Dos Lunares investigates and promotes the intersections between Flamenco and Romani/Gypsy culture through printed matter, film nights, and special events.

March 21, 2009

Updates from the European Roma and Travellers Forum

Filed under: General,Romani — Dos Lunares @ 1:41 am

Some updates from the European Roma and Travellers Forum

Violence against Roma in Hungary – ERTF President to visit Hungary to asses situation

Strasbourg, 06.03.2009 – Racist violence, particularly the recent attacks against members of the Roma community in Hungary, and measures that need to be taken against discrimination will be some of the main topics that the European Roma and Travellers Forum, will assess during the four day high-level visit to Hungary starting on 09 March 2009.

Mr. Kawczynski, the President of the Forum and his team will visit villages in which Roma were the target of attacks from paramilitary groups, and will meet with Roma NGOs and Roma leaders. The President will also hold meetings with government representatives, the Parliamentary Commissioner for National and Ethnic Minority Rights, and leaders of political parties .

The European Roma and Travellers Forum is deeply concerned at the anti-Roma feelings spreading through the EU countries and fears that the Roma are being forced out of their homelands and to look for security elsewhere.

(more…)

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March 13, 2009

Dos Lunares in San Francisco!

Filed under: Uncategorized — Dos Lunares @ 6:46 am

Dos Lunares will once again have a small selection of Roma and Flamenco related books for sale at the Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair. If you live in the area, please come stop by for a visit!

The 14th annual Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair is happening this weekend at the
San Francisco County Fair Building (Golden Gate Park near Ninth Avenue and
Lincoln Way).

Due to popular demand and continually increasing turnout (last year there
were over 5000 people), the bookfair now extends to two days:

–Saturday (March 14), 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
–Sunday (March 15), 11:00 am to 5:00 pm

Admission is free.

Thanks to Bureau of Public Secrets for the text and info.

• • •

March 9, 2009

Cinema Cigani

Filed under: General,Romani — Dos Lunares @ 10:48 pm

This week I’m presenting a few clips from some of my favorite Romani* themed movies.

Clip from “Ko to tamo peva”

Ko To Tamo Peva (Who’s That Singing Over There?), 1980. Directed by Slobodan Sijan, filmed in Yugoslavia (Serbia)

From a youtube commenter: The two Gypsy musicians provide a running commentary through the film, like a Greek chorus. One of them plays an accordion and sings, while the other plays a Jew’s harp. The movie begins with them singing their recurring song, to which the refrain is “I’m miserable, I was born that way, I sing to sing my pain away, I wish Mama dear that I had but dreamt it all.” t’s about people taking a bus ride to Belgrade, just before the Second world war.

I have not seen this film and just came upon by chance when searching for other clips but it looks like the kind of film I’d be thrilled to see.

Scenes from Black Cat, White Cat. Bubamara by Saban Bajramovic

Black Cat, White Cat (Crna macka, beli macor), 1998. Directed by Emir Kusturica, filmed in Serbia

From IMDB: Grga Pitic and Zarije Destanov are two old friends – and rivals – who haven’t seen each other in years. But a series of events beyond their wildest dreams leads to a raucously funny reunion filled with gypsy mobsters, dirty deals and shotgun weddings.

A thoroughly enjoyable film, I recommend it for one of those days when you feel beat and you wonder why the world is so screwed up. The first thing I thought after seeing this film is “Why can’t every comedy movie be like this?” Okay, I’m simple but everything about this film is fantastic!

By the way, you might recognize the actress Branka Katic who plays the love interest, Ida from the HBO series Big Love.

Scene from the film Gadjo Dilo. Adrian Simionescu singing Tutti Frutti

Gadjo Dilo, 1997. Directed by Tony Gatliff, filmed in Romania.

From IMDB: Stéphane, a young French man from Paris, travels to Romania. He is looking for the singer Nora Luca, whom his father had heard all the time before his death. Wandering along a frozen road, he meets old Izidor, a member of the Roma (Gypsy) and tells him of Nora Luca. Izidor seems to understand and takes him to his village. Stéphane believes that Izidor will take him to Nora Luca when the time has come.

