Dedicated to the memories of Adela and Tom Romero

She sang fandangos and stitched needlepoint. He had a bold mind and an eccentric character. Adela and Tom had been married just shy of 10 years when they found themselves needing a quick exit from Spain (Franco’s fascist regime lacked an appreciation for bold minds and eccentric characters). It was the early 1960’s when they arrived in Canada.

Tom had been a medical student in Spain. He worked various jobs in Canada, including as a nurse and salesman. He participated in an inventor’s club… creating a calculator that squirted water on you when you pressed the equate button. Adela managed the household, continued singing at home and took up yoga (to find her propped up against the wall, standing on her head, was not entirely uncommon).

They didn’t talk about the war, life under Franco or hardships. However, they insisted on hard work and good character. They sang to each other across the rooms of the house. She taught her daughter and granddaughters how to dance and play castanets. She told stories about being asked to sing in “movie pictures.”

Adela and Tom were thrilled when their oldest granddaughter quit her day job and moved to Spain to study flamenco. They passed away before she reached her goal of becoming a flamenco teacher.

Adela & Tom’s Flamenco is a space dedicated by founder Judith Romero, to her grandparents. It is an effort to create a flamenco community based on the spirit of the flamenco that lived in her grandparent’s home.