Lorca's+Andalucia

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 * __ Lorca’s Andalucia __**


 * __Andalucia:__**

Landscape and culture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QINfl83Np3o


 * __Domination of nature/instinct or a traditional expression of male-female dynamics:__**

Bullfighting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFzZ_GLZ8uU

Psychoanalytic Review. LVII, 1970: Some Thoughts on the Symbolism of Bullfights. Enrique Guarner. Pp. 18-28 ||
 * In earlier studies, bullfighting was regarded as a quasi-religious ritual in which the matador represents the leader of the primitive horde, who sacrifices the father (bull) to be devoured; as a passion play ending in a unity of attacker and defender, father and mother, parent and child; and as a feminine (balletic bullfighter)-masculine (bull) struggle resulting from a social structure in which the father abandons the family . Guarner's paper suggests that the fight expresses narcissism, exhibitionism, aggression, anality, and genitality. The matador asserts his omnipotence through domination of the powerful animal representing the father and death. Guarner illustrates his thesis with reports of analyses of two bullfighters.


 * __The construction of individual (esp. feminine) and collective identity, the body, desire, politics (Link to its origins among the peasantry of Andalucia, whom Lorca championed and Maria Josefa’s song on p.163, which is an expression of her desire.):__**

Flamenco: http://www.andalucia.com/flamenco/home.htm (Also, useful for other aspects of Andalucian culture and heritage.)

Flamenco: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfZGSAhAjOA

Flamenco: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjeMg1C-Nv4


 * __Flamenco and Catholicism Today - A Paradox?__**

//The Osgood File// (CBS Radio Network): 3/23/01 Flamenco dancers fire up Catholic worship service in San Antonio. Flamenco is a passionate and emotional form of dance that might seem like the last thing you'd see in a Catholic church. But twice a year for the celebratory seasons of Christmas and Easter, Father Jake Empereur conducts Flamenco Mass at San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio Texas. Flamenco dancers are part of the procession into the church: they dance their way up to the altar to present the gifts of wine and bread for the Eucharist, and reverently fan the liturgical books with colorful Spanish fans. At the high point of the mass, when it's time to proclaim the gospel, the priest joins in and dances with the 10 or 12 professional Flamenco dancers. San Fernando Cathedral is home to the Flamenco Mass and many public rituals and celebrations of Mexican Catholic faith. Flamenco, with its roots in Spain, reflects the Hispanic origins of historic San Fernando Cathedral, the oldest parish church and the oldest cathedral in the U.S. But the passionate dance form is also uniquely suited to convey the deep emotions of Catholic faith, from great sorrow to transcendent joy. The expressive nature of Flamenco dramatizes the symbolism of the service, reflecting important sacred moments through movement and gesture. It mirrors the emotional Latino experience of the Liturgy, and deepens the congregations' involvement in the Mass, by bringing passion, life and movement inside the Cathedral. The Flamenco Mass has been celebrated at San Fernando Cathedral for 15 years. About a thousand people crowd into the cathedral for Father Empereur's service, which to his knowledge is the only Flamenco Mass in the country. Traditional elements of the Flamenco style create an electric effect by bringing color and movement to the service. The dancers wear richly decorated traditional costumes, carry colorful Spanish fans, and are accompanied by classical Spanish Flamenco guitar music and traditional singing, clapping and castanets. Though some might think that the church is no place for dancing, Father Empereur disagrees-he says that the dignified nature of Flamenco dance conveys soul, depth and emotion to the service, deepening and revitalizing the experience of mass for his parishioners. ||
 * =Flamenco Mass=


 * __A Professional View of Flamenco:__**


 * “Flamenco has travelled the world,” says Romero. “It is not necessarily about Spain. It’s about India and the Arabs. It’s about travel and change.” However, even with the influence of world beat instrumentation. The songs and poetry haven’t changed. They come from the late 18th and 19th centuries and, to quote flamencologist Timothy Mitchell, the lyrics traffic heavily in the ups and downs of relationships. In love, hate, jealousy, resentment and anxiety about sociopolitical dependence. ”

The musicians were seated in and informal juerga like gathering of friends, which included flamenco guitar, singer and of course a palmero, or person who supports the dance, music and song through rhythmical hand clapping. Romero was seated among them. She then got up to dance. For a moment she was quiet, doing palmas to find her place in the accents of the music. She moved forward away from the musicians and looked at us. With and abrupt start her feet pounded out fierce rhythms into the floor as her arms curbed into spirals around her, then drawing something out from inside in offering. Her dancing is not about sex. It is about challenge, defiance, aggression, desire, and need. It’s about Carmen Romero.

“Women are not very honest with themselves. Flamenco provides an opportunity for women to explore different aspects of themselves. It’s a safe and acceptable outlet for a woman to be sensuous, strong, coquettish and conniving .”

The words of the songs are about the gypsies’ feelings of family, home, love and loss and the suffering of social oppression and persecution. Dancer and choreographer Carmen Romero interviewed by Suzanne Jeager in Fired up by Flamenco, //Dance International//, Fall 1999 ||


 * __Andalucian Art: Julio Romero de Torres:__**

// Retablo del amor, de Julio Romero de Torres //

Julio Romero de Torres was born in 1874 and died in 1930 aged 55.

The spirit of the copla, social injustice expressed through music, is alive in his early youthful works such as Conciencia tranquila in which a manual worker with his children around him, is captured in his humble dwelling by the civil guard and reveals his obvious innocence in the painful expression on his face. The painting is an example of the social realism very much in favour in the Spanish art world in the first half of the 20th century.

// Conciencia tranquila //

His Musa gitana in 1908, considered one of the most important contributions of Spanish painting to universal art, is the work of an artist who has reached maturity. The Córdoba woman is the undisputed muse of Romero de Torres’ work. Her dark skin, melancholic expression and restrained sexuality embody fundamental Andalucían values, expressed in traditions such as flamenco and bullfighting.

// La Musa Gitana, de Julio Romero de Torres // In Romero de Torres’ work there is no lack of images of the Andalucían veneration of their virgins, Christ figures and female saints. La muerte de Santa Inés is but one of many examples.

// La muerte de Santa Ines, de Julio Romero de Torres // Romero de Torres’ females lie on their side and turn their faces towards you, as if searching your face for a hint of the same sadness portrayed on theirs ; they have their hair tied back and many carry offerings.

In this collection is the piece that could be considered Romero de Torres’ pictorial last will and testament: La chiquita piconera. Painted in the year of his death, it depicts a girl who, while listlessly poking at the burning coals in the copper brazier, seems to be asking herself, with dignified humility, what fate awaits those trapped by poverty?

<span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial">Romero de Torres was a troubadour, laying bare <span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial">the soul of Andalucía. // http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/2729 // // La chiquita piconera, de Julio Romero de Torres //