February 11, 1998
8:42 pm
I just talked to Sarah. It was good to here her voice. Life in Seville is already settling to its rhythms. I spent the morning walking around, had lunch at a horrible pizzeria (the pizzeria wasn't horrible, actually, but the pizza was.) I came home, took a nap and went to a guitar lesson. Juan and I talked again about film and he again confirmed my desires to make a film about flamenco. He says exactly the things I think about but have until now been afraid to say for my lack of exprerience. That is, Spanigh directors cannot make films about flamenco because they try too hard to raise it to the level of "high art." Anyone, Juan said, can sit and play flamenco, but what is difficult to portray is the soul of flamenco. "El amor, el odio, la passion," as he put it, "El Dialogo falta!" Plus, he insisted that these directors had too much money at their disposal and that a good movie about flamenco should be made quickly and with little money.
The most exciting thing is that he wants to teach me the Cante, something I've always wanted to do but never had the nerve to ask. He told me anyone can learn, Spanish or not, something I was thrilled to hear. When I told him he would change his mind when he heard me, he said you don't need a good voice to sing (at least adequately) as long your heart is in the right place. Tomorrow I will begin. My rhythm is improving tremendously with his help, and the lessons are what I look forward to most each day.
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