Tony Gatliff is a Romani (Gypsy) director, hence his numerous Romani (Gypsy) themed films. The beauty and fine music of Romanian Gypsies is what make this movie so extraordinary. The women have such a gorgeous and colorful style of dress. If I wasn’t so sensitive to cultural appropriation, I just might adopt their style of fashion. Actress Rona Hartner is thouroughly charming in her role as the Gypsy translator.

Interesting film review of Gadjo Dilo here.

Scene from Angelo My Love, The Pony Song

Angelo My Love, 1983. Directed by Robert Duvall, filmed in New York City

From IMDB: Angelo My Love delves into the little understood and fascinating world of New York gypsies. Using real gypsies playing fictional versions of themselves. This critically acclaimed film explores the lifestyle, rites, myths and passions of the tight-knit urban subculture. Twelve year-old Angelo Evans is the street-wise. Charmingly precocious son of a fortune teller. When the boy accuses a sleazy gypsy, Steve “Patalay” Tsigonoff, and his foul-mouthed wife, Millie, of stealing an ancestral ring, he chases them to Canada.

Angelo My Love is one of the most enjoyable movies I’ve ever watched but then again, I do have a thing for Romanies. Robert Duvall decided to make the film after being charmed by the real life Angelo. There are very few professional actors in the film, the cast is made up of his Roma family and friends. I recently met some Roma folks here in Los Angeles who said they have family that appears in this movie. Despite some of the not so favorable depictions, it seems many US Romanies love this film.

For a very good review of the film, please see here.

Arrincónamela by Gritos de Guerra from Vengo

Vengo, 2000. Directed by Tony Gatliff, filmed in Anadalucia, Spain

From IMDB: Caco is a proud, handsome man, head of a family, and very powerful in the local community. Yet he has been torn to pieces by the death of his beloved daughter. He constantly visits her grave, weeps silently at her photo and has transferred all his wildly protective love and attention onto his mentally challenged nephew, Diego.

I would love to have a party like this one day! This song is so infectiously catchy. It sticks in my head for days at a time. By the way, the woman singing to the left of the guitarist is Remedios Silva Pisa. Remember her because she is the focus of next week’s video selection.

Scenes from the movie La Faraona starring Lola Flores singing Un Mundo Raro.

La Faraona, 1955. Director Rene Cardona Jr., filmed in Mexico

A real gem of a movie made during the golden age of Mexican cinema. The story is of a young Gitana who moves back to Mexico from Spain when she receives news her rich uncle is on his death bed. Of course, she brings her Gitano tribu along with her and they all dazzle the Mexican family with their flashy Flamenco moves. I love the beginning scene where she attempts to speak Mexican Spanish and even attempts a grito. I wonder if my attempts at Flamenco jaleos sound like her gritos. Oh, oh. I also picked this scene because it features a more authentic kind of Flamenco and not the wild, skirt flipping personal style of Spanish dancing Lola Flores is famous for.

Hope you enjoyed this small sampling of clips. There are many more I’d love to share and perhaps one of these days I’ll get around to compliling a part two.

*Romani is the preferred term for the people known as Gypsies. Gitano or Calo is often used in Spain to describe Romanies and in the Balkans, Cigani or Tsigane is commonly used.

• • •

March 5, 2009

Los Farruco in Los Angeles, review

Filed under: flamenco,review — Dos Lunares @ 1:53 am


La Farruquita sometime in the late 80s/early 90s.

The show last night was amazing! I’m not sure if the kind of Flamenco I like is well suited to a large stage production but parts of the show definitely surpassed any of my expectations. Most impressive was La Farruquita. Her son Farru can dazzle with his superior technique and his flashy moves but it’s Farruquita that can bring the house down with just the rolling of her hips. Every dance student I know was trying that move after the show! I jumped out of my seat when she performed her famous punta-planta footwork that I first saw in Bodas de Gloria.

