Happy 16th birthday DCFlamenco!

It's 7:22am on Tuesday as I type these words. Believe it or not I went to bed before midnight for a change. So I'm up early and it so happens, it's my website's 16th birthday today, yay! It was first launched on January 10, 1996. Hmmmm, how will I celebrate?

Sixteen years is a very long time to be on the Internet, and if you're interested, I pretty much covered the origins of my website in last year's birthday blog. And yeah, while I've definitely had a huge impact on the DC flamenco community as far getting the word out about the local scene, the truth is that DCFlamenco is dying.

Just kidding…I'm being overly dramatic to make a point. Thing is that a few years ago, a website was the center of information. And it still is in a way. You go to Google, type in "flamenco" or "flamenco in DC" and my website consistently shows up in the top results and all the info you need about the DC flamenco scene is still at your fingertips.

But the "game" has changed. Social media is where it's at: consequently, my website has been relegated to being just one of many sources of information that people go to in their search for info about flamenco in DC. The quality of the content in DCFlamenco is still the same of course. What's changed is that people go to social media more than individual websites like mine.

Flamenco Cante Master Workshop with Esperanza Fernandez in Vienna, Virginia

Flamenco singer Esperanza Fernández and Furia Flamenca director Estela Velez at Born 2 Dance studio in Vienna, Virginia. December 4, 2011 (photo by Stan Peters)

It's almost 8pm on Sunday as I type these words. And yeah I know this workshop took place a month ago, so it is kind of old news, but I so much wanted to document it here. And on top of that, these photos were already published in FaceBook and lots of people "liked" them and posted many positive comments. So why do I bother to publishing this blog entry?

Well, my DCFlamenco.com website (which hosts this blog) will be turning 16 years old this Tuesday January 10th. Without a doubt, it has been and continues to be THE online source to go to when you want find out what is going on in the DC Flamenco scene currently as well as what was going on many years back. Who knows? In 2022, when FaceBook eventually gets replaced by some other social network, DCFlamenco will very likely still be around (knock on wood) as it has been for the past 16 years to document the history of flamenco in DC.

I know you how you all adore my conversational writing style. However, today I have the pleasure of letting two guest contributors say a few words about flamenco singer Esperanza Fernández's cante workshop which took place way back on December 4th, 2011. Estela Velez organized the workshop and Behzad Habibzai provided accompaniment on guitar. I yield the floor to my esteemed colleagues: