Just a sample of the beautiful buildings inside El Poble Espanyol
As a former dancer, I thoroughly enjoy dance performances. What better dance to see in Spain than Flamenco?
Even the cat finds a peaceful place to nestle. There is no wheeled traffic at El Poble Espanyol, nestled in the natural surroundings of the hill at Montjuïc.
El Poble Espanyol is a fake town that was built in 1929 to showcase various regions of Spain for the Barcelona International Exhibition. The goal was to create a model Spanish village with the main characteristics of all the towns and villages in the peninsula. This design included 117 buildings, streets, and squares reproduced to scale. The facades were only meant to survive the six-month duration of the exhibition, but the area was so successful that it still stands today.
El Poble Espanyol is quite charming with large open squares, small alleys, and quaint storefronts. Some of the stores and studios have resident artisans painting, sculpting, creating stained glass, working with leather, and more.
A woman builds guitars inside one of the shops
Artisan working with leather in another storefront
Even the security system (shards of colored glass on top of the exterior wall) is artistic
One of the strangest physical features of El Poble Espanyol was the shards of colored glass on top of the high walls to act as artistic barbed wire. How creative!
The place has enough twists and turns to require a map. We circled through a few times enjoying the architecture before we found the small alley in the Andalusia region with the Flamenco show at El Tablao de Carmen.
Sangria and tapas of manchego cheese, cured meats, and bread — delicious!
Since we had just eaten a huge lunch, we opted not to do the 3-course meal. Instead, we enjoyed tapas and sangria.
The teenage flamenco dancer
Manuel Jimenez “Bartolo” is the artistic director at El Tablao de Carmen and started flamenco at age 8. Sounds like Mr. HalfFull has some serious catch-up to do!
The performance highlighted the various forms of flamenco — music (guitars and drums), song, and dance. The dancers performed with such emotion and absolutely commanding claps.
The tabalos have historically served as an artistic school and a springboard to fame for young artists. So in addition to the more seasoned performers, we also saw a girl who seemed like she was just a teenager, but she too, was an expert performer with seriousness beyond her years.
Mr. HalfFull pretends to be a flamenco dancer
We thoroughly enjoyed the performance, so much so that Mr. HalfFull was striking poses in the street on the walk home. His ferocity was compellingly hilarious! He was also inspired to learn to play flamenco guitar. We’ll see when that happens…
- What types of dance do you enjoy doing and/or watching?
- When do you think Mr. HalfFull will take up the guitar?
- Has a performance inspired you to learn a new skill?
I found some dancers in the sculpture garden! But I think these were perhaps ballet or modern, not flamenco.
Even the handrails are topped with sculptures like this one in Cervantes Alley
Gorgeous view up in El Poble Espanyol
#1 by Mr. HalfFull on July 10, 2012 - 12:15 PM
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I predict that Mr. HalfFull will begin guitar lessons with The Music School at Jammin’ Java about a year after he finishes his M.Ed. graduate program, hopefully around 2016…
¡Nunca es tarde cuando la dicha es buena!
#2 by Ms. HalfEmpty on July 10, 2012 - 12:57 PM
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Your Spanish has improved! =)
#3 by Kathleen on July 17, 2012 - 9:01 AM
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I love the rythms and the emotions in the Spanish pubs. Flamenco dancing changes when it is performed on a stage with everyone silent. I prefer the chaotic atmosphere of the Spanish bar where everyone is clapping and engaging with the dancers. I also like it because the woman is in charge and sets the tone while the man is behind the scenes.
Estupendo! I mean Mr. HalfFull’s Spanish is wonderful.
#4 by Ms. HalfEmpty on July 17, 2012 - 10:49 AM
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We never got a chance to see flamenco in a bar. Although, we did see a few of the performers outside dancing with patrons before the show. It was a fun, impromptu sneak peak!
Our performance was not silent. There was a lot of clapping and yelling from the other performers on stage. There were 4 dancers (2 male, 2 female) who each performed solo. But when they weren’t the solo performer, they were still quite engaged in clap rhythms. When the men danced alone, they were commanding, in charge performers. But the same was true when the women took the stage.