I'm from Granada, and although flamenco and regional dancing have never been my thing, I've always loved castanets. They are the sound of joy, and if there's one thing I am, it's joyful, so a word to the wise is enough.
Who would have thought that I would play castanets with sheet music at Carnegie Hall in New York City! The song that says, "Life gives you surprises, surprises give you life" is the key, and the person responsible for such an exceptional experience is Teresa Laiz, an internationally renowned composer and virtuoso castanet player.
Life led me to contact her, and my visual impairment, never having seen a score for castanets in my life and never having played them, did not stop her from encouraging me to try, and so I did. To this day, it is one of the best decisions I have ever made.
How easy they seem is nothing more than an illusion, because playing them is very difficult. You need to have a lot of agility in the fingers of both hands, coordinate your movements, play with nuance, fast, slow, and do it on time, respecting the precious silences, of course.
Months passed before I played my first carretilla, the famous riá, and found a way to see the sheet music better with my poor eyesight. But with Teresa's patience as a dedicated teacher, my determination, hours of study, tweaking the sheet music so I could see it, and my enthusiasm... progress was not long in coming, and it began to be seen and heard on stage during end-of-year and Christmas concerts.
In 2024, now a member of the Madrid Castanet Choir conducted by Teresa Laiz, the opportunity arose to go to Carnegie Hall in New York, and without hesitation, I accepted the challenge.
I remember my excitement at hearing the sound of the castanets and feeling the light, so vital to me, in such a prestigious place.
When I stepped onto the stage, I couldn't believe my eyes. The light was white, powerful, uniform, without shadows... Incredible! When the performance ended, in a split second, I thought: "How has life brought me here, a place of worship for musicians who dream of coming and never make it? Mum, this is for you!" She also liked castanets, I always remember her, and in that moment of utmost happiness, even more so.
And life, which once again decided to surprise me, by chance or by design, through Teresa Laiz, who donated one of her castanet compositions to ONCE to be transcribed into Braille for the first time, offered me the chance to return to Carnegie Hall a few weeks ago, on 30 June 2025, and so I went.
They say that "sequels are never any good," but this wasn't a sequel to anything, neither in terms of the people involved, nor what we were performing, nor how I approached it. Another year of experience and returning to the stage par excellence gave me a great deal of peace of mind, despite the greater responsibility it entailed.
You never know, and with the way life is going, even less so, but as things stand today, I'm not counting on a third lucky break that will take me back to New York. What I do have to my credit is the pride of having been able to play my cheerful wooden castanets at Carnegie Hall, proving once again that "where there's a will, there's a way", although seeing poorly doesn't help — but it doesn't prevent — you from doing what you love, especially when it comes to music.
The violin, piano or guitar, either solo or in an orchestra, sound wonderful, but when accompanied by concert castanets, the result is simply spectacular, surprising, exciting and different. You may like them or not, but what you should not do is prejudge them. To do so is to deprive yourself of unknown emotions, and that would be a shame, which is something castanets do not convey.
Long live concert castanets!
Bárbara Martín, EBU’s First Vice-President