Holy Thursday in Álora; blue sky with some clouds.

Holy Thursday in Álora; blue skies with some clouds.

 

 

 

We are well into Semana Santa now. It rained on Saturday (Sabado Pasión) so Jesús atado a la Columna stayed in the church. Sunday (Domingo de Ramos) (Palm Sunday) was a lot nicer so La Pollinica (Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey) set off from the parroquia closely followed by Santa Maria del Amparo Auxiliara.

                                                     La Pollinica

 

María Santisima del Amparo Auxiliadora

 

Mary was carried by young lads (portaleros or costaleros ) who looked absolutely exhausted when they had finished the long, slow route up and down the steep streets of the town. Well done lads.

'Jesus chained to the pillar' eventually took a chance on the weather and set off late in the afternoon while the going was good. He completed the course although a day late. I must say that I find his posture a little nonchalant  or como si nada .

 

Jesús atado a la Columna

All in all things were going swimmingly although the forecast for the week was poor.

Monday was processionless.

On Tuesday we went to Málaga to see their Martes Santo processions. The tronos there are much bigger and are carried by up to 300 portaleros or costaleros. The nazarenos here tend to wear pointed hats which can give you an uneasy feeling until you get used to them. They say that if you think 'Ku Klux Klan' when you see them, you are a tourist.
The tronos are so big some of the portaleros have to carry them from underneath and are called 'submarinos'. Presumably they are chosen on the basis of being strong, not afraid of the dark or confined spaces and have a balanced diet.

 

 

The processions in Málaga go on all day and well into the early hours on every day of the week. The various cofradias wear robes and capirotes (pointed hats) of their special colour. The air is foggy with incense. The main streets are lined with rows of chairs and   full  tribunas (grandstands) rise up above the crowds.

One of the processions has horses, six in number. They were followed by a council street sweeper with a bucket and shovel.

On the night of Miercoles Santo  (Holy Wednesday) in Álora the only sign of life (or death) was a silent procession through the dark unlit streets. No band, not even drums but only a double file of people with candles accompanied Santo Via-Crucis. Nearly all the bars were shut too. The main square was deserted except for a small crowd of hardened drinkers/smokers outside Las Dos Fuentes bar.

The main events here in Álora will take place today (Thursday) and tomorrow. All will depend on the weather. The forecasts are mixed. It has to be fine this evening for Jesus de las Torres to come down from the castle and  process round the town. It is hard to overstate the anxiety here as the day progresses.
Then tomorrow, the day of the Despedía. We will see.

Thursday 28th. March 2013

Álora. What's happening this weekend?......It depends on the weather.

Álora.What's happening this weekend?


I've just been across the street to see Juannie's exhibition of tronos en miniatura (miniature thrones) which he has been advertising for the last week. It's in his zaguán (entrance hall) and he's very proud of it and so is his  mum who will have a busy week ahead of her as Juanie is the biggest fan ever of Semana Santa. He will be in all the processions and seems to be an honorary member of all the hermandads. He's a Real Madrid fan too.
The neighbourhood kids have been marching up and down the street, bashing their paint can drums Now and then sound of real drums drifts across the town as the hermandad bands practise for next week. The ´no parking' signs have been set up along the Passion Saturday  and  Palm Sunday route and reminders put under the windscreen wipers of parked cars. Most people will ignore them. Houses are getting a lick of paint if they are on the route of a procession and the ayuntamiento will be dressing the balconies of steep and narrow Calle Ancha (Wide Street) with pot plants (free!) ready for Jesús de la Torres's return trip down from the castle on Thursday night and back up again on Friday afternoon.

