Patrick, Madridman is cool. He also post infrequently over at slowtalk.com but I believe his enthusiasm to be real.

He comes and goes... I myself go for long periods on fodors without posting (maybe not THAT long though) so give him the benefit of the doubt.

I just want to put my 2 cents.

Madridman is legit, but I don't know about the OP "Allison91". Did you know this was her first and only post??? How weird, to be so exhuberant about something, that you post about and then just disappear....

OTOH, Natcam seems genuine. I much more believe her take that "Allison91", if there was ever really a poster by that name.

Gee, I hope my post didn't sound like I was questioning the sincerity or honesty of Madrid Man. Yes, I've seen great posts from him before. It was just that with the new posts ranting against this place and his comment that he was going in May and promising to report back, but not doing so, the mind runs rampant as to what could have happened. Guess any attempt at a little humor on my part failed miserably.

Hi all,

A bad experience at el Corral? How?! I spent a significant amount of time in Madrid while in college and el Corral was the first place to really spark my interest in flamenco. The program that I studied through (IES) even thought so highly of it to offer flamenco classes through them. It surprises me to hear such a bad review as everyone in my program loved the show (and we were a couple of poor American students).

Addressing the issue of the tip... I originally thought that it was included in the bill too, come to find out that´s not actually how Spain operates. Tips are appreciated but not mandatory. El Corral is a little pricey for the average American (especially with the weak dollar) but you know that going into the show. And I found that customer service is not as highly valued in Spain as it is in the US, simply a cultural difference.

I´ve recommended el Corral to everyone studying in or visiting Madrid. If you´re new to flamenco like I was, you´ll be blown away and develop an appreciation for this beautiful art.

Ciao,
Maria

Hi all!

Here I am once again, nearly 2 years after originally participating in this thread. Why? Mostly to verify my authenticity to NeoPatrick who asked why I hadn't reported back. The only excuse I can think of now was that in May 2007 I was so involved in so many flamenco performances for the month-long Suma Flamenca festival that I overlooked the follow-up review. Sorry about that! The May 2008 festival was no different. In fact, for that festival I attended about 15 flamenco performances. It was great, but tiring too, going out every second night of the month, sometimes I had shows 3 nights in a row!

So now wouldn't be fair to try to give a review of that night's particular performances at Morería because I don't remember it specifically. But since then I've been to Corral de la Morería at least twice and have good memories of them both - except one time we arrived late and were seated pretty far away, on the side, and against the wall and couldn't see very well. Another time we were 3 tables away!

And since this date I've watched two flamenco shows at the famous TORRES BERMEJAS (web: http://www.torresbermejas.com/ ) where Camarón de la Isla got his start in big-time flamenco (as a "palmero" - clapper). What a beautiful place this is!! It's like being INSIDE the ALhambra of Granada itself! Just beautiful. The first visit we were seated just in front of the stage but the second time we were along the side wall and couldn't see well - but later in the evening we were able to move down to in front of the stage once again.

Sorry for not reporting back! Sometimes it simply takes a better memory than I have to do so.

Saludos, MadridMan @ you-know-where!

" In fact, for that festival I attended about 15 flamenco performances. It was great, but tiring too, going out every second night of the month, sometimes I had shows 3 nights in a row!"

MM, lucky you! Where can I apply for this job? ;)