Flamenco Marbella
I love Flamenco! For me the drama, noise and fun of it really typifies the Spanish and it’s great to be able to watch it live. There are many tourist places to watch flamenco which will offer you an amazing show, but I prefer the more authentic spit and sawdust places where the Spanish go.
A few weeks ago, we finally got around to visiting Tablao Flamenco Ana Maria which is tucked away in Marbella Old Town in Plaza Santa Cristo and it was fantastic. It’s held in the owner’s front room by the looks of it, with lots of little round tables with polka dot table cloths, a small bar and a wooden floor for the dancers. The night we went there were three female dancers, a fantastic old guy who sang and danced, a singer and three musicians one who also sang. They sit along the back of the dance space and essentially “jam” with the dancers getting up in turn and the musicians playing according to how they dance. It really is a great spectacle and some of the performances were incredible!
I would definitely recommend this flamenco show to anyone, but it is not for early birds. The doors open at 11.30 with the first show starting at midnight and a second show at around 2am. We stayed for both shows which was great, as the second was definitely more for the locals and seemed more authentic and fun. However, both are good so don’t be put off if watching flamenco at 2am isn’t for you. I’d suggest you go for a late dinner and drinks in the Old Town, as long as you pace yourself you should be able to time it just right.
A word of warning though – don’t stay there for lots of drinks and expect to pay a cover charge! As you come in they just take you to your table rather than charge you on the door and no where mentions a charge, but in fact it is 20€ per head. I think this is fair for the length and quality of the show, so don’t let that put you off. However, the drinks are another matter at 10€ per drink, which is a bit of a rip off and came as quite a shock when we got the bill. Luckily they didn’t charge us for our bottles of water or we’d have been really annoyed. We’ll definitely be going back, but simply nurse one drink next time!
To find out about other Costa del Sol flamenco venues check out HolidayRentalontheWeb’s blog.