We have flamenco parties in my dance studio every couple of months, to share a little bit of Spanish culture with the public. It’s educational for many of us dancers as well, because most of us are not from Spain (we are in Phoenix, Arizona).

Last Saturday night we held a Carnaval…and I was voted Reina de Carnaval! What an exciting night. We always invite the guests to dance with us, and we teach them a few simple steps. If they are too shy to do that, we invited them to do “palmas” or “jale” (clapping and shouting “ole”). At first, they are always very shy, but as the evening goes on, it’s nice to see that they start to relax and have fun.

It’s much more fun than a tapas bar, because we are all friends, and the guests are usually our friends and family members, or people who have some connection with us.

Thank you, Joseph! It’s nice to meet you as well. And you’ve taught me a new word - hablantin! I like that word, I need to find situations to use it.

I suspect I’m a little bit hablantina as well, and so is my daughter. She talks nonstop sometimes, but at eight years old, I suppose it’s normal

And yes, if you’re not hanging out with us, you’re hanging out in the wrong places Come on over to Phoenix and we’ll teach you some zapateado!

Soon we will have a teacher to teach us cante…if I can get enough of my Spanish back, I would love to be among the first to sing for my troop. We only have one singer now, and I’m afraid we overwork him!

Bouks