Flamenco Therapy

I recently learned a new expression in English: when shit hits the fan. No need to deep dive in the explanation, just imagine it, literally…

Well, last week shit hit the fan. I was upset, at times fuming, and even bought a pack of cigarettes in the process of sorting myself out (despite having quit 6 years ago!).

Then on Friday I took the tube and everything changed. Not because of the tube – the London tube is not that romantic – but because what happened on the tube. All throughout the summer I cycled to work, and besides the odd rainy day every now and then, I haven’t been on the tube. This simply means that I haven’t been listening to my favourite flamenco podcasts (because on the bike you shouldn’t listen to anything!).

Until the 20th of September 2019. I was going to the global climate strike with my colleagues (photo above), and I decided to take the underground. There is a short walk from my house to the station and on the way, for the first time in months, I turned on Duendeando, the podcast of Teo Sánchez. This session from August is dedicated to Sabicas, the guitarist from Pamplona, for the occasion of the “On Fire” flamenco festival in Pamplona at the end of August.

I hit play and a familiar tune started… I recognised immediately the tune, the song, her voice. It’s like lightening going through my brain. I listened to this song hundreds of times, when I first heard it more than a decade ago. It was so powerful and beautiful, I just couldn’t stop listening to it. Then out of the blue, it appears again. I am most certainly emotionally attached to this song, so it is difficult to be objective about it. However, you only need to listen to it, to understand where I am coming from.

Fernanda de Utrera: Se nos rompió el amor

Fernanda is one of the most important female flamenco singers of history, and probably my favourite. Her voice carries such power and strength, that reminds me of Mother Nature herself. Sometimes even sounding like a male voice, she sings about the tragedy of love that has just ended. The roller coaster of the feeling is there in every sound of her voice, taking you on a sad journey with much emotion involved.

Do you like Fernanda? Or just having a bad day?

Listen to the song and you will not regret it.