Palos de Naipes
In Sevilla, just east of the Barrio Santa Cruz there is a short street called Calle Santa Maria la Blanca. The street is named after an old church in the street which was originally built as a synagogue. Before the synagogue it was probably once a mosque, and before that a Visigothic church. But the church is not the subject of this note.
Close to the beginning of Calle Santa Maria la Blanca there is a restaurant called El Tres de Oro. It is a good place to have breakfast. Patronised mostly, at that time of day, by locals in a hurry, it serves good zumo (fresh orange juice), cafe con leche, and pan integral tostado (toasted whole wheat roll). I wish I could go there tomorrow. Try it next time you are in Sevilla.
Tres de Oro? The restaurant is named after a playing card. The Spanish playing cards, naipes, like the Rouen cards which are used in both the English speaking and French speaking worlds, have four suits. The Spanish suits are: Oros, Copas, Espadas, and Bastos. A free translation would be (Gold) Coins, Cups, Swords and Clubs. So the name of the restaurant in English is The Three of Coins.
Where do playing cards come from? They say that they may have had their roots in India, and it is fairly certain that they came to Europe by way of Egypt. They probably entered Europe by way of Arab Spain in the thirteenth or fourteenth century. In other words, they came from the same place and arrived at about the same time as Los Gitanos, the gypsies. What has this to do with Flamenco? Nothing, perhaps, but as we know, the different kinds of flamenco are called palos, which is usually (but perhaps incorrectly) translated as sticks, from the stick said to be used to beat time. And the different suits in Spanish playing cards, the Oros, Copas, Espadas and Bastos, are also called palos. Something to think about.
Flamenquito 2006
Sources: Rough Guide to Andalucía, Wikipedia: Playing Cards.