As I was reading about Alhambra last night, I remembered leaving the complex through the main gate, and when I read that it was built in 1368, a chill went down my spine. You look back at history and read about all the events and the people. You read about the bubonic plague and the Black Death that claimed tens of millions of lives, and then you notice that most places you saw on this trip were built only shortly thereafter. Synagogue of El Transito – 1357, gates of Alhambra – 1368, the hotel in Toledo – 1388. The Black Death ended in 1353. These buildings were erected when humans were trying to prove that even an event that claims the lives of one out of every three people cannot impact their resilience, and in that, there may be a lesson for the mask-wearing, camera-holding, bearded man looking around in awe.
We walked around town and ended up in the Morrocan neighborhood of Granada for some phenomenal chicken tajine. Street musicians were playing some songs from the collection of the immortal Amy Winehouse, and I found the perfect opportunity for some portraits with the permission of the singer.
I wrote briefly about the Albaicin (Albayzin) neighborhood. If you take the neighborhood and go east, you will end up at Sacromonte – the caves that housed marginalized people of Granada, mostly gypsies, for centuries and are now the center of Flamenco in Granada. The path to Sacromonte goes through the historic parts of Granada as the area is in the vicinity of Alhambra. The city wall from the 11th century is preserved and now supports apartments that are still inhabited and maintained. It is a beautiful walk but it also includes some rough patches.
For Flamenco, we went to Cueva de la Rocio – A cave that has been owned by the Maya family for over 70 years. My first Flamenco show was in Madrid in 2009 and was a very different experience from what I saw at the caves. If you have not experienced Flamenco, it is all about communications. The singer to the guitarist, the guitar to the clappers, the claps to the dancer’s feet, the feet to the facial expressions. Power flows through the fast and strong moves of the Flamenco dancers and magically connects all the aspects together: the feet, the body, the guitar, and the song through the coarse voice of the singer. I would like to go back in life and look at my previous experiences through the new lens of new learnings. That night when we left, I remembered the Black Momba – Ishi Ren fight scene in the first volume of Kill Bill, and praised the genius of Quentin Tarantino for choosing Flamenco music for the long-awaited scene. The music connects everything together, the snow, the body movements, the katanas.
I took 1,500 photos during this trip and for some reason, on the night of the Flamenco dance, I decided not to carry my camera. I missed taking portraits of Flamenco dancers that I could have cherished for a very long time. Everybody makes mistakes. This one will be mine. I took some photos with my broken cell phone but I know that even if I ever forgive myself, my 85mm lens will one day come for revenge. It will be my regret of Granda until I come back; assuming that photography will still be my passion.
