Jerez last night. I met Manu y Pati at their casa and a French friend I met last summer, Brice, came along with us to the Alcazar for "Viernes Flamenco", a series of Friday night concerts Jerez has every August.
In the world of flamenco you are liable to run into people. I wouldn't say it's small community but if feels like it once you get to know a few people. Whether fellow students or artists, they show up places, or they are friends of other friends. This time it was Hiro. When you are in a foreign place, which it still is here, and still feel insecure, it is good to know someone you can run up to and give a hug, and be excited to see. Granada is pretty far away, and I haven't gotten back there since February to see Hiro. I would love to see him dance, after a year of studying with a renowned, older teacher from times past, and practicing 6 hours a day.

I have met so many awesome French guys in Andalucia. Genuinely nice, very cool ones. Last night I met two, and even got to dance with one, and the other made it clear he would have if he knew how. Manu and Pati's Argentine Tango skills, which were pretty top notch to start with, have improved even more. They danced on the balcony, where we were having the party, Manu in bare feet and Pati in Japanese socks that fit around her toes like a pair of gloves. I also had a rather humorous turn around the balcony with a local Jerezano, who was more used to flamenco. We also had a great talk about studying flamenco, and as I have not spent a lot of time talking to local gitanos, and expect that they might not always want to listen to what a foreigner thinks or feels about studying flamenco, it was a pleasant surprise.
There were several girls I also spent some time talking to, who are new to flamenco and completely sucked in by Jerez, like everyone who visits.

We only managed to get in a bit of guitar by Manuel and a bit of cante by Brice, before a neighbour started yelling at us to shut up. He and Arneau both play guitar but are really taken by cante and studying it as well. Arneau wants to relocate to Jerez, as did Anna, and Clara. Really anyone that has eyes to see and ears to hear what is really there can't resist it.

Ah, Jerez... I have not spent many evenings like this in Sevilla. I have not managed to end up at parties and meet a whole bunch of awesome people, like I do when I go to Jerez.