Flamenco in Jacksonville, FL
Featured Dancer:

Maria Garcia Doolittle
By Carolina R. de Santiago.
Flamenco. Not only has it passed its native borders in Spain into the world and the hearts of thousands, but it also
shows as one of the most pure form of art to be encountered throughout dance.
Many cities throughout the United States have developed over time wonderful Flamenco communities, including
students, teachers, performing artists and faithful audiences. Jacksonville is no exception to that.   Among the
members of our Jacksonville community we are extremely proud to count as our beautiful friend and so often also as
our teacher Maria Garcia Doolittle.
Maria, of gypsy descent was born in 1941 in Cordoba, Spain, and grew up surrounded by her family, in Sevilla, which situated in the south of Spain. Her
parents, Antonio and Adolfina were Gypsies original from Jaen, which is often referred to as the world capital of olive oil, because of its big olive oil productions.
When Maria was 1 year old, her father Antonio passed away, leaving her mother Adolfina to take care of the family on her own. At home the family spoke
castellano (Spanish), however outside, many gypsies still spoke a romanov gypsy dialect, which is the dialect spoken often by gypsies of that region.  Contrary to
common believes, not all gypsies were traveling gypsies. Many families were already settled and so was Maria’s family. However, the passing of traveling gypsies
was always and wonderful event.
Life was often difficult, Maria tells us. Money was
often tight and there were no luxuries. However,
Maria did not notice that as a bad thing. In the
company of her family she learned from childhood to
enjoy and interpret Flamenco. With many singers and
dancers in her family it came only natural to her.  
When not doing chores, she would spend most of her
time singing, dancing with her family and the gypsy
community and never felt she was missed out on
anything.
   Stemming from a race and generation to which
Flamenco was the most natural form of dance, Maria
remembers the Flamenco juergas and the neighborhood
Triana with much fondness. Juergas would emerge
without any planning whenever people were together,
having casual conversations. It never took long until a
singer was heard, a guitar sounded and a dancer
would get up all of the sudden.
When she turned 17, Maria joined what was back then called a Ballet cabaret. It was a traveling show with a Variety of Dance styles and
of course, Flamenco!        When not showing her wonderful gypsy flamenco dance style Maria would also perform in dances like candilejas
adapted from Ballet, Italian Tarantellas and Bombacheros. But by far, she loved Flamenco more than anything.         
   While performing for a group of foreigners, Maria met her later husband David. After the marriage the couple moved to the United
States, where they lived and raised their 3 children. During this time Maria decided to take a step back from Dance and dedicate her time to
her family.
Many years passed before she would return to perform Flamenco again. At first with limited access to Flamenco music and peers, but over time becoming a beloved member and performer of the
Spanish Association of North Florida as well as the Flamenco Society of North Florida here in Jacksonville. She is loved by audiences of all ages and always sought out to perform.  
Her Burlerias are among the most pure and now so much admired by all of us.  Of course even today Flamenco is not only something to be danced in front of audiences, Maria explains; it will
always be something to be enjoyed and lived with family and friends as well as audiences.
She has a very sweet and gentle way about her, but a sparkle in her eyes always gives away her passion for music and dance. Just the perfect sound and rhythm of her palmas would be enough to
steal anyone’s heart. And it is a very common occurrence to see local Flamencas follow in on Maria’s palmas at Juergas and performances.
Her advice to any Flamenco out there is to always practice and dance
with sentiment, especially the gypsy burlerias, which are so close to
her heart. It’s important to learn different palos, but before anything
it’s important to develop an ear for the music and the rhythm. And
about everything, any student should love Flamenco when learning.
It should never be a job, but a joy and an expression of life.
   When asked about gypsies and non-gypsies (payos), she thinks
about the Spanish language, and how gypsy words as much as
expressions found their way into it, even though the gypsy dialects
and languages are less and less heard. I agree, with that an
important piece of history and tradition will be fading.
   Lucky for us, Maria still remembers a big part of that dialect and
hopefully will pass it on to her children and grandchildren.
Meanwhile, thank you Maria for being
our friend, colleague and continuous
inspiration.
Maria with author Carolina R.
de Santiago