Flamenco, Mezquita, y Fiesta

I haven’t updated this in awhile, in part because I’ve been busy and in part because, when I sit down to write, I feel like I can’t describe certain experiences in a way that would really communicate how cool they were.  This past weekend was full of those experiences, but here it goes anyway.  


Friday night a group of girls from my program and I went on a hunt for a flamenco bar.  We had heard there was a show at some place called El Sur de Granada (I think), but we didn’t have a very good grasp on where this was.  Which was okay, because getting lost in Granada is kind of like getting lost in Powells City of Books—you always stumble across something awesome.  Friday night, for instance, as we were wandering in the general direction of the flamenco bar, we heard music and followed the sound to an outdoor concert by an orchestra next to a massive cathedral.  I’ve come across outdoor concerts before, but in Newberg they’re hardly ever in the shadow of a 16^th century cathedral.  

We listened to the music for awhile, and then continued hunting for the flamenco bar.  We got semi-lost in a kind of sketchy area, but it was sketchy in a good way, with narrow streets and windy alleys that made their way uphill to the Albayzín.  The flamenco show ended up being in the basement of a little bar.  It was small and cramped, with less than 50 people easily filling the room.  There were one dancer and three musicians—a drummer, a guitar player, and a singer/clapper—and somehow I ended up enjoying this little show more than the impressive espectáculo that we saw at the Alhambra.  I think seeing the dancer up close really made it.  She was this beautiful, tiny little person, but when she was dancing she seemed to grow a foot.  I don’t know much about flamenco so I’m going to sound like an idiot if anyone who actually knows something reads this, but it involves a lot of pounding and clapping and stomping which is so much better up close.  The dancers’ feet make a rhythm with the clapper and the drummer, and it’s just really intense (like I said, I’ve given up trying to describe this effectively).  Since I’ve been here, I’ve been amazed many times by Spain: it’s everything I hoped it would be but told myself not to expect.  Anyway, sitting in the basement of this bar drinking vino tinto, listening to mournful flamenco songs, and feeling the floor shake was sort of the epitome of Spain surpassing my expectations.  

On Saturday we went to Córdoba, which was also pretty incredible.  During our free time, a couple friends and I explored the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, a fortress built in the 14^th century under Alfonso XI where the Reyes Católicos lived for awhile.  

Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos

Alcázar and its gardens

In the afternoon, we got to tour the Mezquita Catedral de Córdoba.  The Mezquita is beautiful; it dates back to the 8^th century I think, though it wasn’t finished until much later, and it was originally a mosque.  It was turned into a Christian church after Córdoba was captured during the Reconquista, and in the 16^th century a cathedral was built right in the middle of the building.  Finally, after the Mezquita, we headed to a recreation of an Arabic bath house where we soaked in pools and everyone got a full body massage. 

Unfortunately, most of my pictures from the Mezquita didn't
turn out because it was darkish, but you should google image it!

I was pretty exhausted Saturday night and thought about going to bed early, but instead I ended up going out and getting back around 5:30 in the morning, like a true Spaniard.