Señor Boqueroncito , I'm starting with basic classical guitar (nylong strings, not steel) but have started out playing "La Malagueña" and "Barcelona Nights" but next, it seems, will be something like "Hotel California" which has some spanish-esque guitar in it apparently. So for now, JUST THE BASICS with chords, chord-changes, simple melodies, etcetera.

That program on guitar, which I taped, was really very interesting! It was all guitar, no vocals at all. And the lead flamenco guitarist was .. just amazing. My brain still cannot grasp the abilility of the right hand playing two different melodies (is that the correct term) at the same time to sound like two different guitars! The thumb plays one melody and the 4-fingers on the same hand plays another melody. Wow. Just... wow.. I'm trying to mentally equate it to learning how to type, using both hands and the two working together - this concept makes me more comfortable thinking I can actually do this thing.

Saludos, MadridMan

Just watched a short program on the flora and fauna and people of La Sierra de Guadarrama (the mountain range next to Madrid). VERY interesting!!

MM - do you know who the guitarist was?

All professional flamenco guitarists amaze me. The level of virtuosity is incredible. Now that I'm trying to learn the "basics" myself I'm even more in awe of them.

My number one (indeed, only!) fan is Boqueroncito (aged 15 months). I play a simple Guajira that he really likes and he comes and shows his appreciation by banging on the guitar with his sticky hands!

El GRAN Boqueron wrote: I'm watching it again now. His name is Rafael Riqueni. Ever hear of him? This "production concert" (i.e. no audience) looks to be from the late 1980s or MAYBE the early early 90s.

I just did a Google search and came up with a BIO of this excellent performer HERE . Here's a bit of that....

PopularTV has reruns of "Get Smart!" Can't "get" any better than that ("Get" it?)! I especially like the old Spanish action/drama/romance movies.

On TVEi right now I'm watching (Ugh!) Rosa (winner of Operación Triunfo) singing "Don't Stop The Music" on stage during one of the same shows I mention above. She has 4 back-up singers, 4 people playing violins, a full band behind her and it's absolutely CLEAR she's lip-sync-ing her song and the "band" is not really playing their parts. Really! Do people REALLY ENJOY this kind of false, recorded entertainment? When you have "The Rosa" on stage why wouldn't you want to hear her sing IN HER OWN VOICE, LIVE, IN THAT MOMENT? I can only imagine that people expect to hear their favorite songs sung EXACTLY as they hear them on the radio/CD or that the singers are afraid to make a mistake or not sound as well as the studio production recording and thus the fans will leave them.

Spaniards (et.al.), is THIS what the people want??

Saludos, MadridMan

MM, Operación Triunfo singers were known specially because they were the few ones who ALWAYS sung live. It's kind of their 'make'.

However, they are beginning to sing with playback, maybe this is why they do it so badly: lack of experience.

hey everybody

and why would that be?
i noticed that too
i also noticed that operacion truinfo is only broadcast on tve.i think its on la 2.

They don't have Operación Triunfo on TVEi (thank god!) but they do have lots of nice specials about the regions of Spain as I've documented earlier in this thread.

Right now I'm enjoying one about the flora and fauna of La Sierra de los Gredos (mountains west and not far from Madrid in Castilla y León). I really didn't know anything about them other than it was one of the locations in Ernest Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls which takes place in 1937 during Spain's Civil War.

I LOVE THESE PROGRAMS!! I can certainly do without the talk shows and game shows but THESE are especially satisfying for someone (like me!) who longs to be in Spain.

<insert long sigh here...> Saludos, MadridMan

P.S. I just watched (or had it on the TV while working on the computer) an hour of coverage of today's stage of La Vuelta de España (annual multi-stage bicycle race across Spain September 4-26, 2004). That was pretty cool! Today they went from Málaga to Granada and at one point there was a dog running alongside leaders for about 500 meters! Poor thing was unable to escape the barricades along the route.

La Vuelta de España - English version available!

We have seen alot of Antena 3 International recently (thanks to our digital cable).

Casi Perfectos is a really good show. I just went to the Antena 3 website.

http://www.antena3.com/

It looks like most of the Spanish shows appear on the international channel.

Any other Antena 3 recommendations?