I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: DIEGO EL CIGALA-Tiny Desk Concert #437 (May 1, 2015).

Diego El Cigala has a beautiful voice which sounds to my ear like the strained/aching style of the Gipsy Kings’ singer.  It is just him and his accompanist (Jaime Calabuch) on piano–which sounds very clear and pretty.

It amuses me that through the whole show he keeps playing with his long beard—an almost nonchalant reaction for someone who seems to be singing so passionately.

In the write up Felix Contreras says that El Cigala (Spanish for ‘Norway Lobster’),  is a game changer in the world of flamenco music.  I have literally no experience with this and can’t comment on it.  But Contreras says that he uses his voice for boleros, copla, tangos, jazz and combinations of the above.  I can hear all that in the music he has chosen, I just can’t comment on why it’s a game changer.

The three songs he sings are “Soledad,” “Vete de Mi” and ”Voda Loca.”  And they all sound really beautiful.

[READ: April 15, 2015] “They Were Awake”

This brief story is an interesting one.  Nothing actually happens in it–a group of ladies eat a potluk and share their dreams (actual dreams, not pie in the sky dreams).  Then they head home.

Nothing’s worse than hearing someone else’s dreams, but since this is a story, the dreams are interesting.  And indeed, they are quite telling.

They each talk about how their dreams have been anxious as of late.

Becca says she dreamed she owed money to the gas company.

Emma says she dreamed her ex-lover demanded that she appraise his art and he locked her in his flat until she did so.  When they ask if she was raped, she says, “Of course not.”

Carrie says she had a dream where she was trapped and that her husband was going to rape her.

Sabrina (who is a world traveler) says she had a dream where a Russian woman accused her of paying someone to rape her.

Amy says that she dreamed of an older version of her mother and a younger version of her mother at the same time.  The others seem disappointed by that one.

Then they dig back to the worst dreams they’ve ever had.

Liz tells about a childhood dream of her brother killing himself.  He did kill himself many years later but not in any way like her dream.

The rest of the meal goes on as normal, but there’s a lot of subtext to what the women do and say.  This would be a really interesting short movie to watch.  Get some great actresses to really show off the expressions and emotions of the women around the table.  So someone, option it!