Ceramics Museum and True Flamenco!

Beautiful and hauntingly emotional

More on the Flamenco further on in this post...

Day with Ivan back in Triana, went to the Ceramics Museum, where they produced all the tile for Sevilla. 

Entry to the Museum

Most business signs were done in tile as seen here.

Each stall in the Triana Market has the owner’s signs done in tile. 

Gigantic holes in the ground to stoke the fire with straw into ovens used as kilns to cure the tile on top. It was fascinating! A shorter woman than I, rare, came through with us, she talked to herself and Ivan. Her husband had worked at the tile factory and when it was disbanded he took some tile home to decorate their home. I’d bet she would be a fountain of information and perhaps we should have used the opportunity to mine her for the ins and outs of factory goings on.

Didn’t know how much better an already good day was going to become…

By chance we met Ivan’s mom and friend outside the market. They  were headed to their club’s Flamenco show and invited us along! 

We strolled the market and had lunch at www.ostreriasdemercado.com  Bruce had his oysters he’s been wanting – all very fresh. Bruce explained the oysters are so different to what he gets in Canada and discovered the real meal of an oyster, he waxed on about it for a bit.

Then we went to the show – a true, amateur flamenco show. This is the last performance in this building, second floor (first here) is the club house, main floor held vintage collections of comics, LP’s or vinyl, yes some of us remember those, and Ivan says he still has a turntable to play them on, that would be vintage as well in Canada.

Ivan and I just about cried, gave Bruce goosebumps, it was so moving and wonderful. We caught the second set which started out by two men singing or wailing really to honour those they had lost over the last year at the club. The entire show, music was provided by a single guitarist who was extremely skilled. 

Ivan took videos with his cell phone and pictures which I will cut and paste into the updated blog email you will get. Attempts to put them into this blog post failed due to my lack of expertise. Sorry Ivan!

Then came the dancer, relatively young but so passionate, feet moving so fast to the clapping, singing of the men, and guitarist. 

Her expressions and body movements in response to the men singing to her were impressive, told a story really of love, unrequited love and anger, at least that’s what I deduced.

Blurry but she was in action!

Then two young ladies with long flowing hair in jeans and t-shirts danced with the lead and they were excellent.

Another fellow came up and danced, the teacher came up and danced. A family affair really with only the lead dancer in costume.

Bruce’s version greatest days in his life, oysters, flamenco, what more could you ask for? 

A saying on the wall translated: Pride and Pain of Living. “Before you die don’t lose your life”

The women sit together and men together, as it is done in that age group, most likely over 50 (I fit right in) and some much older or younger. The women were warm and kind to me, one spoke some English and she was effusive about how I was going to see “the real flamenco” not for tourists, and it certainly was! Just to be able to experience this was wonderful, an authentic flamenco that was not professional, not scripted, exhibited true passion for the dance genre and music.

Bruce and I saw a professional flamenco show on my first trip to Sevilla, it is considered the best one but for tourists. I sat so close to the stage the women’s skirts brushed my elbow, which I didn’t leave on the stage after that, afraid of getting tromped on. It was very good and we hadn’t meant to go to another because we didn’t want to “water down” the experience. The show we saw today was so very different in the community spirit, standing ovations, the warmness of friends gathering together for a drink, tapas and good entertainment. There are not enough (or I don’t know enough) superlatives to describe this experience, it was a jewel we won’t ever forget!

Toreador statue framing the Giralda part of the Cathedral, Ivan told me to take.

Absolutely perfect day, Thank you Ivan and family!

Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat