The Flamenco Academy: A Novel
by Sarah Bird
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Book Summary Information
Author: Sarah BirdEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-16
ISBN: 0345462386
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of The Flamenco Academy: A Novel
Book Review: A passionate whirlwind of rhythm
Summary: 5 Stars
Flamenco, a dance originating in Andalusia (southern Spain), is a combination of Gypsy, Indian, Jewish, Arabic, Persian, and possibly New World influences, a deeply spiritual combination of music (guitar, handclaps, and cante jondo, or "deep song") and footwork. Flamenco is improvised, following the dozens of palos, or rhythms. In "Flamenco Academy," Sarah Bird offers up a story of flamenco in the New World; more specifically, New Mexico. Dona Carlota Anaya de Montenegro is the legendary founder of Albuquerque's Flamenco Academy, the daughter of cave-dwelling Gypsies in Sacromonte.
Cyndi Rae Hrncir, a Czech-American transplant from Texas, struggles through day-to-day life in Albuquerque as her father is dying of lung cancer and her unstable mother becomes wrapped up in a religious cult. She finds herself sticking to Didi, a high school rebel who smokes pot on the way to school (her car is named the Skankmobile) and who's a diehard roadie groupie, performing sex with roadies to gain access to the real musical stars. The two are like night and day; timid Cyndi Rae is eclipsed by the bold, larger-than-life Didi and remains in her shadow.
Cyndi Rae finds herself sucked into the passionate, mysterious world of flamenco after a chance encounter with a gifted flamenco guitarist at a party, and becomes obsessed with finding Tomas again after that fateful night. Tomas is the adopted son of Dona Carlota and accepted as the flamenco guitarist heir of Paco de Lucia. However, questions about the authenticity of his Gypsy bloodlines cast his heritage into doubt. In flamenco, bloodlines are everything; if you're not "gitano por los cuatro costaos," Gypsy on all four sides, you're not flamenco. Cyndi Rae's plan: to become a talented flamenco dancer and capture his heart. She throws herself into the classes, taught by none other than Dona Carlota herself, and although she may not have the showstopping quality of Didi's wild dancing, her sense of rhythm is impeccable. She devotes several years to the total study of flamenco, knowing all the while that she'll never be fully accepted as a non-Gypsy, non-Latina dancer.
Bird fills the novel with fascinating tidbits about flamenco, from its origins to legendary dancer Carmen Amaya to its complicated rhythms, footwork, and passionate moods. Some of the strongest narratives for me were those of the memories of Dona Carlota growing up in the cave slums of Sacromonte, the descriptions of that earlier Granada when European tourists would shower coins on young Gypsy dancers, the gradual commercialization of flamenco in Granada. The pounding rhythms of alegrias, soleas, saetas, and romances form the novel's heartbeat, accented by the metal taps pounding into the floor and the harsh, guttural wails of true cante jondo. The romance is secondary to the obsession of the dance. And it IS the dance that is the true star, more than Didi's attempt to ascend into avant garde stardom by stepping on others or Cyndi Rae's attempts to snare Tomas, unfolding on the beautifully painted stage of rugged New Mexico. A mesmerizing read sure to delight.
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