The castle itself is being tarted up too. New floodlights have been installed in more secure housing  (they tend to get stolen) and the weeds have been strimmed. Soon most of the balconies on Calle Ancha will be draped with the purple mantas (sheets) of the Jesus de las Torres hermandad. Calle Ancha is Jesús territory and the vecinos (locals) are very proud of their affiliation, even some of the Brits who colonised this street during the property buying boom of 2002-2007 will put them up. Back in the Plaza Baja (de la Despedía of course) the dark maroon mantas of  Dolores supporters will be more in evidence. Antonio of the estanco (tobacconist's) opposite the side door of the church is a big Dolores fan and hermandad member and his house will be a  picture of devotion. He has a great view of the Despedía from his balcony too. We have not been invited to share the view yet..One day he may even be voted Hermano Mayor. He'd like that,  I´m sure.
We've got a pretty good view too. Most of the processions pass by our door. This year we are expecting to go up the the top square to my sister's new flat for drinks and nibbles. The view from her balcony will be one of the best in town and she doesn't even know it yet . If you're reading this, Anne, red wine for me and Mercadona does lots of interesting snacks.
NB. Mercadona will be shut on Thursday and Friday.

The bars in the Plaza de la Fuente Arriba have taken delivery of extra coolers and  are clearing the decks  for their biggest sales of food and drink of the year.....if the weather holds out.

Tomorrow, Friday,  is Viernes de Dolores. There is a little procession inside the parroquia.

On Saturday at 8.00pm. Jesús atado a la Columna (Jesus tied to the Pillar) will set off from the Plaza Baja.

On Sunday (Domingo Ramos) at  11.45 am. La Pollinica (Jesus entering Jerusalem on an ass, accompanied by María Santísima del Amparo Auxiliadora) will set off from the Plaza Baja.

 On Sunday evening at 8.00pm. Jesús Orando en la Huerta (Jesus praying in the Garden) will depart from the little chapel, La Hermita de Calvario at the top of Calle Calvario and head downhill into town.

Here's a taster.
http://www.alora.es/Inicio/V.asp?IdVideo=220&pag=1

Thursday 21st. March 2013

They're off! Álora's Easter celebrations begin.

 

They're off! Álora's Easter celebrations begin

 

 

                                     María Santísima de los Dolores Coronada (In the centre is Ana Molina, Hermana Mayor of the Dolores hermandad.)

Yesterday, Friday 15th. of March,  just two weeks before Good Friday (Viernes Santo)the Álora Semana Santa (Holy Week) celebrations were launched. Sorry, kids, Santa will not be appearing.
The annual 'starting pistol' (not my words but those of the Ayuntamiento web page)  is the 'Pregón' (Opening Speech) and takes place in La Parroquia de la Encarnación (Parish Church of the Incarnation) which is in the Plaza Baja de la Despedía and only 25 metres from our front door.

The Semana Santa events are organised by the various hermandads and cofradias (brotherhoods) whose members spend all year raising money for their tronos (thrones), robes, candles and flowers and big dinners.

The tronos carry images of Jesus, The Virgin Mary (whose mother was also a virgin, apparently) , Saint John the Evangelist and a donkey.The hermandads are not exclusively male. Two of them (Dolores Coronada y Soledad and Amor y San Juan are led by a hermana mayor (chief sister) at the moment (they are elected). Each hermandad  produces a cartel (poster) and most of the shops and bars are now plastered with them. Every year the ayuntamiento (town council) produces a poster on behalf of one of the hermandads. This year it is the turn of Dolores.

 

 A  formal dinner is held by the hermandads to launch each poster.   The two most important hermandads are:

María Santísima de los Dolores Coronada y Soledad  (Dolores) and

Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno de las Torres y María Santísima de las Ánimas (El Señor, Cristo or  Jesús)

Both of these hermandads have two thrones and images  each.  Dolores's  second one (María Santísima de la Soledad) bears a close facial similarity to Dolores herself. How's it done? I can only guess.




Tonight the first of the processions took place. It was rather chilly by the time Jesús emerged from the church amid clouds of incense. He was followed by María Ánimas, hundreds of people, lots of candles
and a band.

