Page 120 of The Moon Sister
‘Sí, it is my spirit that gives meduende.’
‘You Andalusians – you’re all the same. Completely uncontrollable,’ Meñique said with a grin.
‘And you are a pale Pamplona señor. I hear your mamá is apayo?’
‘She is, and thanks to her, I went to school and I can read and write.’
‘So now that thepayospay their pesetas for yourgitanomusic, you become one of them?’
‘No, Lucía, but I see nothing wrong in sharing our flamenco culture with an audience outside our own community. And you are correct, thepayosare the ones with the money. The world, and our world of dance, is changing. These –’ Meñique gestured to the manycafé cantanteslining the street – ‘are becoming outdated. People want a show! Lights, costumes . . . an orchestra on a big stage in a theatre.’
‘Do you not think I know this?! I was in Paris four years ago in Raquel Meller’s show at the Palais du Paris.’
‘I hear it was a big success. So what happened?’
‘La Meller did not like the fact that the Los Albaycín Trio – me, La Faraona, and my father – became more of a hit than she was. Can you believe she punched La Faraona on the nose?’ Lucía giggled. ‘Accused her of deliberately trying to upstage her.’
‘That sounds like La Meller. She has an ego bigger than her talent.’
‘Sí, so we left and worked instead in the cafés of Montmartre, which was far more fun. The lifestyle suited me, but we were earning next to nothing, so we ended up back here. It seems to be the story of my life, Meñique. I get a big chance, and think, yes! This will be it! Then it all falls through my fingers and I am back to where I began.’
‘Don’t exaggerate, Lucía. You are famous – one could say infamous – in the flamenco world.’
‘But not out there . . .’ Lucía waved her hand to indicate the vast country laid out behind them. ‘Not like you, or La Argentinita.’
‘Who is, may I remind you, some years older than you,’ Meñique said with a gentle smile.
‘She’s practically a grandmother, yet she has just been in a new film!’
‘One day,pequeña, you will be a star of the screen too, I promise.’
‘Oh, so I suppose now you can see the future like my friend Chilly?’ she snapped.
‘No, but I can see your ambition. It burns like a flame inside you. Now, shall we order?’
‘My usual,’ Lucía announced grandly to the hovering waiter. ‘You know, I have been dancing almost as long as La Argentinita, and where has it got me? While she travels around Europe in her furs and her carriages, I sit here and eat sardines with you.’
‘Graciasfor that compliment.’ Meñique raised an eyebrow. ‘So, what next?’
‘Carcellés has arranged for us to tour the provinces.’
‘Carcellés? Who is he?’
‘Another fat impresario, making money off our hard work,’ shrugged Lucía. ‘So I will be performing in country bars with farm animals as my audience while La Argentinita lights up stages in front of thousands.’
‘Lucía, you are too young to be so bitter,’ Meñique chided her. ‘Will you go on the tour?’
‘I have no choice. If I stay here in the Barrio Chino for much longer, I will die,’ she pronounced dramatically, lighting another cigarette. ‘You know what else frustrates me?’
‘What?’
‘Do you remember Vicente Escudero, the dancer? He recommended me to La Argentinita’s famous manager, Sol Hurok.Hewanted to take me to New York! Imagine that!’
‘So why didn’t you go?’
‘Papá said thatgitanoscouldn’t cross the water. Can you believe he refused the offer?’ Lucía banged the table hard with her fist, rattling the ice in the water glasses. ‘I did not speak to him for a month afterwards.’
Beginning to get the measure of Lucía’s temperament, Meñique surmised she wasn’t exaggerating.
