Flamenco night

We often watched flamenco shows whilst we were on holiday in Spain. What we generally saw was a "tourist" form of the traditional dance. The emphasis was on dazzling costumes and carefully choreographed routines.

Since we have lived here though we have come to realise that flamenco is principally a form of singing which can be accompanied by music and dance. Its roots are in Andalucia where gypsy music combined with moorish and jewish influences.

Last night's flamenco show at the Pedrera was in that traditional form. The trio comprised a singer who also played guitar, a young man tapping out the rhythm on an orange box and a third who joined in with the singing and accompanied the rhythm with his palms.

The group were obviously fans of Camarón de la Isla - considered to be the single most popular and influential flamenco "cantaor" of the modern period. They even had his picture on the box which was used to beat out the rhythm.

The trio performed several sets lasting about an hour each. They mixed cante jondo with cante chico and even added in some flamenco style versions of popular Spanish tunes (for example the Los del Rio number Macarena).

Later in the evening, they were joined by a young lady dancer who interpreted the music with fire and passion. Finally the singer performed totally unaccompanied.

Classical style flamenco is perhaps not to everyone's taste but it was well worth going to see. The performance we saw at the Auditorium was more akin to the concert style of flamenco. Last night's style was suited to the intimate atmosphere of the Albergue.

We thoroughly enjoyed it.