After the show, my friends and I waited to pay homage to las reinas bailaoras and they most graciously accepted our adorations. There’s no shame in being a fan!

See this excellent review at the Los Angeles Times blog for more detailed coverage.

• • •

February 27, 2009

Los Farruco in Los Angeles!

Filed under: flamenco,General — Dos Lunares @ 8:02 pm

This Tuesday and Wednesday March 3 & 4 Los Farruco will be performing at UCLA Royce Hall. For aficionados of Gitano style Flamenco Puro, this show cannot be missed!

Los Farruco

Price: $38-$60; UCLA students, $17
405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA  90095
Renowned for its dazzling footwork, powerful athleticism and passionate intensity, the legendary flamenco family, Los Farruco, features three generations of dancers- all direct descendents of their late patriarch and flamenco master, El Farruco. Led by his twenty-year-old grandson, Farruco, who is rapidly gaining a reputation for his fiery and virtuosic performances, the Farruco clan also includes El Farruco’s daughters, the highly respected La Farruca and La Faraona, and second grandson, the elegantly reserved Barullo. Accompanied by two guitarists and three singers, Los Farruco promises a mesmerizing evening of traditional gypsy dance and music.
Tickets now $34 at the Goldstar website.
• • •

February 16, 2009

Why I Love Flamenco

Filed under: flamenco — Dos Lunares @ 1:34 am

These two videos capture what I love most about Flamenco: the visceral emotion, the interconnectedness of everyone involved (not just the performers) and the history that is passed on through every letra, every gesture of the hands and pick of the guitar strings. The artists in these clips are not performing Flamenco, they are Flamenco. Flamenco puro is able to move me like nothing else – it’s like, the very essence of my being reverberates and responds to the music. I know this may sound cheesy but it is completely true.

The first is of Lole Montoya and her mother La Negra singing for Spanish television. In the time soon after this recording was made, Lola would join up with her partner Manuel Molina to create some of the most exciting Flamenco of the 70s, a fusion of traditional Flamenco rooted in compas and flamenco puro and mixed with Arabic and rock elements. Lole’s Arabic influences come from her youth spent living in North Africa with her Gitano family. The above video clip is one of the first documented forays into her Arabic influenced Flamenco, and I think it’s absolutely captivating. It is her voice that first pulled me into my journey of Flamenco discoveries and she remains one of my favorite cantaoras.

If there was a Flamenco heaven it would look a little like this clip. A room full of the best Flamenco artists joined together for a good-natured juerga. These people are my inspiration and the reason why I’ve devoted so much time and energy studying this art form. This little bit of celestial Flamenco could not be complete without Camaron de la Isla, one of the most innovative and talented Flamenco cantaores of this lifetime. Camaron is the one artist that can actually transmit duende through recordings (duende is an overused term to describe the extra sensory feelings that can be transmitted through Flamenco). What’s more intriguing about this clip is the amorous tension between Carmelilla Montoya (the dancer) and Camaron. The way she smiles, the way he smiles…ay!

A special treat: This tune, Sangre Gitana y Morena by Lole y Manuel uses some of the same Arabic letras taught to Lole by her mother in the clip above.

• • •

February 2, 2009

La Noemi de las 3000

Filed under: flamenco — Dos Lunares @ 12:16 am


La Noemi de las 3000 con La Mari (por Bulerias)
Thanks to LekeFlamenco!

Young people performing Flamenco is a good reminder that Flamenco is more than technique, it’s something that comes from the heart. It also makes me wish I’d taken up the study of Flamenco at a much younger age! 😉

By the way, what do you all think of her bulerias at the end of the clip? Wow, very unexpected!

• • •

January 25, 2009

Flamenco Letras

Filed under: flamenco — Dos Lunares @ 10:53 am

Pajaro Negro-La Caita
full version here

Every year I send out a new year’s greeting to my friends and family and this year I included a Solea letra (lyrics) with the greeting. Solea is a type of Flamenco song usually dealing with the anguish of heartbreak and loss.

