We got an email last week from Felipe, one of the people we met back in May at a party in La Plata. It was an invite to a gig his band were playing. Felipe plays the Cajon, his girlfriend dances flamenco (she also teaches and choreographs). The attached flyer said reserving was a good idea so we did.

Good job too because it was standing room only. The bar (Bar Bukowski) is in the middle of a block of crumbling buildings in La Plata, inside we had trouble working out what the building used to be... the roof was newer than the rest of the building, but even so the original ceilings were over 15 feet high, all of the doorways seemed narrow, but that was just because the doors were soooo tall.

We arrived early, thanks to a speedy bus, and were greeted like old friends, and with some relief because the chap who'd taken the reservation was very curious who 'Liz y John' were.

The group were phenomenal. If your only experience of flamenco is castanets and Morecombe and Wise (The Movie) then you're missing out. It's one of the most rhythmically accomplished passionate types of music there is. And these guys really went for it. One guitarist, two singers, one of whom played the cajon, Felipe playing the other cajon. They made a hell of a racket. The cajon is a box which does duty as a snare drum, bass drum and effects box... the stage was bouncing up and down as the singers alternated and the music got frantic.

Then the dancers turned up... Traditional dresses, stern faces... lots of stamping (which is pretty much like calling tap dancing shuffling your feet a bit). The crowd loved it... I can't wait for the next one.
  ¶ 8:27 PM