flamenco journey 9-2

 

9-2

 

Spain, Mar., 2006

 

To: Joon

Good morning, friend!

A message just to say hello to you.

 

In Seville at the bus terminal, 

my back on the trunk of a tree, 

I am scribbling notes of impression

on the capital of Andalusia.

 

Then during my travelling in Spain,

I have come to Seville 2 times, but in this city

I just hesitated at the outer block,

failing to go into the downtown.

 Whenever I stopped here, the first thing I did was,

strangely enough, to make haste to buy the tickets

for the day's last bus  to my destinations,

the first time to Granada and the second time to Cadis.

 In a word, in Seville I walked up and down

a coupe of hours at the outskirt of it. You know,

I am just a tramp here in Spain!

 

 Were I given a chance to visit this city next time,

I would never fail to go inside to the downtown

in order to visit to two places: one is the bullring

where bullfighter Ignacioa Sanchez Mejias was killed to death,

and the other the Cemetery of San Fernando

where he lies buried.

 

...............

...................

 

‘ Nobody knows you. But I sing of you.

 For posterity I sing of your profile and grace.

 Of the signal maturity of your understanding.

 Of your appetite for death and the taste of its mouth.

 Of the sadness of your once valiant gaiety.

 

It will be a long time , if ever, before there is born

an Andalusian so true, so rich in adventure.

I sing of his elegance with words that groan

and I remember a sad breeze through the olive trees.

( by Garcia Lorca)

 

See you,

Gohk

 

 

 

Cadiz, Apr., 2006

 Hi, Lau.

 with my eyes and ears concentrated on the seaside ,

I have spent 5 days here in Cadiz ,

 an old castle of stone surrounded by sea. 

 Today I have been to Morroco via Tarifa  

 crossing the Gibraltar Strait

 which holds the Atlantic ocean on one side and

 the Mediterranean sea on the other side.

 

 T o my eyes  Granada was a cave of flamenco,

 while Cadiz is a castle of sea wind

 

 

 

At cadiz,April

 Dear Lau,

feeling again the sea fever I had in my youth,

Gohk.

 

 

Cadiz, Apr. 

Hola, Lau:

Now I am greeting the last night in Cadiz,
intoxicated by the seasound and glasses of vino blanco.
Tomorrow I will be in Jerrez,

the land of sherry n Buleria.

Abrazos
Gohk
 

 

 

 

Portland, Apr. 2006

Oh dear Gohk! 

Thank you for letting me experience
once again the  wonder of Andalucia

through your emails!
 
Much love,
Lau
 

 

 

Jerez. Apr., 2006

 

 Dear Lau:

 Buenos dias!

 

It is in Jerez through unaccompanied that I understood more

what the essence of flamenco is . And it is here in Jerez

that I could resist the temptation of tabaco no more.

It is also in Jerez that I read a quotation of deep song

as below: 

 

Una noche oscurita  

Yobiendo estaba; 

Con la lus e tus ojos  

Yo m alumbra

 

 One dark night

 In the falling rain,

 By the light in your eyes

 I lit my way

 

 

Baile of Jerez seems much deeper and more imaginative 

than those of any other cities where I stayed in Spain.

 

Smelling tabaco in the pocket,

Gohk 

 

 

 

 

Madrid, Apr.

Dear Lau

 Back again to Madrid  safe n sound

Sangria-drunken 

 I am looking back on my one-month or so long Spain trip.

 

Madrid will be remembered as a city of rain.

The first night in this city into which I was going by taxi from the airport,

it was drizzling. And now again I am looking at the scene outside drizzling

through the window of Secorbus running back to this city. 

 

Granada , a grand cave with jewels of flamenco  in

would be past legends of glory Washington Irving loved. 

 

Cadiz by the roaring sound of the sea reminded me

of a pier scenery of Moby Dick written by Hermann Melville.

 

Malaga was a triste city where I breathed in

the sweet sea smell for the first time

since my Spain trip for Flamenco.

 

Jerrez was an inspiring city  somewhat for my writing,

full of sherry  smell,

keeping the essence of flamenco as what it is .

Thinking of the saying by a flamenco :

'flamenco is the tragety in the first person'.

 

abrazos

 Gohk

 

 

 

 

 

Portland, Apr., 2006

 

 Dear Gohk

 I am so glad you have made your way to Jerez, my home away !  

 I am even more happy to hear from you that you are safe 

 and that you are fulfilling your dream to travel in Spain!

 

Abrazos,

 Lau

 

 

 

 

 

 

Madrid, Apr., 

Dear Lau:

Madrid is a little different from Andalusia in the cultural atmosphere.

Here in front of Museum of Prado I got a rare experience of feeling

that my soul seems to be purified, listening to Bach played

by an anonymous street guitarist. 

You know, There in Jerez I got inspite of myself deep feeling

of my eyes being wet in stoic resignation over flamenco cante

in the rain outside.

 Gohk

 

 

 

 

 

Madrid, Apr., 2006

 

Dear Lau:

My visit to Madrid would be ended as just a so-so tourism,

If I had not had good lucks ,

1) to meet a street guitarist playing Bach ,
2) to take a long walk in the Museo of MNCARS

where I stood looking at a modern painting titled Louvre

together with other several modern artworks familiar to me,
3) lastly to find an time-worn  cinema hall 5 minutes walk away

 from the hostel MAD, where I saw a movie on Carmen Amaya

dancing flamenco.
 

 Now in Madrid

 I am spending the last night of my Spain journey in a bar alone

smoking tobacco, with eyes turned toward outside ,it drizzling.

That moment I taste vino blanco of  solitude, pure and dry,  

different from the loneliness, wet and sorrowful .

Adios
Gohk