La Palabra En El Tiempo

La Palabra en el Tiempo is a phrase from Antonio Machado, humble poet, philosopher, and “old-fashioned school teacher” from Andalucia, Spain. The phrase has been translated many ways: “the word in time,” “human language in which we feel time passing,” or “words that pick up the energy of time,” or “words that take their place, like drumbeats, in time already counted.” These words are related to flamenco: tiempo is the compás, palabra is the word, spoken, sung, strummed, or knocked out on the floor by a shoe. “Form your letters slowly and well: making things well is more important than making them.” In this performance, singer, poet, guitarist, and dancer each attempt to express “one or two humble words” in el tiempo with hope they may be common earthen jugs beside the stream. Flamenco is inherently an improvisational art form comprised of guitar, dance, and poetry as song. One of Palabra Flamenco's unique features is the use of English rather than Spanish poetry, spoken and not sung. Poet Garth Martens performs new work in the flamenco context. Palabra Flamenco reminds us what flamenco can mean in this time and place. These artists attempt to excava... more...