Dear friends,
It’s been a hot minute since my last blog. My goal is to complete a new blog each Sunday if I have new information to share. The second week of the festival I had a terrible cold and then everything got quite busy.
Thankfully, I was able to get some medication from the local pharmacy. It was a powder that tasted awful and knocked me out, but it was quite effective! My second week of classes was with the fabulous Manuela Carpio. I’ve been so lucky to have two fabulous teachers (the first week I studied with Pilar Ogalla—she’s fabulous as well if I hadn’t mentioned it) and to have completed 30 hours of intensive study with them.
Once my cold passed, I was able to continue seeing sights and experiencing different events around Jerez and the surrounding areas. I met a documentarian named Filippo Ciardi at another documentary screening and found out about his project called Flamenco sin Fronteras. I went to a screening of the film in a tiny, dark bar in Jerez. The film explores the controversies around Flamenco. You can read more about the project here: https://flamencosinfronteras.net/en/.
At the screening, my friend Pia and I met one of the people interviewed in the film—a local dancer and teacher named Juan Parra Morón. He kindly invited us to watch one of his classes. So, Pia and I traveled to his studio the next evening to see his class. The structure was quite interesting and different from dance classes in the US. Juan put on music and began dancing. She students followed his lead. While we were there, the moved from song to song—sevillanas, a tango, and then a fandango. Juan and his students were so amazing and gracious to allow us to drop in on the class. In this video you can see his studio, which we visited.
I saw too many shows the first week of March to recount here, but I must mention one in particular. After a lot of back and forth because my American credit card doesn’t have the required security (!!), I was able to secure a ticket to see one of my favorite dancers—Pastora Galvan. The show started at 11pm, which was quite late for given my 9:30am class the next morning, but it was SO worth it. Words cannot describe the power and beauty of not only Pastora’s dancing, but also the singer and guitarist. It was gut wrenching. You can see a clip on Instrgram, LINKED HERE
This past week, since there aren’t regular classes and shows, I’ve been finding my footing. I moved Air B and Bs to the location where I will stay until May 9. I found a wonderful local studio to take classes at: https://www.chiquidejere.com/. I also decided to sign up for Spanish classes here because I need to improve my Spanish. Another notable event was out visit to the local hammam for a soak in the Arabic baths. I highly recommend the experience—tranquil and relaxing!
Photo and additional information on the Hammam from: www.turismojerez.com/en/detail-tab/banos-arabes-jerez-hammam-andalusi.
Pia and I also explored a few areas outside of Jerez this past week. First, we went to the white village of Arcos, which is a shot bus ride away. You can learn more about Arcos here: https://arcosdelafrontera.es/. The town sits on top of a hill/mountain and the views are spectacular.
Here are some of the photos from Arcos and Jerez.
On Friday, we ventured over to Sanlúcar, a city that sits on the Guadalquivir River, which separates the city from the Doñana National Park. We hoped to visit the park but were told the park was closed for the horse pilgrimage. This is what we were told at the tourism office at least, and there were many horses in the city. However, my research to locate the name of the event that is happening this weekend came up short. Apparently, there is a pilgrimage to El Rocio, but that will not happen until 50 days after Easter. The mystery of the horse pilgrimage that is happening this weekend remains unsolved. The only thing I can find is about Holy Week, which will happen in Jerez the Week of March 24.
Instead of visiting the National Park, we visited some beautiful gardens, toured the Castillo de Santiago, and took a stroll along the beach. You can see some photos of our day trips HERE.
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