Luis Moneo y Juan del Gastor at Torres Macarena.

Amazing traditional singing and guitar. Really traditional. Which means better, to me. Juan plays like his uncle, Diego del Gastor (guitar giant). Slow, simple, but with a subtle kind of energy like the best kind of traditional blues - like hot burning coals, not a roaring fire. The energy is contained, it is all deep down, not some hyper junk on the surface. If you aren't used to it and judge things based on technical prowess rather than feeling it, you might think it's boring or too simple. That is, until the energy builds and makes you take notice. Juan gets in a zone, playing a very simple riff, almost like he's meditating. Some of the best rock'n'roll was like this - simple but with soul.

Luis on the other hand has the classic flamenco voice. Kind of perfect. It's clear, you can even hear almost all of his letras and understand them. But he has queja (complaint) in his voice. Luis is El Torta's brother (I think, or relative, but looks like brother). He did a beautiful solea, an awesome siguiriyas and a stunning tonas (most serious and deep, a capella).

It is really cold today. I have been saved by Sachiko's friend who left a suitcase full of clothes stranded here in Spain for 2 years until finally she was forced to give them away. I am currently wearing a brown padded coat. It is on me almost all the time, even at night, as an extra blanket. Rocio, the new roommate, complained like crazy last night because there was no tablecloth on the kitchen table with a heater under it. I never noticed. Unless there is central heating it's all the same to me. We have heaters in our rooms. I am not sure about Rocio. I'm sure she'll be fine. She is a bit pesada ("heavy") though, like sticking her laptop in my face while I'm trying to fry some onions, because she can't get it connected to the internet. She expects me to somehow be able to figure it out better than her, with all these technical things written in Spanish that come up on her computer.

Today I bought a pair of proper scissors for my upcoming sewing projects. I also picked up yet more fabric - this time from the leftovers rack. It has huge polka dots and is the kind of stuff feria dresses get made out of except that it isn't enough to make a dress. It was very cheap so I will practice to see if a woven cotton that stretches in only one direction can work for a dance piece. The fabric store had an enormous lineup on a Thursday evening, and the atmosphere seemed high. I asked a woman browsing the remnant rack why there were so many people there - what was the special occassion. She said it is carneval season and people are probably buying stuff to disfrace (dress up, disguise themselves in costume). Entire families were there in the lineup which didn't really move, until they jumped me ahead of several guys with their kids.