Granada Life

i find that my new life here in granada to be oh so different from the my life in the united states. duh. i dont quite know where im going with this one so ill just start and see where it ends up.

to start with i am living in a the biggest city i have ever lived in since i left joaquin's apartment when i was 1 year old. their are just so many more people that i walk by as a go along my way. the albayzin in particular has such a dense population, but not at the expense of still being beautiful and quaint. it is nice to see alot of people living in close proximity and not living in appartment buildings. its seems as though people just know how to get along, you can play loud music late at night and no one seems to complain. their arnt police breaking up parties and people smoke and drink on the street. when i like about living here is that people dont really have backyards. so that if you want to hang out with your friends you have to go out in the street. plus who would want to stay in their house when you can go to a plaza with a view like this.

it seems to me that in the us, nyack and ithaca to be precise, people stay on their own property as a way of avoiding the police, or just staying out of people's way. here it is so different. you go out at night only to find yourself sharing the street with what seems like the entire population between the ages of 16 and 60. all the bars are filled, but its not like home with each bar catering to a certian subcultural group and playing a certain type of music, etc. while bars do differ in many ways, it is not uncommon to go into one to find gothic punks, older generation proper spanish folk enjoying some wine, foreigners speaking all different languages, 16 year old locals fresh off the mopeds, dreadlocked hippes, and myself, all sharing the neighborhood bar, and all listening to good old flamenco music. i dont think that i have met anyone here who doesnt at least like flamenco. you cannot go out into most plazas at night without hearing someone on the guitar stumming the familiar chords and singing in that oh so characteriztic moan/rasp/wail. when i contrast the local steet singers here to the folk bluegrass music i hear people playing in the ithaca commons, i cannot help but laugh. yesterday their was an ensemble consisting of a couple guitarists, a man playing the cajon (the flamenco equivalent of a drum, it is a hollow box u sit on with a hole in the back that you drum between your legs, look it up online if you care to), a man playing the digiridoo (this i found most unique because i had never heard the digiridoo played along with other instruments), someone was playing the harmonica, along with several people clapping, and everyone taking turns singing a verse or two. now, not only was this concert free of charge, but the players had all come individually and just started playing together for fun. being as musically gifted as i am, or lack there of, i was flabergasted to see how well an impromptu jam session could play out. you would think they had been playing together for years, which may not be altogether untrue, since i presume that they are regulars at this particular plaza.

their is a certain magic being in granada that simply cannot be put into words. i should add at this point that when i refer to granada, i mostly mean the area where i live, the albaycin. this area was the majority of the city when it was the muslim capital. hence, it has the most history and the most life. the newer areas of granada range from sort of typical overblown catholic architecture to a modern western style of buildings. their are regular strait paved streets and appartments buildings, but the albaycin is so very different. the beautiful carmenes with their subtle exteriors yet typically spectacular interior gardens, the winding cobblestone alleys, the mountian spring water fountains (aljibes), the small cafes and taverns, as well as all the other necesities for human life all merge seamlessly into a magical maze where you never know quite where you are, yet always seem to get there. i take great joy everytime i walk down a new alley and discover where it dumps me out, especially when its somwhere near where i predicted it would be. its as though everytime you walk out into the streets the path you take is completely new. its as though walking around were the activity itself as opposed to simply a means to an end. i find myself walking slowly like i was drunk, looking to and fro, awed by the sublime architecture, the vines and flowers overflowing from the secret gardens hidden inside every wall only to be surprised that what i though was a house is actually a school, or a museum, or an internet cafe like the one i sit in right now. this city is so old i feel like im walking within an archological site. this city was made around the time that the aztecs were developing tenochtitlan, yet this is still a fully functional city, not a preserve i have to pay to visit. its as though i live with that same magic that people travel far to experience.

i hope you liked where my mind took us just now, and your comments are greatly appreciated.
peace and love