An Authentic Flamenco Celebration
An authentic flamenco celebration evening with ‘Oletrips’ seemed like a perfect way to mark 10 years of coming to Villa Andalucía, a secluded Bed and Breakfast in Cómpeta.
I was not the only guest that went from Villa Andalucía for an evening of authentic flamenco, another couple staying there joined me, along with Helen the owner.
Helen organised the whole authentic flamenco evening for us. She arranged for us to be picked up by a local taxi firm and driven to Torrox, which is only a short drive away – 30 minutes in total.
Here we met up with our guides Cipriano and María. They were waiting for us with some more clients and we then set off in the “Olevan”. The “Olevan” is a Mercedes Vito van which is perfect for small groups of up to eight people. It is extremely comfortable, modern, secure and elegant. Ole Trips only do small parties between two and eight.
From our meeting point we had a few minutes’ drive within Torrox to our first visit of the evening. He took us to an Artisan studio where we learnt about the flamenco drum box (cajón flamenco) – an essential instrument in authentic flamenco.
Here we were introduced to Antonio Bueno, the owner who hand-makes every single cajon. He explained and demonstrated the whole process to us in detail. Antonio is clearly passionate about his craft and showed us how to play the instrument with great skill and expertise. Antonio exports all over the world.
Then it was our turn! We all had the opportunity to learn and play an authentic flamenco rhythm under his guidance. It was great fun and definitely not as easy as he made it look. The hour flew by and soon it was time to leave Torrox and head to Velez Malaga about 15 minutes away. Cipriano drove us to a small tapas bar where we were treated to four delicious tapas and two drinks, all included in the tour price. If you don’t know about tapas have a look at this BLOG Helen wrote a few weeks ago.
After our meal, we drove a short distance to the flamenco club/venue. This is the oldest authentic Flamenco Peña (club) in la Axarquia. Well-known artists perform here on a regular basis.
We had tickets so we were able to go straight inside and miss the queue. Everything was so well organized and you could buy additional drinks and food from the small bar. The show was absolutely brilliant and the atmosphere just electrifying. A cacophony of guitar playing, singing, clapping, phenomenal footwork and a cheering audience. The audience is not too large and we were sitting very close to the stage.
The show finished just before midnight, the whole evening went so quickly, I can’t believe we were out for six hours. Cipriano drove us back to Algarrobo and we were able to liaise the time with the taxi driver so he was waiting for us.
If you would like to go on this trip or find out more about the other wonderful trips that Cipriano and María organise, just click here and this will take you to Helen’s activity page, at the top of the page you will see all of Oletrips fantastic trips and tours.
A truly magical and memorable evening thank you to Helen at Villa Andalucía for organising/suggesting it and a huge thank you to Oletrips for ensuring we had such an amazing night. Nothing was too much trouble for them and everything was impeccably organised.
If you have any doubts about the evening being touristy, think again. It’s definitely not! This was the real thing!
I know when I return later on in the year, I will be checking out their tours to see what we can go on, also while you are here why not check out the rooms at Villa Andalucía and pick which one you would like to stay in.
Written by Elaine Barry and Helen Hares.