 
                                                     

 

El Señor

 

 

                                                             María Ánimas

The purpose of tonight's procession was to move Jesús and María Ánimas from the parish church, where they have been since last Easter, to the chapel up at the castle which is also called Las Torres (the towers). Jesus will be brought down again on Jueves Santo (Holy Thursday) only to be taken back up again the next day , Viernes Santo (Good Friday) after saying goodbye to Dolores  during the now famous Despedía  ( goodbye) ceremony. María Ánimas will come back down on the night of Viernes Santo.

                                      
                                   Programme of the recorridos (procession routes)

I hope the above has given my (admittedly tiny) body of readers a taste for the exciting events soon to follow. In all there will be 17 processions. The next one will be next Friday at 8.30pm in the Parroquia when Dolores Coronada will be moved from her altar to her processional throne. See you there!

Saturday 16th. March

I went away and stayed too long.

 

 

I went away and stayed too long

 

 

 

 

                                                   Common Cold Virus

We've been back for a week but  this little chap has been a bit of an aguafiestas (wet blanket). It has literally 'gone viral' with our delicate upper respiratory tracts and drained my enthusiasm even for Álora although I did manage a bowl of callos on Mothers' Day.
I can now report some important changes that are sure to be of interest to anyone eagerly waiting for the first bulletin from Spain this year.

We arrived back in Álora on Tuesday afternoon. As we began the unloading of the car, Isabela came over to greet us. 'There's a crack in the convento'. she appeared to be saying as she embraced us. She has taken to wearing a woolly hat with a peak. I put it down to my newly diagnosed high frequency hearing loss. Then Maria José, who had just locked up the museum at the end of the street and was heading for her lunch,  said roughly the same thing. It must be serious.

The Convento de los Flores (The Convent of Flowers) is up on the Ardales road about half a mile past Mercadona. It is where La Virgen de Flores (The Virgin of Flowers) lives. She is the joint  patrona  (patron virgin) of Álora and is a very important figure in the life of the town.

                                            La Virgen de Flores and friends

Every year in the morning of  the last Sunday in August she is taken from the convento and carried down through the town to the parish church in the Plaza Baja. Nine days of special masses (novena) are held and then on her birthday, September 8th., she is taken on a procession round the town.  On the first Sunday after her birthday the Romeria (pilgrimage) takes place. This is unmissable and involves much rejoicing and drinking.

A crack in the bell tower of the convento as a big deal. It will have to be repaired and by the look of it, the sooner the better. The town is still reeling from the damage caused last year by the floods and  work on putting back the bridge over the Guadalhorce River has not started yet.

That's a  big crack.

Work on the Castillo of Álora seems to have cracked on and the first phase (making the walls safe) seems to be complete. I can now take Tommy for his morning walk without the fear of being buried in moorish masonry. It's looking a lot tidier  up there too and a wooden walkway that goes nowhere has been put there so that you can now walk along it and look down over the Guadalhorce valley. The kestrels seem to like it too. They have returned  from who knows where to breed in the bell tower. I counted 11 yesterday but there are bound to be more. They are lesser kestrels but are apparently unaware of this undeserved slur and keep coming back.

 

                                                     A ´lesser´kestrel 

The view from the castle hasn't changed much. The river is still very full following a long period of rainy weather and at 8.30 am., viewed against the morning sun,  it looks like a river of molten gold.

In the Plaza Baja we are short of a palm tree, The ayuntamiento uprooted the four old, shade giving Indian Laurels and replaced them with four palms just at the time when the red palm weevil was nibbling its way through Andalucía and had already destroyed the only tree on Calle Ancha. Just a stump remains of the first casualty. The other three are almost certain to go too.

The only other significant change has been to the puti club  on the road to Málaga. (more detailed directions supplied on request). It has been painted black and renamed 'Cuorex' which almost rhymes with...well I preferred 'Laurel' (Para que te sientes bien). I should add that it is located in the Pizarra municipality so should not really be included in this Álora blog.

 

The long spell of cold rainy weather has filled the reservoirs to overflowing. We drove up to the embalses near El Chorro and crossed the dam of the Guadalteba lake. The sluice gates were open and made spectacular viewing. Very noisy too.

