Caracol –
Diccionario de La Real Academia Español (RAE)
De or.
inc.
1. m.
Cada uno de los moluscos testáceos de la clase de los gasterópodos. De sus
muchas especies, algunas de las cuales son comestibles, unas viven en el mar,
otras en las aguas dulces y otras son terrestres.
2. m. Concha de caracol.
3. m.
Pieza del reloj, cónica, con un surco en el cual se enrosca la cuerda.
4. m.
Rizo de pelo.
5. m.
Cada una de las vueltas que hace un camino.
6. m.
Anat. Una de las cavidades que constituyen el laberinto del oído de los
vertebrados, que en los mamíferos es un conducto arrollado en espiral.
7. m.
Equit. Cada una de las vueltas y tornos que el jinete hace dar al caballo.
8. m.
pl. Palo flamenco caracterizado por la repetición de la palabra caracoles a
modo de estribillo.
I found a quarter inch mollusk shell in my back-lane
garden while digging a hole for Rosa ‘Ferdinand Pichard’.
What you see is a scan (not bad, eh!) with my Epson Perfection
V700 Photo scanner. From the image I went to my online RAE dictionary which I
believe is one of the best in the world.
In Spanish we call a winding staircase an “escalera de
caracol”. In the very concise and
awfully scientific definitions I was intrigued by the last two. Number 7
defines a caracol as the winding tricks that a horseman does a
horse in a competition.
The 8th definition is the killer. In a Spanish
deck of cards there are some cards that feature what looks like a wooden mace.
Perhaps from that “palo” it is now come to also mean a suit of card such as in diamonds
or hearts.
So a caracol is a Flamenco song in “estribillo” style. In
my RAE it is fairly complicated definition:
estribillo
Del dim.
de estribo.
1. m.
Expresión o cláusula en verso, que se repite después de cada estrofa en algunas
composiciones líricas, que a veces también empiezan con ella.
2. m.
Voz o frase que por hábito vicioso se dice con frecuencia.
What it really means that this style is a repetitive one!
To almost finish this serpentine essay (un ensayo en
caracol) caracoles is a Flamenco song in
which the word caracoles is often repeated. This style is used to lure those
who think they do not like Flamenco. I found this incredibly nice (what a voice
and diction this man has!) YouTube explanation and example of a caracol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxTeX5O8uz4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxTeX5O8uz4
And finally since we are now in the theme of Flamenco I must point out that nobody has
ever made better films about Flamenco (and Argentine Tango, and Argentine
Folklore) than Carlos Saura. In his Amor Brujo I fell hard for this couple, Antonio Gades and Cristina Hoyos.
Here is an excerpt worth watching in which the pair dance to almost no music
and you can hear the wind making noise with the clothes lines.
I think that Antonio Gades is the best Flamenco dancer (and actor) I have ever seen. Perhaps it is because he received ballet training.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxTeX5O8uz4
I think that Antonio Gades is the best Flamenco dancer (and actor) I have ever seen. Perhaps it is because he received ballet training.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxTeX5O8uz4