La Mujer Que Yo Quiero

The story of how Israeli singer and guitarist David Broza's new album La Mujer Que Yo Quiero came about is one of such extraordinary breadth that it almost feels like a piece of cultural archaeology in song. Superficially, this is a 40th anniversary re-recording of his 1983 classic Ha'isha She'iti – one of the most iconic releases in Israeli history. It is also so much more. Broza, who grew up in Spain, learned to play flamenco-infused guitar and to love the great balladeers and poetic traditions of that country. Back in Israel, following his military service, his wife encouraged him to record the Spanish songs he serenaded her with, but to record them in Hebrew. With the help of poet Jonathan Geffen, who transcribed these famous Spanish poems into Hebrew, Ha'isha She'iti was born.

Now, Broza has returned to a Spanish recording studio to recreate the songs in their original Spanish, accompanied by his exquisite guitar playing. This tale of Spanish-Jewish interweaving brings to mind the Sephardic culture of Spain, Jews exiled by the Reconquista. The songs Broza sings include poetry from Luis de Góngora, León Felipe and Federico García Lorca, which he heard rendered in song by the likes of Manzanita, Paco Ibáñez and Joan Manuel Serrat in his childhood. A work of pan-Mediterranean magic.