We had really gone up there for a coffee in La Posada del Conde and to look for the tiny daffodil which I had identified wrongly as a  Hoop Petticoat Daffodil in January. They were there all right but nothing like the Petticoat chaps.

It's Narcissus cantabricus and is white, not yellow as I remembered. It's very small too and very pretty. Aren't I a big softie?

March 14th. 2013

How to buy your own furniture and lose it in one hour

How to buy your own furniture and lose it in one hour.


Only two weeks and two days to go now before we drive back to Álora so we've started winding down the operation here and thinking about the journey back.
I have decided to buy an international driving permit at the post office. It costs 5 pounds and is only valid for a year.

I am still not sure if I am able to drive legally in Spain with my British driving licence. Nobody seems able to give me a straight answer. I enquired at the British Consulate in Málaga a few years ago and they assured me that my British licence was enough and gave me a photocopy of a National Ruling although they pointed out it was unlikely that the Guardia Civil, who patrol the Spanish roads, had read it.  'Don't worry', they said.  'If they  arrest you, you'll get  off.'
I have since scoured the ex pat websites for a definitive answer but it appears to depend on:

1. If your car has Spanish or English  plates
2. If you are registered as a Spanish Resident or not
3. If the Guardia Civil can read your licence or not
4. If they take a dislike to you or not
5. etc.

                                                   La Benemérita

'You and the Law in Spain' by David Searle appears to favour the British licence as long as I have a Spanish translation of my licence or an International Driving Permit and a medical certificate!

I reckon that the medical certificate can wait until I get back. I don't know anyone who's ever had one but you never know with the Guardia. They have seemingly infinite powers and can make arbitrary decisions, demand on the spot fines, confiscate your car on a whim and make you walk home. At least that is the general perception of this fine national police force held by Brits and Spaniards alike, especially in Andalucía.

So I paid my five pounds and pocketed my new IDP. As I went to put it with all my other Spanish driving documents (there are lots) it occurred to me that I hadn't come across them recently. Panic. I rushed to where they should be. They weren't there or anywhere in the house. They are in Álora (Harry  searched the house and found them in the wardrobe) . More panic. I have photocopies but the Guardia can demand to see the originals and I have to drive 1000km. through Spain in a couple of weeks without them. Wish me luck.

                                                      Waiting for me?


My experience of the Guardia (pronounced gwardia) Civil began in 2000, the day we signed the papers and moved into number 21. We had told the estate agent that we were interested in buying some of the furniture in the house and  when we walked in every movable (and some fixed)  object had a 'post it' stuck to it with a price written on . We picked out a few usable items and made  what we thought was a reasonable offer when the youngish vendors arrived . No. We had to buy the lot or none.  Then the argument started. Our Spanish was limited. They got very angry and stormed out, returning a few minutes later saying that they agreed and would be back at 9.00pm. for the money and to start removing the rest of the house contents.
Just before 9.00pm. a pounding on the steel front doors interrupted our celebratory bottle of wine. Bang Bang Bang. At the door were the aforementioned pair and two Guardia Civil. The four of them barged in with  the sellers shouting goodness knows what. We had no idea what was going on. What law had we broken? It must be serious and the two guardia looked very serious. They demanded our papers. We rang the estate agent who spoke Spanish. One of the guards spoke to her. 'They have denounced you for stealing  their furniture'. she said.
My knees went weak. The guard examined our passports and the house sale documents.  A couple of hours later he looked up , smiled and said 'Es su casa'. (It's your house). 'Suerte!' (Good luck).
He shook our hands and headed for the door, followed by our new Spanish friends.

The relief we felt was short lived. We should have shut the door. I think we were too stunned to take rational actions. The guardia had gone but la pareja came back with a man carrying a tool box. They proceeded to strip the place of any object of any value including light fittings, mirrors etc. Then  a procession of men women and children arrived (neighbours presumably) who picked through what was left and carried off what they fancied while we stood and watched.

