Duende - the overwhelming passion and emotion that you feel when you're in love, or when you're swept away by the spirit of Flamenco.I've been introduced to it through Jason Webster's book Duende which charts his journey from a life of academia to Spain in search of Flamenco. On the way he falls into a passionate affair with Lola, a flamenco dancer and flees from Alicante to Madrid when her husband threatens to uncover their affair. Through his journey of the soul he learns to play flamenco guitar, is introduced to the great gypsy guitarists and dancers and learns to distinguish his Alegrias from his Tangos.
It's an example of setting aside the guidebooks and using a novel or autobiography to get into the spirit of a place, in this case the Andalucian south of Spain. I'd recommend it as a great holiday read if you're off to Spain and would like to get under the skin of your destination, or perhaps feel a little Duende yourself.
Read more of this article on my new travel blog at Heatheronhertravels.com
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1 comment:
Oh, yes, the seductive duende! Great post, Heather. By the way, thanks so much for nominating www.everthenomad.com for the Best of Blogs award. I was honored you thought of me.
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