Easily Spotted

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Easily Spotted

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Exitao

Posts: 907
Joined: Mar. 13 2006
From: Vancouver, Canada

Easily Spotted 2 votes

I thought polka dots were for... well... polka. What's the deal with all the polka dots in flamenco?

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 16 2009 21:55:41

HemeolaMan

Posts: 1514
Joined: Jul. 13 2007
From: Chicago

RE: Easily Spotted (in reply to Exitao)

yeah, really I wonder that too. Whats the deal.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 17 2009 1:04:40

Guest

RE: Easily Spotted (in reply to Exitao) 1 votes

Hola

For many many years, clothes with polka dots have been commonly used in the gitano community, as everyday wear. Even today, gitano artists often wear such a pañuelo. My friend Juan Silva, who is a non gitano cantaor, once gave me an expensive polka dotted shirt: he said he couldn´t wear it on stage or he would upset the gitanos.

Sean

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 17 2009 2:22:00

Guest

RE: Easily Spotted (in reply to Exitao) 1 votes

Hola

During the years of cante opera, polka dots were adopted by many artists: the cheesey image of Córdoban sombrero and baggy sleeved polka dot shirts is now very dated.

They have reverted to being a more subtle dress option mostly for gitano women, at least in Cádiz (it is dangerous to generalize, things could be quite different in Granada or in Extremadura).

Sean

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 17 2009 2:53:31

Taranto

Posts: 213
Joined: Apr. 7 2005

RE: Easily Spotted (in reply to Guest)

quote:

My friend Juan Silva, who is a non gitano cantaor, once gave me an expensive polka dotted shirt: he said he couldn´t wear it on stage or he would upset the gitanos.

Obviously not a very good friend to make you mess with gitanos.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 17 2009 2:54:56

val

Posts: 800
Joined: Apr. 4 2007
From: London

RE: Easily Spotted (in reply to Exitao) 1 votes

quote:

polka dots in flamenco

Now here's a question I can give a part of an answer to with authority (the lovely Juan Antonio Perez, my dance teacher in Spain). Dancers tradionally wear different clothes for different dances. For example for a fandango, lunares (spots) or flowers. Don't know about the others but will ask next time I go in Feb

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 18 2009 14:13:37

Exitao

Posts: 907
Joined: Mar. 13 2006
From: Vancouver, Canada

RE: Easily Spotted (in reply to Exitao) 1 votes

Val:
Please get back to us on that. Anyone else who might know as well.

Are lunares appropriate to some types of baile and not others?

Or are some just more appropriate?

Sean:

Thanks for your response. As it had never come up, I didn't know that polka dots were called lunares in Spanish. (I had always known lunares to be "beauty marks" like the moley moley mole on Marilyn Munroe's face.)

If you or anyone else can maybe answer or ask a gitano, or someone in the know, why or from where (whence?) does this love affair with lunares come? (Which seems somewhat answered already by Jacinto, but I want more info.)

Jacinto:
That's also interesting information. So you're saying that lunares, are literal imagery of the moon la luna? Heh, sort of makes sense, at least it has etymological support.

And that the gitanos have replaced Eostre with the Virgin Mary?

It's interesting, because Eostre's month became later called Paschal (Spanish for Easter is pascua). And she is associated with the full moon (the first full moon of spring)...

No idea what any of that means.

HemeolaMan :

It's exactly because of the current banner that I finally had to ask.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 18 2009 16:23:55

HemeolaMan

Posts: 1514
Joined: Jul. 13 2007
From: Chicago

RE: Easily Spotted (in reply to Exitao)

thats all well and good, but

Exitao, I am not florian!!!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 20 2009 9:58:25

Exitao

Posts: 907
Joined: Mar. 13 2006
From: Vancouver, Canada

RE: Easily Spotted (in reply to HemeolaMan) 2 votes

No, indeed you're not. I guess this was a Freudian slip and I've just made public my man-crush on Florian.

Apologies. Sorry. Won't happen again Flo..er... HemeolaMan.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 20 2009 10:46:31

HemeolaMan

Posts: 1514
Joined: Jul. 13 2007
From: Chicago

RE: Easily Spotted (in reply to Exitao)

its understandable, we're both devasatingly handsome.. lol

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 20 2009 10:59:00

Exitao

Posts: 907
Joined: Mar. 13 2006
From: Vancouver, Canada

RE: Easily Spotted (in reply to Exitao) 1 votes

It may have been the B&W avatar pics that caused the brain fart. As for handsome, I'd never argue with a man's mom, but she may be alone in her appraisal.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 20 2009 11:40:07

veet

Posts: 231
Joined: Nov. 29 2004
From: L.A.

RE: Easily Spotted (in reply to Exitao) 1 votes

My friend Suleyman explains it best around a campfire under the night sky, after a little wine, a little smoke, and a lot of music-

"The gypsies had everything stolen except the stars in their sky, so we wear lunares as a reminder of what can't be taken away."

Perhaps apocryphal, but a great tale as he tells it.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 20 2009 13:29:37

HemeolaMan

Posts: 1514
Joined: Jul. 13 2007
From: Chicago

RE: Easily Spotted (in reply to Exitao)

I wonder if the same holds true for mexican traditional dresses, same thing with mary.........

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Jan. 20 2009 20:47:28