jenniferdebeer

corridas y cantantes

It´s been a week of Fiestas Patronales here in Getafe, Madrid. It is a religious happening, but bookended by all sorts of entertaining/entertainment activities. In-between regular classes (which this past week I´ve found frustrating because I felt I could have accomplished more by working alone than sitting through 4 hrs of lectures each day); and recuperating tests which I´d missed due to recent frequent travel absences; I tried to fit in some Spanish cultural activities, and thusfar have had two distinct experiences. One, out of an attempt to understand the Spanish psyche, I went with friends Nasima and Mariette to a Corrida de Rejones, which is where the matador is atop a horse. It was a complex emotional experience, ranging from initial revulsion to eventually some type of quasi-euphoria. I´ve written more extensively about the Corrida in my newsletter to friends. Maybe I splice some excerpts here. I imagine some friends might even dislike me, for having attended the Corrida, and more so, for now intending to return and see other events. I think, even the remotely intelligent being, once having had its curiosity piqued, will try to ascercarse para entenderlo mejor. So, in an attempt to understand the Corrida, as well as comprehend what had happened to me on an emotional level last Sunday, I will return. The situation is analogous to my seemingly-irrational fear of the Black Widow-type of spider (we have them in certain parts of Cape Town). So, in order to overcome this fear, I went to the library and studied the habits of the spider. I had a particular concern with these spiders then because I was cultivating cacti, and the Knopie (as we call them) hid between the plants. Anyway. Last night...

Last night I went with Nasima and Azucena to a concert by Ana Belén and Victor Manuel. Flamenco music, but not as most English-speaking folk are familiar with. It was a great spectacle, with regard to the performance, and the mise-en-scene itself. It was outdoors, at the Campo de Magallanes in Getafe, from 22:00 until 02:00. What a great time. I don´t often go to concerts, so I guess that leaves me not-jaded. And I am like a little girl, suitably enchanted, visually, acoustically, tactically. That said, I do look for obvious cues of the level of professionalism, of the songs, the singers, the backing band, and then the stage. Plus they had a well co-ordinated multimedia display as backdrop to the stage. The stage lighting was handled well too. So, with all those conditions met :) I went on to enjoy the show. I didn´t know any of their work before, and had only just heard an Ana Belén song on the radio the night before. I knew of her, but sketchily. Victor Manuel´s songs from the 1970s are mostly political protest songs, but with some really excellent poetic lyrics. I say "but" because not all protest songs equate with poetry, of course. That was a free concert too, and of course now I am wanting to go out and look for their disks :) See what the open commons ethos results in?

posted by Jennifer A. DeBeer @ 11:15