Though I tear off
the hands of my watch
time will not stop

Agujas de me reloj
que yo las iba arrancando
y el tiempo no se paró.

-Solea

Flamenco letras can be anything from heartbreaking to humorous to coquettish as in this favorite letra of mine:

Tu tienes dos lunares
uno juntito la boca
el otro donde tu sabes

You have two beauty marks*
one near your lips
and the other – you know where

Lunares (polka dots) are considered good luck in Gitano and other Roma cultures. Earlier this year there was an issue with a name I was using for my Flamenco projects and I was happy to re-christen this project as Dos Lunares, in honor of the song and the symbolic luck I hope it will bring me.

If you enjoy Flamenco letras and are interested in reading more, check out the excellent blog Flamenco Quote of the Day presented by Sakai Flamenco. Highly recommended!

Recently on the blog, one of my favorite letras was included in a post:

There, still in my bed,
in the small hollow she left,
is the pin from her hair,
and the little comb she used
to hold it there.

Todavia esta en mi cama
el hoyito que dejo,
la orquillita de su pelo,
y el peine que la peino.

Solea/Traditional

I first heard this letra from the cantaor Agustin Rios Amaya from Morón de la Frontera. Most of the songs he sings were taught to him by family and friends. You could say they become a form of oral history. As he taught me different letras, he would explain the origins of the song, who he learned from and why it was meaningful. In Flamenco, cante (the song) is king and the interpretation of letras is extremely important to the art form. The above letra included a very touching story that went along with it.

While many letras are traditional they are often improvised as a way of inspiring the musicians and dancers around them or sometimes to remark on the situation at hand. One cantaor who I very much enjoy, El Capullo de Jerez claims this letra was improvised on the spot and was so popular he incorporated it into a whole song.

Porque la vida es una rutina
apágame la luz
y enciéndeme la luz…

Because life is a routine
turn off the light
turn on the light

-Rumba

The Pajaro Negro video is from the movie Latcho Drom and dedicated to my friend El Chavo! as it is one of his favorites. My new year’s wish is for someone to release two of my favorite Gypsy related films on DVD: Latcho Drom and Angelo My Love.

Best wishes for a super New Year!

*Lunares can be translated as moons, polka dots or beauty marks.

(Also posted at chimatli.org)

• • •

January 24, 2009

ROMA IGNORED AT THE UN COMMEMORATION OF INTERNATIONAL DAY IN THE MEMORY OF THE HOLOCAUST

Filed under: Romani — Dos Lunares @ 11:34 am

European Roma and Travellers Forum
Press Release

Roma ignored at the UN Commemoration of International Day in the memory of the holocaust
Strasbourg, 16 January 2009: Today, in a letter addressed to United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon the European Roma and Travellers Forum expressed its indignation at the decision to exclude the Roma Holocaust from the commemoration ceremony.
Mr. Kawczynski,  president of the European Roma and Travellers Forum said this decision did not honor the United Nations, which should be at the forefront in respecting the memory of persecuted populations.
 
“The Holocaust was the implementation of the Final Solution, Hitler’s genocide programme intended to eradicate the genetic contaminants in his plan to create a master race. Only Jews and Roma were subject to the Final Solution, and both peoples lost the same percentage of their total number. However, since the end of the war in 1945, nothing has been done to acknowledge the Romani survivors” said the ERTF president.
 
Mr Kawczynski reminded United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon of his statement  at a Press Conference on 14 December, 2006 where he strongly maintained that “Denying historical facts, especially on such an important subject as the Holocaust, is just not acceptable. Nor is it acceptable to call for the elimination of any State or people. I would like to see this fundamental principle respected both in rhetoric and in practice by all the members of the international community ” 
He added that the United Nations’ decision to exclude Roma from Holocaust remembrance therefore clearly contradicted his views and only perpetuated the marginalisation of the Roma people in the historical record. The Roma continue to face exclusion and discrimination at all levels.
 
Mr. Kawczynski asked the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon for a meeting to discuss the increasing discrimination and marginalisation of Roma in member states.
 
