Wendy K. Laidlaw

You know, that's not the issue.

That's the ego's concern.

That was what it turned out to be.

I was interested in flamenco because of the gypsy roots which come into Scotland and Ireland, you know, and so on and so forth.

And I was interested in all of that.

And then in particular, cantejando, which is the unaccompanied voice.

And when they do it, they call the spirit of it is called duende.

And duende is the spirit that arises from the center of the earth and comes through the dancer or the musician or the singer.

And because it's so deep and it's so strong and it's so naturally that way, it'll rip through them.

It rips through.

And so it can come out in shards and broken tones.

And I thought, now that's helpful.

So what's trying to come through that doesn't have to be perfectly on key and in various harmonies.

It might be more genuine if it just comes the way it comes.

And that I found my permission for that, not necessarily from someone.

I got it from a tradition.

And I realized, well, when I sing, it's usually for that kind of reason.

And maybe that's why it comes through a little bit rougher, because it's not trying to be polished.

It's trying to be authentic.

It was beautiful.