The Flamenco Peregrinas
The Flamenco Peregrinas
by Susan Florek | Chesterfield, MO
Cultural exchange is an inevitable and joyful part of the Camino de Santiago experience. Part of my trip to Spain included seeking to experience native dancing, as I do in every foreign country I visit. On October 13, 2024, my last night in Spain, a Cardamomo Flamenco Madrid performance was just a 30-minute and 24-euro rideshare trip from my airport hotel, so I had to go.
The Spanish guitar music, the Cante Flamenco and Cante Jondo vocal styles, and the Flamenco dancing were breathtaking! The emotional connection between the dancers was amazing, especially between the youngest lady dancer and the older solo singer. I respect and appreciate the culture and people of Spain more now than I ever could before my Camino. It was only a one-hour performance but was 100% worth it just for the Spanish guitar playing alone.
After returning home, I heard a Flamenco group was coming to my hometown of St. Louis. I reached out to my local American Pilgrims chapter to see who might join me, resulting in a wonderful group of Flamenco-loving peregrina friends. We’ve met to attend several Flamenco performances as well as enjoy a paella meal at the BARcelona Tapas restaurant. And we’re branching out into more frequent get-togethers, to continue sharing our love of Flamenco, Spanish culture, peregrina fellowship, and friendship. Through one of our members, we discovered the local St. Louis Cultural Flamenco Society, which promotes Flamenco as a living art form and vital part of Hispanic heritage, offers a dance academy led by Spanish expat Marisel Salascruz.
It’s interesting how life can bring you full circle, and like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, you can often find that a piece of your heart’s desire was right in your own backyard the whole time.
