Enrique Morente was born looking at the Alhambra. That told his friends and in an interview, before his death, that fateful December 2010. He was born in a house on the Albayzin, opposite the Red Hill, and, from his earliest days to the end of his life, he never departed from that landscape of his immortal Granada.
The Albayzin, Granada, South eastern Spain
Here I bring you a video with Enrique Morente singing “Bulerías”—a kind of Flamenco singing from Cádiz--, that I love, in the Festival of Jazz in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in 2006. If you want to enjoy the video, please click on the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky8Dq_v8Yuo
The last September, they have paid homage in the Alhambra. “Morente Universe” is a project that combines music, art, literature and, of course, travel. The tribute consists of several parts. The first is entitled “Graná sings” (Graná = Granada), plays and dances to Morente and it has been the last Friday, September 5, at the Theatre of the Generalife, the 6th in the Alhambra Theatre and the 20th of that month, in the Hall “The Train”.
Between another artists, was Iván Vargas ( “Bailaor” = Flamenco dancer). Let me show you a video, with Iván dancing, because I love this type of dance. If you want to watch him dancing, during the homage to Enrique Morente, please click on the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvyScE6jK3Y
The 26th took place one night of poetry and literature around the artist, at “La Tertulia”, and, from October, the Universe Morente exhibition will take place in the Palace of Charles V.
There is a “Morente´s Alhambra”, which would be in your interest to walk listening to the master, one of the most illustrious ideologists, in the history of Flamenco. Enrique owned a house, in the Plaza de San Nicolás, in the heart of Albayzin, one of the most photographed spots in Granada.
The Square "Saint Nicolas"
When his life there became uncomfortable, due to the number of fans who daily visited him, he moved to another neighbourhood, nearby the church of San Luis, between Upper Albayzin and the neighbourhood of Sacromonte Caves, near where starts the trail, which leads uphill to the hermitage of San Miguel Alto, one of the most beautiful parts of the city.
His house was facing the Alhambra. In his recording studio, there was a huge window, where he kept his guitars, his favorite records and he warmed up his voice. It was a special place, because the singer stood facing the Nasrid monument, while rehearsing his songs.
The “Morente´s Alhambra” has a number of milestones, that you must not miss. The master loved to explore the Alcazaba, especially the coastal path leading to the Torre de la Vela, up the stairs of the fort and lean from the battlements to his city, in order to watch, to the north, the roads that climb up to Jaén; lowering the look at the Vega and ending in the south, where the sigh of the Moor is and behind the peaks of Sierra Nevada, hiding the nearby Mediterranean.
The Alhambra and Sierra Nevada at the background
The Nasrid Palaces --Myrtles and Lions--, were mythical places for the singer. There he sang his tunes for the filming of the “Morente dreams the Alhambra”, directed by José Sánchez-Montes and starring, among others, by the great American guitarist, Pat Metheny.
In the Royal Baths of Comares, the master sang, with his daughter, Estrella, poems of St. John of the Cross and, in the gardens of The Partridge, under its arches and front of his mirror-pond, half sang a song with the Algerian Cheb Khaled.
The Morente´s route through the Alhambra extends to the “Puerta del Vino” (Door of wine), the house of guitarist Angel Barrios and delicious ride of El Secano (The Dry), leading to la “Torre del agua” (the Water Tower) and acrossing el “Puente de los Chinos” (the Bridge of Chinese), at the entrance to the domains of the Generalife, the architect´s garden, the summer residence of the Nasrid sultans.
There is situated the theater, where the Morente´s music has been interpreted, dozens of times and the gardens projected by Torres Balbás and Prieto Moreno, that anticipate the Moorish palace, from whose arbours it is enjoyed, in the words of the most experienced travelers, one of the most memorable sunsets, on the face of the earth.
Well, I hope that you have enjoyed with this post.
Until my next post, kind regards,
Luis.
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