                                   
                                                 Before they arrived

                                         The man with the toolbox arrives


Eventually Moira had the idea of taking a photo of  'the sack of Álora'. The camera flashes disturbed the frenzied scavengers and they left. We locked up and headed up into town for a drink and something to eat. We booked in for the night at Hostal Durán on the way there and flew home two days later. It was two months before we came back.
Some years later we found out that all the furniture belonged to us once the papers had been signed. Hey ho.

February 15th. 2013

Brush up your Spaniard. A bit below the belt.

 

 

 

Brush up your Spaniard. A Bit Below the Belt

 

 

 

 

Just over five weeks to go before we head to Portsmouth or Plymouth to board the good ship Pont Aven for Santander. I will check carefully which this time as I did drive to Portsmouth instead of Plymouth once. How we laughed.

 

That leaves  5 weeks to brush up my Spanish. How's it done? By meeting Spanish speakers at the weekly get together on Hurst Street?  By listening to Spanish Radio and TV via the internet?  By reading Spanish newspapers online? By watching DVDs in Spanish?  Reading a Spanish novel?

I had planned to do all these and I've ended up doing what I always do which is to go through the 5 exercise books full of words and phrases I have picked up over the last 12 years. They are falling to bits now and I get through about a page a day before taking Tommy out for his morning walk. I test myself on vocabulary (right hand page) and 'useful phrases' (left hand page).

 

 

                                                       A selection of good intentions

 

 

Some time ago I reluctantly had to accept that I don't use most of the words and hardly any of the phrases. They are all proper Spanish as I wouldn't have taken the trouble to write then down neatly if I hadn't heard them used or seen them written down somewhere. I do know that on many of the occasions I've dipped into my treasure chest and used one in public I have been met with blank stares. I usually give it one more go just to be sure. I never get round to crossing them out in the books so I come across them again from time to time. I usually have a Spanish novel on the go and I suppose many of this useless stuff has come via the written word. Some I have obviously copied down wrongly but mostly they are words I thought would be useful, like andámio (scaffolding), amusing , like  un tragaldabas  (a greedy person, or someone who eats doorknockers) or rude and offensive.

 

Out of 39 of these Man in Alora blogs the second most popular, by a wide margin, has been 'Insulting Behaviour' so in an effort to play to my strengths  here are a few which may amuse.

 

Those of a sensitive disposition my prefer to check their e mails, facebook or Twitter. You have been warned.

 

Confunde el velocidad con el tocino (he confuses speed with fatty salt pork) which means 'He doesn't  know his arse from his elbow'  is a good one to start with as there are many expressions in Spanish which use below the waist anatomy.

I used  nalgas, in good faith, to mean 'arse' until Antonio Martos told me it was not correct. It's in the dictionary too. The most popular word  for 'arse' is culo, of course, and crops up everywhere, especially por el culo (up the arse) as in 'me da por culo tener que trabajar' (I hate work) or le dio unpuntapié en el culo (he kicked him up the arse) or ¡Vete a tomar por el culo! or ¡Métetelo por el culo! (**** you!).

 

 

 

Curiously, un culillo ( a little arse) means a drop left at the bottom of a glass and 'Culo que veo, culo que deseo' (Arse I see, arse I want) means 'If I see something I have to have it'.

Another word for arse is posaderas which should not be confused with posadero which means an innkeeper or posadera, his wife.

 

I've just had a break (un descanso) for a bowl of warming soup. One of the words I have in my collection but have never used is un descansillo (a little break or rest) which means 'the landing on a flight of stairs'. I'm very fond of that one and look forward to a chance to use it.

Now back to the rude ones.

 

The rudest word I know in the English language (let me know if you have a ruder one) is, astonishingly, used all the time in Álora by men and women alike and as far as I can tell, in the rest of Spain. I am referring, of course,  to '****'. See!, I can't bring myself to write it. It's that offensive. But not in Spain.

