by Kameryn Westling

Last weekend on a trip with the program that I am studying abroad with, we went to Granada, the city which means “pomegranate” in Spanish. If you ever have the chance to go, do it! We went by bus, which took a little under six hours. The ride down was so interesting. We went through countryside that was mostly flat and looked somewhat like the Mid-West of the US. However, amidst the fields of crops and vineyards were fields of solar panels. And a little further down the road were wind turbines lining the mountain ridges. We wound around the mountains and finally arrived in Granada!

This city is nostalgic. It’s like walking through the set of a movie. It’s very bright and clean. The buildings are mostly white and yellow and the sidewalks are all marble tiles. What’s more, the streets have sashes of burlap hanging over them to shade the sun. And every window has geraniums hanging out of them-all of this against the backdrop of snow-capped mountains! It’s bizarre, yet lovely as well.

First on our itinerary, we went to a tetería (an Arabic tea house). The ambience was very relaxing and cosy. We ordered a special kind of green tea with mint and some sort of honey or nectar. They served it with the BEST baklava any of us had ever had in our lives. Dee-lish! Afterwards, we went to an authentic gypsy cave for a live Flamenco performance, where we were served sangrías and sat back to enjoy the show! It was phenomenal! A family of pure-breed gypsies entranced us with their “duende” (the passion and charisma that one gives to the audience which paralyzes them).

The next day we had a tour of La Alhambra (meaning “The Red Palace”), which was built in the 6th Century, when Spain was under Arab rule. It is very simple on the outside, just red bricks but the inside is astounding. Every single surface is carved with delicate detail signifying the Muslim faith. You can still see the remnants of royal blue paint in some of the detailing. And the thing just keeps going on and on; courtyards, fountains, gardens, rooms. It’s a challenge to imagine the décor and what it would be like to live there day-to-day with tapestries, fine carpets, ceramic vases and pots, fires, children running around with their concubine mothers. What a sight to behold! In addition the gardens are glorious and pretty much every person in our group now wants to get married there. The tour is long and takes about three hours and to see it all is about 30 euros but well worth it.

Granada is a great place to go for a long weekend. I could help but find myself walking around humming the old Frankie Laine song “Granda” that my grandma used to sing .

“Granada, I’m falling under your spell,
And if you could speak, what a fascinating tale you would tell.
Of an age the world has long forgotten.
Of an age that weaves a silent magic in Granada today.

The dawn in the sky greets the day with a sigh for Granada,
For she can remember the splendor that once was Granada.
It still can be found in the hills all around as I wander along.
Entranced by the beauty before me,
Entranced by a land full of sunshine and flowers and song.

And when day is done and the sun starts to set in Granada,
I envy the blush of the snow-clad Sierra Nevada.
For soon it will welcome the stars while a thousand guitars,
Play a soft habanera.
Then moonlit Granada will live again the glory of yesterday,
Romantic and gay.”

A unique experience indeed!

by Maja Gojkovic

Chambao are the hottest Spanish acts around, with their continuing success and more coverage, the band are making their way further into the mainstream music scene.

If you are thinking, “I have never heard of Chambao”, not to worry, my predictions tell me we will be hearing and seeing a lot more of the band in the future.

In terms of genre the band would categorize itself as Flamenco-Electronic. Their flamenco chill sound fuses the flamenco and palos (a musical form) with electronic music.

The name of the band comes from an improvised wind-breaker that is used on the beach to provide shade (and stop the wind, of course).

The band is made up of a trio from Malaga El Mari, Edi and Dani. The group were discovered by the Dutch musician Henrik Takkenberg. Together three of them featured as part of a double CD by various artists that was released by Sony under the title “Flamenco Chill” in (2002). On the CD Chambao recorded eight songs and sold 90,000 copies and led the record label to release subsequent instalments, this time without Chambao.In 2003, the band’s first record on their own, “Endorfinas en la mente”, came out. It was released in more than twenty countries, sold over 80,000 copies and won the Premio Ondas (Ondas Award) for the Best Musical Creation in 2003. After their song release “Pokito a poko” in 2005, Dani left the band, but La Mari and El Edi continued to create the original sounds that make the band so eclectic and fresh.

European Vibe will be meeting Chambao to get the lowdown on  the latest from the band, as well as an exclusive interview. The interview will be featured in the June edition of European Vibe Magazine.  

For those of you who cannot wait until June and if the sound of Chambao tickles your musical tastebuds then you can find out more about the band on their Myspace page www.myspace.com/chambao. The band will also be playing at Palacio de Deportes on Friday 11^th April.