Finding Flamenco

Book excerpt: In her teens, Stephany Borges saw her first flamenco show at Los Flamencos de la Bodega in North Beach, San Francisco. From the first note of the flamenco guitar and the first throaty cry of the singer, she knew she had found a world of music and dance that thrilled her to the core. She then studied with the legendary Isa Mura and Ernesto Hernandez until her mother put a stop to it because dancers rarely made a decent living. Borges chose another career path teaching English and creative writing. At around sixty, she retired from teaching at a California university, sold her house in Northern California, and moved to New Mexico. Though much rehearsed and carefully orchestrated, the reality of leaving her job, her community, and her home in the redwoods to live a new life in the high desert was not easy. And, then unexpectedly, she found flamenco. It never occurred to her that her abiding love of dance would be resurrected at this stage in her life. In Finding Flamenco, she shares the stories of her adventures and passions, telling her tales of loss, travel, friendships, relationships, and so much more.