In general it's used to give emphasis.  It is used to mean 'For heaven's sake!'  as in '¡Vámonos ya , coño! (Come on, let's get a bloody  move on!) or '¡Ni hablar, coño, ni hablar!' ( Not on your bloody life!).

Here's a few to remember:

 

¿Como coño?              How the hell/f*** etc.

¿Donde coño?             Where the hell? etc.

¿Porqué coño?            Why the etc.?

¿Qué coño?                   What the etc?

 

¡Ni que coño!              My arse!

 

¿Que coño quieres?    What on earth do you want?

 

Lo hice porque me salió del coño    I did it because I bloody well felt like it.

 

Viven en el quino coño  or pino        They live in the fifth **** or pine (in the back of beyond )   ????????????????

 

The dictionary I have says that coño is also the nickname for 'a Spaniard'. I wouldn't chance it if I were you. You could get a puntapié en el culo.

 

 

 

                                                          What on earth am I reading?


Here's a few of my favourites:

¿Cuando se te puso la mosca detrás de la oreja?  When did you get the fly behind your ear? (When did you find out?)

Ha visto mas pollas que los urinarios de la mesquita vieja. She's seen more penises than the urinal in the old mosque. (She's been around) (might be a bit out of date.)

Es mas quemado  que el cenicero de un bingo. He/She is more burnt out than the ashtray in a bingo hall.

Tiene menos dinero que una puta en cuaresma. He/She's more broke than a whore in Lent.

No tiene pelos en la lengua. He has no hair on his tongue. (He doesn't mince words).

¡Véte a freir esparrago!  Go and fry asparagus (Piss off!)

Es mas lento que un desfile de cojos. He's slower than a parade of cripples

January 22nd. 2012



Man still not in Alora. Bar LoD'Antonio

                                               Man Still Not in Álora. Bar LoD'Antonio

Six weeks to go before our return. My elder sister is at this moment at 21 Benito Suarez where the water heater has packed up again. Those ********s are ******* useless. Another call to the Fagor man and another 40€ call out fee when we get back.  If anyone has been following my garage saga (see Blog #2 'All the Excitement is Over') you'll be pleased to hear that after nearly 8 years I can use my garage. I went in twice before coming back to Brum and then the door wouldn't open so that was that. Our neighbour  is now using it while we're away and the door is still working. Result or what? No. He's just called  me to say someone has left a note on his windscreen saying that he's not allowed to be there.  Hey ho.

While I was writing the last post about the visit of Los Reyes Magos I had a tweet from Epi, (Señor Sanchez to me) our alcalde (mayor) giving his condolences to the family of a child that had been killed during the procession. I presumed it had happened in Alora and me quedé pasmado (I was speechless). The tragic event did take place but in Malaga and I believe the child was crushed under a vehicle while trying to pick up sweets. Thanks to Peggy and Tom for putting me straight. Terrible thing.

I have just been contacted by someone wanting to know if I am alive.

Anyway, Chris Gray has said he likes the popular series 'Favourite Bars' so it's time for...

Lo D'Antonio (Antonio's)

In my opinion LoD'Antonio does the best tapas in town, certainly within the radius of 'The Vuelta'.
This bar is run by Antonio  Gil who used to eat too many of the delicious platos prepared in her tiny kitchen by his longstanding (there's no room to sit down in there) cook.
This is what he looked like when he took over the bar.

When Antonio and his cousin Paco opened the bar it was called Bar La Rampa (on calle La Rampa) and still has that name on the sign outside. As a young man Antonio travelled round the world and had a motorbike. He is, therefore, worldly wise and does not say much. He has a white board on the wall and every week  a quotation from one of the great philosophers is written there in felt tip in Spanish. He has a big flat screen telly in there which I believe has never shown a football match and these days not even 'Spain's most popular TV chef'' Karlos Arguiñano gets a look in.

