Morón and the whole thing there

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El Burdo

Posts: 632
Joined: Sep. 8 2011

Morón and the whole thing there

Because of a previous post I decided to read For Whom The Bell Tolls by Hemingway. As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee followed. Then Orwell's Homage to Catalonia. All fascinating takes on the Civil War.

Then onto flamenco with The Flamencos of Cadiz Bay by Gerald Howson and The Art of Flamenco by Don Pohren, both for the second time. As I was on a roll I bought Pohren's Lives and Legends of Flamenco. Then his A Way of Life which I have just finished.

I was struck by how similar people are, now and then. I read recently Steve Kahn being quite dismissive of The Finca Espartero saying the hard core Moroneros (presumably the Americans who lived in town) rarely saw them. Similarly, Pohren's remark that he found 'the Jerez guitarists (!:-))' aloof and arrogant shows me that nothing changes when people come together. I'd love to hear Ethan's memories of this period?

It has been a great few weeks/months of reading and I came across this which I hadn't seen before. Diego's playing is superlative towards the end. He also plays La Marseillaise!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 17 2018 11:07:13

estebanana

Posts: 9351
Joined: Oct. 16 2009

RE: Morón and the whole thing there (in reply to El Burdo)

At that time it was a state offense, against Franco, to play the Marseillaise. It's interesting he allowed himself to be filmed playing it, and that was giving the bird to the government.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 18 2018 0:39:20

Richard Jernigan

Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA

RE: Morón and the whole thing there (in reply to estebanana)

quote:

and that was giving the bird to the government.

On my first trip to Spain at age 19 in 1957 I heard this letra to alegrias:

“Los chiquillos acarreando
qué bonita está la fuente
las mujeres muy contentas
y los gallegos llorando”

I was told it was by Pericón de Cadiz--not that I knew who that was. It was further explained that Franco was a gallego, from Galicia. Eventually I looked it up. Francisco Franco Bahamonde, "por la gracia de Dios, Caudillo de España" as it said on the coins, was born in Ferrol.

One night I went back to my hotel in Madrid fairly late. The bar was closed but I noticed the door was slightly ajar and went in. The second floor windows overlooked the Gran Via. The sidewalks were still alive with pedestrians.

After ten minutes or so I lit a cigarette. I was a little shocked when I heard movement behind the bar. A man stood up. After a moment I recognized the bartender. Apparently that was where he slept.

Courteously he asked if I would like a drink.

"¿No está cerrado el bar?" [Isn't the bar closed?]

"Claro que está cerrado, pero en este momento, estoy a sus órdenes.¨
[Of course, it is closed. But at the moment, I am at your service.]

"Gracias, muy amable. Un brandy por favor, y una agua mineral pequeña, con gas.¨[Thanks. That's very kind of you. A brandy and a small soda water, please.]

¨¿Veterano o Soberano?" [Veteran or Sovereign?]

"¿Cómo?" [Pardon?]

"Son las marcas de los brandys.¨ [Those are the brands of the brandys.]

¨¿Cuál es la diferencia?¨[What's the difference?]

"Pues, son igual. La preferencia depiende solamente de la política del cliente." [They are the same. Preference depends only upon the customer's politics.]

"Bueno, realmente...es que no tengo preferencia..." [Well...I don't really have a preference...]

In fact I did have a preference. My opinions of Franco had been formed by acquaintance with Spanish expatriates in Mexico City, who had fled Spain after he won the Civil War. But I was not about to reveal such a preference to a stranger who was being kind to me.

"Bien, entonces será el Veterano.¨ [Okay then, Veteran it is.]

He poured us each a generous bumper, and we watched people on the street for a while.

RNJ

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 18 2018 4:58:21

El Burdo

Posts: 632
Joined: Sep. 8 2011

RE: Morón and the whole thing there (in reply to El Burdo)

From 'A Way of Life' p27 - 'After a while, Diego got going on certain pre-civil war tanguillos, some political in nature...the police knew that when he was drinking, this normally apolitical person might start blurting out "barbaridades." They either ignored him, or secretly chuckled along with him. They knew he was harmless, anything but an active revolutionary.'

Seems risky though. He does seem to have been quite strong willed. Normally as a musician you'd leave it to others to tell talkers to shut up, but Diego seems to have had no such scruples in the videos I have seen.

I'm sure there was a lot of political sublimation going on. Pohren opines that after a while Franco's regime was almost benign. That wasn't my recollection as a child tourist in the early 60s. My Mother was kissing some bird dog on the beach (holiday romance sort of thing) and the Guardia Civil apparently threatened to lock her up for immoral acts.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 18 2018 9:39:56

Richard Jernigan

Posts: 3430
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA

RE: Morón and the whole thing there (in reply to El Burdo)

quote:

ORIGINAL: El Burdo
Pohren opines that after a while Franco's regime was almost benign. That wasn't my recollection as a child tourist in the early 60s.

I was in Madrid in 1991. I remember the date because it was when I bought a certain guitar. I took the daughter of one of my best Austin friends out to dinner at Botin. She was attending business school in Madrid. After graduating she worked for a few years as book keeper for the Manuel Rodriguez guitar factory in Almeria. At the time Botin wasn't quite as overrun by tourists as on my last visit a few years ago.

The tuna of a local university spent a good deal of time at our table serenading my guest, a striking 19-year old strawberry blonde, but we had a little conversation. In passing she mentioned that a few days before some gitanos had murdered a policeman in the street.

My jaw dropped. She asked me why I was so astonished.

"I realize I must be seriously out of date, but when Franco was alive, if some gitanos had murdered a policeman, the Guardia Civil would have gone out and killed the first two dozen gitanos they happened to come across."

She was probably as incredulous as I was.

RNJ

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 18 2018 18:41:19