Can you believe that we lived in Spain for 20 months and STILL hadn't seen a flamenco show? And we don't just live in Spain, we live in Andalucia. And not just in Andalucia, but by SEVILLA. Everybody claims Sevilla as the birthplace of everything else in Spain (tapas, Cruzcampo, bad haircuts...), and flamenco dancing is no exception. Sevillans take their flamenco seriously around here. Babies are born clicking castanets and giving passionate looks! Everyone is followed around by a guy playing guitar! Cats and dogs are living together-mass hysteria! Okay so maybe I exaggerate a tad, but you get the picture: flamenco is still alive and well in Andalu-th-ia.
One of my co-workers sent me a flyer for a flamenco dinner show in Zahara de la Sierra, a pueblo blanco set amongst the hills surrounding a deep blue-green lake. The flamenco dinner was at a little B&B owned by a British woman named Mona, and they will periodically have food-fests and dinner shows throughout the year. My co-worker, Jim, and his wife had attended a few dinner shows there, and they said how spectacular the show, hospitality and food were. Elliot was going to be in China (because that's just the usual weekend for us?) the day of the show, so I went with my friends Sarah and Sharon.
Zahara is only about 50 minutes away, in the direction of Ronda so we were able to drive down, enjoy the show, and head home that night. Bonus. We left base a little earlier than we needed, as I expected us to get lost and have trouble finding parking. While we did get turned around by the GPS for a few minutes, the hotel was on the main road going uphill and super easy to find. Not only that, but there was ample free parking on the cliff overlooking el lago.
We had a drink at the restaurant bar and watched as they set up the stage for the outdoor show. Mona, the owner, came and introduced herself; we had been corresponding via email about reservations the days previous. She was incredibly nice and offered to move our reserved table closer to the stage to get a better look. We gladly accepted and had a a front-row seat for the show. The "stage" was actually a large, square piece of plywood with chairs and speakers surrounding it. The dining area was small, and the entire setting was very intimate. Also, since we were a little farther south and technically on the water, the weather was cooler and we had a nice breeze. The weather, setting and lighting made for a pretty magical evening.
For 35 euros a person, you choose an appetizer and main course, and dinner includes the show, a glass of wine, beer or soda, and mango and lemon sorbet for dessert. While we were eating our appetizers (I had an avocado and tomato salad-yum), the owner's two young children welcomed everyone, in both English and Spanish, to "an evening of dinner and dancing under the stars" with their cute little British accents. The girl was dressed in a flamenco dress, shoes and hair flower, while the boy had a red kerchief tied around his neck. These kids were stinking adorable. There are cute kids. There are cute Brits. And then there are cute, British kids who make your heart turn into a big, goopy mess.
After we finished our appetizers, a young girl in s a flowy, white dress with her hair pulled back, and two young guys, one with a guitar, sat down in the chairs surrounding the stage. The man with the guitar's fingers were dancing across the strings, and the other young guy (whom we cleverly nicknamed "Curly hair Guy" b/c of his ::SPOILER ALERT:: curly hair) played percussion on a box in front of him (much like Frank on Caja). The girl started singing and BOWLED EVERYONE OVER. Oh my God, what a VOICE! For being such a petite, little thing, she had a voice 10x the size of her. I've heard plenty of flamenco and sevillanas music while living here, but it's one thing to hear a song on the radio and something else to hear it in person. Oh my God, was it freaking awesome. She sang with such gusto and passion, that you couldn't help but be spell-bound by the story she told. Part of me wished I could understand what she was singing about, but another part of me enjoyed the mystery of it all. The guitar player rand curly-haired guy were smiling the whole time and occasionally bursting out "Ole!", making the whole performance that much more fun. I kept turning to Sharon and Sarah and squealing, "This is so neat!" practically every five minutes. You'd think I was a teenage girl and Justin Bieber just blew me a kiss.
Dinner was served, and we all ate bites off each other's plates. The food had very unique flavors and was absolutely yummy. I had a fillet (a fillet was one of the options!) with pepper sauce, this crispy potato cubes and roasted vegetables. Paired with my glass of wine, the flavors of the food and song seemed to blend perfectly. While we were eating, the show's main attraction, the flamenco dancer, moved her way through the tables to the stage. Dressed in head to toe red, she was absolutely stunning. She performed her first set with such passion (sorry to keep using that word, but it really does describe the situation best) and skill that it was impossible to turn your eyes away for a second. Her facial expressions were incredibly entertaining to watch, and every move seemed to have an intense purpose. She danced in tune to the music and singing, and the musicians cheered her on with calls of "Bonita!" "Chicky!" and "Ole!" Members of the crowd, also swept away by the performance, joined them in their cheers. The entire thing was just so enchanting, and I thought for sure I'd turn into a pumpkin at midnight.