                                                                  Karlos Arguiñano

I must say something about this man. He seems to be on the TV. screens of every bar I go into and his programme is very popular with men in bars. They always find something about his cooking to argue about. Arguing is a popular pastime which sits comfortably with tapas and cañas (small beers). You could be forgiven for thinking that the men of Álora do a lot of cooking. They do not. They just know a lot about cooking and are almost prepared to come to blows about, for example, whether or not a calamarito is the same as a puntillita (they are both baby squids as far as I can make out) or how long to boil pulpo for a pulpo a la gallega. (best cooked from frozen apparently).
Mr Arguiñano does know how to cook. He is a Basque and the men there really do know how to cook and have their own 'cooking clubs'.  He is also admired by Heston Blumenthal and Jamie Oliver. So there. He is now 64 years old, a multi millionaire and owns his own TV production company. He is a big investor in the Basque sport Pelota and owns part of La Sexta TV channel.  His catchphrase is 'rico, rico y con fundamento'.( tasty, tasty and with nutritional value) and he uses parsley in almost all his recipes.  Shrewd viewers of his show will notice that every piece of kitchen equipment from knives to nutmeg graters proudly displays the name of its manufacturer. I am told he has a luxury yacht too.

Except for during Semana Santa Antonio's big screen shows rock videos. He is a big fan of The Rolling Stones, (he has adopted the 'tongue logo' ) ,the Beatles ( he has a display of framed EP covers on the wall, most of which were not released in the UK) and a Spanish rock band called Tabletom. (he has a signed and framed t shirt on the wall) He likes Cowbell too. http://www.myspace.com/cowbelltheband

When times were better LoDantonio used to fill up at 2.00pm. with tapeanders and people just passing through the town. (The bar is the first one you will see after parking your car in the town car park). It was a favourite of Jaques Laurelhet  and his 'coterie' too. Jacques was  French and had been  an Alora resident for many years. He was a painter and his paintings could be found all over town; in people's houses, in bars, public buildings and on most of  posters for the annual  feria and the flamenco festivals.

 

The Peña Flamenca (Flamenco Club) with Carmen de Carmen. All the artwork on the back wall is by Jacques

 

There is a photo of him on the wall in LoDantonio aged about 18 playing guitar in  a rock group. A good drawing of Antonio Gil by him is up there too. Jacques was very popular in the town and everyone was saddened by his death.

                                                                   LoDantonio
I have spent many happy hours with a tapa and a caña in front of me staring at the above scene. At the far end beyond the kitchen roll is the kitchen. The cook is in there somewhere. There used to be a clock on the wall where the bottles are that was a 36 hour clock (I think.  Chris could tell you if you should meet him) which seemed to make more sense as the afternoon went on and somebody might say,  'Oh it's  quarter past 36  we'd better have another'.  Above the entrance to the kitchen is a diagram showing the origins and branches of the various palos of flamenco. One of them, the 'Malagueño' was invented in Álora. One of the town's two prominent cantaores (singers), Manuel 'El Pibri' is a regular at LoDantonio along with many flamenco aficionados, such as Pepe Rojas (of sheep's testicle fame) and El Rubio who rides around on a scooter and turns up at the bar with flowers, herbs and other cosas del campo like 'sweet lemons'.

                                                     'El Pibri' with Emilio Cortes (guitar)

    
                                                              The Peña Flamenca

Nearly all the bars in Álora serve tapas and even larger portions (media raciones or raciones). Some have a chilled display counter, as does LoDantonio but none that I know of has a chalkboard with the day's fare. Usually you have to ask, '¿Hay tapas?' or '¿Qué tapas tienen?' and listen to a rapid recital of what's on offer. Sometimes Antonio has more than 20 tapas to offer, most of them cooked.
For some reason, if I ask, '¿Qué hay de Tapas?' he always smiles and replies. 'Muy bien gracias'. (very well thankyou). I don't understand why and so I've stopped doing it.

If you haven't seen this yet you are in for a pleasant surprise


http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/01/this-is-a-flash-mob-playing-here-comes-the-sun-in-a-spanish-unemployment-office/267084/#.UPE2ctkXswE.twitter

January 15th. 2013