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Jan Willem -> RE: Back from Spain - PICTURES! (Oct. 12 2007 18:03:36)
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I made a similar trip a few weaks back [:)]. We left belgium the 7th september en we travelled, "backpacked" whole of andalucia. Valencia ( not andalucia i know), but then Cordoba, Sevilla, San Fernando, Tarifa, Algeciras, Ronda and then finally Granada. Personal highlight; Sevilla (NOT Granada)
Funny thing is, for sure the alhambra picture, that I have almost identical photos.:-)
Backpacking Andalucia with 7 non- aficionado friends is a whole experience, but they respected my flamenco passion, but couldn't understand it, altough I tried to explain some of it.
Many great adventures, always slept under the stars (for example in Granada we slept in one of the outer gardens of the Alhambra until we had to RUN for the security guards who were eager to get us:-)), shoe-stealing-bums have nothing new for me know:-), also met lots of VERY strange people (especially in Granada):
http://www.lazybeggers.com/ ........maybe you've seen these guys who were ooo so funny..........not.
What I learned from this trip is that Flamenco in andalusia is primarely "lived" by the very poor people. My image on flamenco was way to romantic. On several occasions I picked up the guitar from some dude, and they all were blown away by my toque-skills. I found that quite strange cause I didn't have any warm-up, I was way out of compas, the guitars SUCKED BIG TIME, but still they called me virtuoso or something like that. (I can asure you, I'm not....I primarely played solea and solea por buleria, and the alegrias(Chiceulo)). But it was very cool for me to have some people who truly live flamenco day in day out, acknowledge my skill/passion and for the first time in my life I could share flamenco with another human being. Other than this forum I have nobody to talk abot flamenco. and that's a shame cause flamenco is a very powerfull thing and sometimes I find it hard to carry alone.
I learned that altough compas is a necessary evil, "they"(flamencos) value the feel, the passion, the "duende" far more.
ps, Just like you I didn't find any guitarshop wich I liked....suckass guitars dammit. (But maybe they make the guitars affodable for the poor people who are plenty in Spain.)
JW
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