The Heart(beat) and Soul of Spain

The Heart(beat) and Soul of Spain

“Graced by a Special Kind of Rhythm”

Coming into Jerez de la Frontera, we were still working through the transition of our next chapter nomad life. After two-months of stop starts, do-overs, and replays, we were still trying to find a rhythm — any rhythm that didn’t involve us tripping over our feet. Our lead-in to Jerez was no exception. As many overlanders know, it’s difficult or impossible to be in cities with a larger vehicle. Then, there’s the challenge of leaving your vehicle somewhere safe when you want to explore a city. During our month in Jerez we left our vehicle at an organized parking lot for campers on the outskirts of the city, and we stayed there intermittently while we worked through the challenges of finding a comfortable place to live in the city center.

But that didn’t stop us from our mission: a month-long immersion into one of the hearts of flamenco music and the cradle of bulería, Jerez de la Frontera. One of my long standing dreams has been to learn how to dance and play flamenco music and while we could have dipped our feet into somewhere more glamorous like Seville, it felt important to have an authentic experience. While there, I had the opportunity to take guitar lessons with Jose Ignacio Franco, and dance and singing lessons with Rocio Parrilla Fernandez. It was a privilege and honor to be taught by teachers born into flamenco.

Three times a week, Karl, Oz and I walked a mile or more to my lessons. On our route, we took in the local lifestyle, but in reality, it was taking us in. The rhythm of bulería permeated the air that we breathed. It steeped into our 5-senses and we were swept into a vortex of flamenco that is the heartbeat of the city. From the clickety clack of hooves from horse-drawn carriages, and the voices of kids rambling to their parents as they walked down the streets, to the sound of construction on our daily route – everything was bulería.