Jota
The jota mentioned by Marge, brought back a rush of memories. During the holiday season at Abuela,s house on Cherry Street and First Avenue (now Marina Blvd) it was party time at the Castro's. Or, as the Spanish say it "Fiesta." Family and friends would come to the house and meet in the finished basement. Why the basement was in such fine shape,(most in those days were all dirt)is a story for another time.
Amongst the family and friends were musicians to provide live music. Through the night there was music, dancing, and joke telling. At some point the castanets came out. Usually two pair. One pair was on the hands of the second oldest brother, Tony. The second pair on the hands of Abuela. It was always the hi-lite of the evening when "Mom" came on the dance floor with son Tony, while younger son Manuel was playing the jota on the accordian. All the family and friends applauded and hollered and whistled and carried on.
Years later I relived these moments as I watched my cousin Johnnie who had taken dance lessons for years do the jota for a short film that was being produced.
Again some years later I experienced that feeling of the past when my younger cousin,
Angelo (Gig) Trujillo, a professional dancer and son of Margaret Castro Trujillo, danced the jota on stage.
Amongst the family and friends were musicians to provide live music. Through the night there was music, dancing, and joke telling. At some point the castanets came out. Usually two pair. One pair was on the hands of the second oldest brother, Tony. The second pair on the hands of Abuela. It was always the hi-lite of the evening when "Mom" came on the dance floor with son Tony, while younger son Manuel was playing the jota on the accordian. All the family and friends applauded and hollered and whistled and carried on.
Years later I relived these moments as I watched my cousin Johnnie who had taken dance lessons for years do the jota for a short film that was being produced.
Again some years later I experienced that feeling of the past when my younger cousin,
Angelo (Gig) Trujillo, a professional dancer and son of Margaret Castro Trujillo, danced the jota on stage.
1 Comments:
The memories of our Castro basement was fun to read again. I remember that all the other Spanish families would stop by on New years eve to say hello. Do you remember that Uncle Tony would love to tell jokes, but he could not remember them all.So, Roseline would prompt him with a reminder and he would be in his prime. If there was a joke that the young should not hear, he would not tell the joke.
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