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RE: Spain's Flamenco Bars Shutting down (in reply to mark51)
I don't want to paint the devil on the wall. We all know all working artists have been hit hard by the pandemic. It's not a flamenco-specific problem. Once covid is over everything will return to normal. Just wait and see! Bobby McFerrin once said it will soon pass, whatever it is.
RE: Spain's Flamenco Bars Shutting down (in reply to devilhand)
Doubt they'll come back. The selfish fascists who would rather lockdown than get covid to protect the sick and elderly have ruined everything in their panic.
RE: Spain's Flamenco Bars Shutting down (in reply to mark51)
Thanks for sharing mark51. Yeah it's pretty dire.
The usual distinction made between Madrid and Andalucia is just the availability of regional public funds. Madrid tablaos don't tend to get much public support (or none at all), so if tourism collapses, they go along with it.
To complete the picture, quite a few people whose livelihoods depended on tablaos were working underneath the table, at least for some part of it. They just didn't have the kind labor protections you might find in other, more structured musical arenas, so when the pandemic hit, they were even worse off. For whatever comes next, they'll have to do more than just push for public support of tablaos; they'll also have to work on making the labor relations clearer.
There have been some attempts, among others with the creation of a proto-trade union. The feedback I've heard about that union so far is rather mixed. Guess we'll see.
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RE: Spain's Flamenco Bars Shutting down (in reply to mark51)
Thanks for posting the link, mark51. I suspect that many flamenco venues, just as many clubs and restaurants in the US and other pandemic-hit countries, are closed for good.
Nevertheless, just think how much worse things would be had Spain, Italy, the US, and other countries not implemented the protocols and measures, such as wearing masks and social-distancing, recommended by competent medical authorities. There would have been far more business closures and deaths as a result of Covid-19. One just has to look at Sweden vs. the other Nordic countries to see the result of following such protocols and measures vs. ignoring them.
Entertainment venues and clubs, including flamenco tablaos, will undoubtedly be resuscitated to a certain extent after the pandemic has run its course. But it will surely be a different landscape.
Bill
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RE: Spain's Flamenco Bars Shutting down (in reply to devilhand)
Yes over the 21 years I have been going to Sanlucar, the best or most important Peña “Puerta Lucero” relocated several times. Still, it is hard to imagine it closing down permanently, such great memories. Last time I performed there was 2019. There was another where we hung out with a bunch of famous artists called “El Rengue”. It might have closed or changed to a normal bar at some point, I can’t remember the last time I went there. But the fact Manolo Sanlucar wanted to hang out there means it must have at one point been very important.
After all, we found or made our own “Peña” by finding a venue owned and operated by people that are interested in the art. I found this dance studio converted to a bar/mini tablao theatre and after doing several after parties there everybody in Gerardo’s curso started following myself and our small group there for after hours drinks and Juerga. The venue is called “Contratiempo”, and thanks to our support is has been sort of institutionalized as a “Peña” of our own making. I have tried to do the same in DC with certain venues over the years. It is hard because there are laws that prevent the after hours party type thing, so it required very amenable Bar tenders, managers, and owners. During Covid of course that is all over with, but I can imagine things getting going again eventually. What is really required are the individual interested parties. Right now I only have a small group of friends that would be interested in a weekly gathering place, and a couple of them are still waiting for covid to end before even coming to see me perform locally. Time will tell.
RE: Spain's Flamenco Bars Shutting down (in reply to devilhand)
quote:
ORIGINAL: devilhand It's not a flamenco-specific problem. Once covid is over everything will return to normal.
It will unfortunately never return to really normal in my opinion, at least within few years after the virus has gone. Things like shaking hands might become history. The Chinese managed to beat it within few months(didn't manage to shut outbound air traffic though after virus discovery - incredible), but I believe there's still some long term changes even in China.
RE: Spain's Flamenco Bars Shutting down (in reply to tele)
quote:
It will unfortunately never return to really normal in my opinion
Never say never. It's all down to tourists. I just read on internet the following.
"Spain is an established market in the global travel industry and ranks as one of the world's leading travel destinations. In 2018, international tourism expenditure valued 68.9 billion euros and with figures predicted to rise, the future market outlook remains positive."
quote:
at least within few years after the virus has gone.
That must be the case. I think there is a similarity between the impact of the 1918 and 2019 pandemic on flamenco.
The 1918 pandemic must have been one of the main reasons why most of cafe cantantes had to close down from 1920. We know about the renaissance of cafe cantantes from 1950 onwards. But they came back in another form aka tablaos. History repeats itself.
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