah, I'm definitely not blaming school for it and thankfully in the last 2 weeks I got to know a few people who were able to help me see some great shows and get to know a few locals who are involved in the flamenco scene here. I was just pointing out that most likely, the motivations of your average foro guitarist are probably a bit more "ambitious" than the guitarists who come to the school. I think the school can be an excellent entry point to flamenco in Granada, but I think after a while you will get more out of it with private teachers, hanging out in Sacromonte and so on. Just to clarify I am still here for a little while BTW because it is indeed a fantastic city and I luckily don't have to depend on the school for classes/events anymore.
Really surprising to hear that you go to work on accompaniment with El Pisao. Actually I had him my very first week, we did a beautiful malaguena, and he's a really great guy. I guess it was just bad timing then for me to not have done anything like that. But then my perspective on it may have been further distorted by the fact that seemingly none of the guys in my class except one were actually even interested in that kind of stuff. May also have been due to Emilio being a very, ahem, spontaneous guy when it comes to teaching, whereas El Pisao seemed more like someone who planned out things in advance.
Anyway, I will be leaving Granada in a couple weeks but coming back next summer for sure.
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Date Nov. 12 2010 23:43:46
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