Habaneras in Torredembarra!

Saturdayday 20/8 at 11 o´clock at night Frank and I went down to our
beautiful beach to listen to "Habaneras". Music that originated
in Cuba in the nineteenth century when Cuba was a Spanish colony.
Habaneras comes from Havana and are songs with a special rythm
sung by sailors telling of their going to Cuba from Catalunya and
longing for the homeland among other things. It can also describe a seagull coming over the sea with love from a boy to his girlfriend. The most internationally famous "Habanera" with the very special rythm is perhaps that from Bizet´s opera Carmen.

The night was warm and a lot of people had come to listen. We sat down on the sandy beach and looked up on a fantastic starry night. Some persons had evan taken their own chairs with them.

This night there was an orchestra called "Ultramar" who began to sing one of my favorite songs "El meu avi" (My grandfather).It is a sad song about a boys grandfather who went to Cuba on the warship "El Catalan" which was sunk. Here you can hear the typical rythm of a Habanera:




"Ultramar" is a good orchestra and it was very suggestive to sit in the warm night and listen to all the songs. After an hour there was a pause and we were served "Rom cremat" It is Rum flambé that is prepared by some of the people living in the town. This time from "our" part of Torredembarra "Els Munts". Mmmmm, it was really good!

Strengthened by this drink the orchestra came back and played all the songs we know and everybody sang with all the heart. The whole of the beach promenade was full of people in all ages and small children were playing in the beach and some "grandfathers and grandmothers" had to get up and dance!! It is a very catching music. To finish with they played "La bella Lola". This is a MUST!! It is about a girl called Lola who stands on the beach and waves to her boyfriend who comes with the ship and he waves back of course. Everybody had their hankerchiefs prepared and in the black night you could see an ocean of white hankerchiefs waving and everybody singing. Well, that was a night to remember!




Thank you Ultramar and Torredembarra!!

This is how Torredembarra looks in the winter. Then I have the whole beach for myself!! I painted it some years ago just before a storm coming up.