While the dancer and singer both took a break, there was a musical interlude by Curly-haired guy and the guitar player that was also fun. The singer also put on a show (that was the video included earlier), before the dancer came back wearing a skin-tight, black flamenco dress. Once again, I'll let the video do the talking...
The show ended with loud applause from the crowd, and we left Zahara in a fog of food, song and dance. Viva flamenco, Viva Ole, and Viva Espana...
One of my co-workers sent me a flyer for a flamenco dinner show in Zahara de la Sierra, a pueblo blanco set amongst the hills surrounding a deep blue-green lake. The flamenco dinner was at a little B&B owned by a British woman named Mona, and they will periodically have food-fests and dinner shows throughout the year. My co-worker, Jim, and his wife had attended a few dinner shows there, and they said how spectacular the show, hospitality and food were. Elliot was going to be in China (because that's just the usual weekend for us?) the day of the show, so I went with my friends Sarah and Sharon.
Zahara is only about 50 minutes away, in the direction of Ronda so we were able to drive down, enjoy the show, and head home that night. Bonus. We left base a little earlier than we needed, as I expected us to get lost and have trouble finding parking. While we did get turned around by the GPS for a few minutes, the hotel was on the main road going uphill and super easy to find. Not only that, but there was ample free parking on the cliff overlooking el lago.
We had a drink at the restaurant bar and watched as they set up the stage for the outdoor show. Mona, the owner, came and introduced herself; we had been corresponding via email about reservations the days previous. She was incredibly nice and offered to move our reserved table closer to the stage to get a better look. We gladly accepted and had a a front-row seat for the show. The "stage" was actually a large, square piece of plywood with chairs and speakers surrounding it. The dining area was small, and the entire setting was very intimate. Also, since we were a little farther south and technically on the water, the weather was cooler and we had a nice breeze. The weather, setting and lighting made for a pretty magical evening.
For 35 euros a person, you choose an appetizer and main course, and dinner includes the show, a glass of wine, beer or soda, and mango and lemon sorbet for dessert. While we were eating our appetizers (I had an avocado and tomato salad-yum), the owner's two young children welcomed everyone, in both English and Spanish, to "an evening of dinner and dancing under the stars" with their cute little British accents. The girl was dressed in a flamenco dress, shoes and hair flower, while the boy had a red kerchief tied around his neck. These kids were stinking adorable. There are cute kids. There are cute Brits. And then there are cute, British kids who make your heart turn into a big, goopy mess.
After we finished our appetizers, a young girl in s a flowy, white dress with her hair pulled back, and two young guys, one with a guitar, sat down in the chairs surrounding the stage. The man with the guitar's fingers were dancing across the strings, and the other young guy (whom we cleverly nicknamed "Curly hair Guy" b/c of his ::SPOILER ALERT:: curly hair) played percussion on a box in front of him (much like Frank on Caja). The girl started singing and BOWLED EVERYONE OVER. Oh my God, what a VOICE! For being such a petite, little thing, she had a voice 10x the size of her. I've heard plenty of flamenco and sevillanas music while living here, but it's one thing to hear a song on the radio and something else to hear it in person. Oh my God, was it freaking awesome. She sang with such gusto and passion, that you couldn't help but be spell-bound by the story she told. Part of me wished I could understand what she was singing about, but another part of me enjoyed the mystery of it all. The guitar player rand curly-haired guy were smiling the whole time and occasionally bursting out "Ole!", making the whole performance that much more fun. I kept turning to Sharon and Sarah and squealing, "This is so neat!" practically every five minutes. You'd think I was a teenage girl and Justin Bieber just blew me a kiss.
Dinner was served, and we all ate bites off each other's plates. The food had very unique flavors and was absolutely yummy. I had a fillet (a fillet was one of the options!) with pepper sauce, this crispy potato cubes and roasted vegetables. Paired with my glass of wine, the flavors of the food and song seemed to blend perfectly. While we were eating, the show's main attraction, the flamenco dancer, moved her way through the tables to the stage. Dressed in head to toe red, she was absolutely stunning. She performed her first set with such passion (sorry to keep using that word, but it really does describe the situation best) and skill that it was impossible to turn your eyes away for a second. Her facial expressions were incredibly entertaining to watch, and every move seemed to have an intense purpose. She danced in tune to the music and singing, and the musicians cheered her on with calls of "Bonita!" "Chicky!" and "Ole!" Members of the crowd, also swept away by the performance, joined them in their cheers. The entire thing was just so enchanting, and I thought for sure I'd turn into a pumpkin at midnight.
While the dancer and singer both took a break, there was a musical interlude by Curly-haired guy and the guitar player that was also fun. The singer also put on a show (that was the video included earlier), before the dancer came back wearing a skin-tight, black flamenco dress. Once again, I'll let the video do the talking...
The show ended with loud applause from the crowd, and we left Zahara in a fog of food, song and dance. Viva flamenco, Viva Ole, and Viva Espana...
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