I sing my last Soleá to you, my companion Rafael.

I’m lighting some candles for you, 

also to San Rafael, Archangel and Patron of Healing , happy Meetings and Travelers.

Lighting my candles, Rafael, wishing you good travels. 

You’re traveling now

Latcho Drom, Rafael! 

LATCHO DROM 

Canto mi última Soleá para ti , my compañero Rafael. Enciendo unas velas para ti, 

también pa’ San Rafael , Arcángel y patrón de la curación, de encuentros felices y viajeros. 

Enciendo mis velas, Rafael, y te deseo un buen viaje. 

Tú estás viajando ahora 

Latcho Drom, Rafael!

LATCHO DROM 

We created so much beauty together, even magical moments of diving deep into an ocean of sounds, voice, guitar, rhythm and dance. The poetry of harmony in the guitar chords and the storytelling of the songs echo across the ocean from Spain to here where we embodied it and have come to share it with our audiences who sat quietly and bathed with us in the beauty, the richness of this art form of Flamenco that Rafael and I love so much. Art is love embodied, is universal energy having found a way to be expressed. The audience was bathing with us in this love and intimacy, warmth, fierceness, emotionality and tenderness, depth of confession that we were expressing. Everything happening here was running like a rich substance through us. This is church to me.

Rafael played so beautifully, skillfully. He was devoted to perfection. He strived for it and it flowed through him so sweet, fluidly , it gave me great joy! Our tones of voice and guitar united and went for a flight like two birds taking off to the sky together. The audience followed our flight attentively and when we landed again after a song or dance we knew we had been carried by the winds, the currents, the invisible forces.

When my young life was struck by much loss, deepest grief, loneliness, inner pain and I hit rock bottom, I found Flamenco. I stepped through an open door, through a song that was opening a gate to a world that I have journeyed through ever since that moment and it has given me more than I could have words for in substance and wisdom, richness and culture, disciplines to study and refine, a temple to make my home in, a people to laugh and have relations with, healing through music and dance, togetherness, a sacred relation to Earth and Creation, an endless fountain of amazing artists and their work to learn about, a language that feels like a good wine on my pallet, a culture that has been influenced, infused with and molded by many diverse religions and cultures that made it all the powerhouse it is as modern Flamenco. It is a world, a path, a devotion. This we lived together so richly!

What we have shared on stage, Rafael and I and with others had much substance, much essence from which we drew our creativity. Our own lives‘ paths had led us to come together and unite our skills and devotion to strive for a certain perfection that can invite a glimpse of divine energy. Because, unlike as a child when we still embody unity with the universe, as adults we have to work diligently to mold and shape our skills so we can express a powerful Creation Song as our way to thank life for its gifts.

Doing this with Rafael has been such a beautiful and rich journey, friendship, harmonious flow. We have learned so much from each other. We have been brother and sister together. We have loved the same songs and bathed in them together. We have done all the meticulous work to then fly with it and have moments of bliss, to return the Creation Song with our song and dance. We have experienced much tenderness and care for each other, listening deeply and fine-tuning ourselves to each other, embracing each other’s strive to express oneself. Feeling joy and pride in our accomplishments of bringing artists together to create beautiful concerts and precious moments of depth and inner fire. We have seen each other grow older, deal with life’s big changes.

When we were born we could have never known, he in Peru and I in Switzerland. Could have never anticipated that our paths will cross and merge in the powerful North Pacific , that we would become an artistic duo to create beauty together , to influence each other and be forever touched by each other’s lives. What we have strived for and created has a beautiful , meaningful, sacred substance and essence. It was our gift to the world through the power of Flamenco. It was our combined song of gratitude for the gift of life.

Written by Esther Marion, 2020 dedicated to

Rafael Vargas, having passed away December 22, 2020