Miguelito's First Flamenco Gig in Spain…Granada to be Exact
August 11, 2014 by Miguelito
Singer David Sorroche and guitarist Miguelito performing granaína at Cueva La Fragua in Sacromonte, Granada, Spain. TIP: Click on this photo or any of the photos in this blog entry for the full-size view. They’re especially beautiful on a large screen. (Photo by Natan Fotografia)
It’s 11-something am on a Monday. I’m here at my favorite cafe in Arlington enjoying fast Internet and delicious espresso as I type these words. And yeah it’s been two months now since I’ve returned from my May/June trip to Spain, but I was waiting (patiently) for the photos from the professional photographers to finally arrive. And I think you’ll agree with me that they’re absolutely gorgeous and worth the wait. Enjoy!
So you must be wondering, how an American flamenco guitarist scored a gig in Spain and of all places in the historic and beautiful city of Granada in Andalucía. To explain properly, we’ll have to back up about 10 years to the summer of 2004. I’ll try to be brief but it’s a cool story, nonetheless.
College student Sonia Sheikh, whom I didn’t know back then, was looking to apply to grad school but one of her criteria was that the city where she would study must have an active flamenco scene. One of the top choices was Washington DC and of course my website DCFlamenco.com came up in the Google search for flamenco. Sonia applied to grad school, got accepted, moved to DC, regularly came out to my (then very popular) Monday night flamenco show at Cafe Citron and we became close friends.
Flamenco dancer Sonia Sheikh performing alegrías. (Photo by Natan Fotografia)
She got her degree, got a job and a few years into her career, Sonia decided she needed to take a year-long sabbatical and fulfill her dream of living in Spain and studying flamenco. She moved to Madrid and became a regular at the world famous Amor de Díos studio taking classes with various teachers before settling on her favorite, Merche Esmeralda.
During her sabbatical in Spain, Sonia didn’t expect to meet her future husband Mirko in Madrid, but she did. So in January 2014 I got a text message from Sonia. She was in DC and asked if I could meet her in Dupont Circle. We met up in Le Pain Quotidien and she introduced me to her fiancé for the first time.
They told me about their upcoming June wedding and that they’d like me to play guitar. I was deeply honored of course but there was more: to culminate her year long sabbatical studying flamenco, Sonia also wanted to present a performance for her wedding guests with yours truly on guitar accompanying her and a flamenco singer from Granada! As an added bonus, the performance would take place in a gypsy cave in Sacromonte.
Sonia performing while her fiancé Mirko (top right in light blue shirt) proudly watches from the audience. (Photo by Natan Fotografia)
It was a dream gig to say the least. So they flew me out to Spain a week before the wedding. I spent the weekend relaxing in Madrid before taking a bus down to Granada where I’d be rehearsing with Sonia for a few days before the Friday night performance.
At the first rehearsal, we met the flamenco singer, David Sorroche, really nice guy and what a voice! What an honor, a world class flamenco singer and native of Granada working with yours truly and Sonia! We worked on a guajiras and an alegrías. Later we’d bring in her fiancé Mirko to work on Sevillanas.
(Photo by Natan Fotografia)
We rehearsed one to two hours each day which left me plenty of time to enjoy Granada as a tourist. Of course, I visited the Alhambra, went to a few tablao shows at Le Chien Andalou and Casa de Arte Flamenco. Most of the time, I explored the city on foot willingly losing myself in the labyrinthine streets of the Albaycin neighborhood.
One day, I took a spontaneous walk up a street that led me unexpectedly to the Sacromonte neighborhood where I passed by flamenco places some of which I had only read about or seen in films. Little did I know that later that week I’d be performing in one of those places: Cueva La Fragua.
And yeah, Granada-based dancer Rocío Montoya, with whom I performed in DC in 2012, invited me to one of her shows at a theater near the Alhambra but unfortunately I couldn’t make it.
Sonia and her fiancé Mirko embrace after dancing Sevillanas to close the show. (Photo by Natan Fotografia)
The day of the performance, what can I say, it was a dream come true for me: playing guitar in Granada at a gypsy cave with my flamenco dancer friend Sonia and a native granaíno flamenco singer. There was one thing that was going to be a challenge for me: performing without amplification. I realize this is a trend in Spain: places that feature flamenco shows as they were presented decades ago, the pre-microphone days. I get the historical throwback and can appreciate it, but come on: I want the people to hear my music.
The acoustics in the gypsy cave were OK, but I realized this evening wasn’t about me. It was about my dancer friend Sonia and her performance debut in front of 100+ guests who flew in from all over the globe to see her. So I let this minor technical (about no amplification) issue go and focused on giving her all the musical and inspirational energy I could.
We arrived early and did a quick run-through. Afterwards, I had time to stand outside on the terrace of La Cueva Fragua and take in the gorgeous view of the Alhambra on this perfect summer night. Between the inspiring surroundings, the realization that I was in the most beautiful city in Spain playing guitar for a close friend…and a few sips of an alcoholic beverage I was chill enough to simply enjoy myself and give Sonia the best performance I could.
The illuminated Alhambra as seen from the terrace of Cueva La Fragua. (Photo by Natan Fotografia)
I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. Kudos of course to the fabulous photographers Natan Sans and Esther Velázquez.
The program:
Granaína (David & Miguelito)
Alegrías (Sonia)
Guajiras (Sonia)
Sevillanas (Sonia & Mirko)
After the show, the singer David and I spent quite a bit of time enjoying the view and conversing about flamenco as we leaned along the edge of the terrace looking down on the Calle Sacromonte. Various flamenco dancers in costume walked by on their way to their gigs at the nearby tablaos. He knew every one of them and said hello and they said hello back. Some of them were dressed in street clothes, but I was able to spot the dancers instinctively. I don’t know: they have this certain “Yeah, I’m on my way to a flamenco gig” kind of look.
I felt like I was part of the flamenco scene for one night in Granada. Now I can say I fulfilled my dream of performing flamenco in Spain. And of course, I’ll remember this night for the rest of my life: best gig ever! Thank you David, Sonia and Mirko. Now back to reality!
The after-party on the terrace of Cueva La Fragua. (Photo by Natan Fotografia)