*  *  *
 
The European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF), which has a partnership agreement with the Council of Europe and a special status with this institution, is Europe’s largest and most inclusive Roma organisation. It brings together Europe’s main international Roma-NGOs and more than 1,500 national Roma organisations from most of the Council of Europe’s member states.
 
For further information please contact:
 
European Roma and Travellers Forum
c/o Council of Europe
F – 67 075 w:st=”on”Strasbourg
Tel.: 00 33 3 90 21 53 50
Email: ertf@ertf.org or ertf@coe.int
 
********************************************

For a first hand account of Roma persecution during the holocaust, I recommend Winter Time: Memoirs of a German Sinto who survived Auschwitz by Walter Winter.
-:dos lunares

• • •

December 24, 2008

Villancicos

Filed under: flamenco — Dos Lunares @ 8:24 pm


Villancicos from the film Flamenco

During this holiday season I do my best to avoid shopping malls and other places Christmas music is played. The treacly-ness of Christmas standards makes my skin crawl. However, there is a kind of Christmas music I do find enjoyable and that is Villancicos Flamencos. I first heard this kind of villancicos in the Carlos Saura film Flamenco and was struck by it’s percussive elements, in particular, the pulsing bass. In the above clip the sound is produced by an instrument called a zambomba – a barrel or jug covered by an animal hide through which the player moves a cane in rhythm with the song. In the clip below, the bass sound is made by passing a hand over a large clay jug. Other instruments commonly used in villancicos are guitars, panderetas (a kind of tambourine), castanets and of course palmas (hand clapping)

History of villancicos from the Latin American Folk Institute:

The villancico was a poetic and musical form indigenous and unique to Iberia, which developed a recognizably distinct identity by the middle of the fifteenth century. It flourished between the 15th and 18th centuries, especially during the Baroque period, both in Spain and in Spanish America. The villancico was as significant a feature in the musical landscape of New Spain (modern Mexico and Guatemala) as in the Iberian peninsula, and its development in the colonies constitutes one of the first truly American musical contributions.
According to Jaime Gonzáles Quiñones, in his scholarly publication Villancicos y cantatas del siglo XVIII, the poetic villancico derives from two related sources: most anterior was the Arabic zéjel, which he describes as a poem “written entirely in vulgar Arabic [whose] first strophe was preceded by a short poem (refrain) of two lines. The last line in each strophe followed the rhyme of the refrain.” From the zéjel descended a type of vernacular Spanish (and Galician-Portuguese) poetic form known as the cantiga de estribillo (or cantiga de refram). Gonzáles finds that the zéjel and the cantiga de estribillo, common in the fifteenth century, were most apparently similar in the occurrence of refrains (estribillo) and strophes (mudanza) which included a second part, turns (vuelta). The estribillo was especially important to the villancico style; Gilbert Chase, author of The Music of Spain, indicates that it was emblematic of the villancico that its “basic pattern rested on the device of the initial refrain” and that otherwise there could be found much latitude in the construction of its verse.

Here’s a bit on Jerez style villancicos called Zambombas (named after the instrument):

La zambomba es el lugar donde puede verse y oír cantar a aficionados anónimos que el resto del año difícilmente se pueden ver. El espíritu alegre, anárquico y desenfadado de la celebración hace que cualquiera pueda arrancarse y dejar ver su vena más flamenca.


This article
also states that the participatory, communal performance of zambombas distinguishes it from other festive Flamenco songs in which there is usually a separation between the artists and the audience. In zambombas, the instrument is passed around and everyone is encouraged to join in the chorus of singers.


Villancico Sevillano-Abre La Puerta Maria

A beautiful public performance of villancicos, watch through for the aflamencado solo of one of the choral singers.

How I wish I was in Spain or Mexico tonight! I much prefer villancicos, Posadas or even this bit of silliness over the stripped-of-festivity Christmas we get here. Oh, well!

Best wishes to everyone for a Feliz Navidad!

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