And we're back . . . where am I?

Whats the dilly? I just touched grounds down in Philly for a brief lay-over during a long trip back home to California from Granada. I got to my abuela's house at 11:45pm on New Years Eve, with just enough time for our Noche Vieja tradiciones (eating 12 grapes and tossing a bucket a water out the front door).



Leaving the cuna de flamenco, I was met with two bizarre bits of quasi-flamenquito here at home in Hollywood. The first was Antonio Carmona, former member of Ketama and son of flamenco guitar legend Pepe Habichuela, playing electric guitar on the Spanish TV channel piped into my grandma's house. Number #2 was the Gipsy Kings, who I'd damn near forgotten about during my Andalucian tenure. They played a New Year's eve show here in Hollywood, with a well-received review by Reed Johnson in the LA Times, which (god-thank-you) only mentions "flamenco" tangentially and in passing.




















I've forgotten what it's like to not be submerged en el cante jondo. Are these the international faces of flamenco? If so, I have a lot of explaining to do. Where does my the story begin?

Mañana.