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Miguelito's Photo DiaryFebruary 6, 2005 - February 12, 2005
After the Enrique Morente/Tomatito concert at Carnegie Hall (New York) February 12, 2005  February 12, 2005  February 12, 2005 
Backstage at Carnegie Hall: Enrique Morente and RJ Uebersezig. February 12, 2005  February 12, 2005 
RJ and Tomatito. February 12, 2005 
Fernando Casas of SoniFolk.com February 12, 2005 
February 12, 2005 
Sonia Aniso and Puy Navarro. February 12, 2005 
Sonia and RJ. February 12, 2005 
The show at Alegrias/La Nacional tonight is called Los Hombres February 12, 2005 El Ranchero February 12, 2005 Yeah, the Crossroads flamenco show, including singers Carmen Linares, Miguel Poveda and Arcangel, made its USA premiere at Lisner Auditorium last night--but I already used up my comp ticket quota (a nice benefit of being a flamenco promoter). Also my friend RJ Uebersezig invited me to join him in New York to hear Enrique Morente and Tomatito at Carnegie Hall--but I was just in New York a few weeks ago. Still, I was intent on having a flamenco-filled night no matter what, so I went to El Ranchero restaurant in Arlington where they've had a show already for the past two weekends. And it just so happened a lot of my friends were there too. 
El Ranchero is a 15-minute walk from the Ballston metro. Since Toro Tapas is closed down, El Ranchero is the only flamenco show in Arlington! February 12, 2005 7:10pm 
"Isabelita" Otero and Debra Belo. This was Isabelita's first time to perform in a restaurant/tablao. Congrats! February 12, 2005 7:34pm 
Cynthia, Nicolas and Miriam. I was a guest guitarist in a show with Carmen de Vicente's Requiebros Spanish Dance Group in 2000 which included these two ladies (Ginette Perea was also in the group back then). February 12, 2005 7:37pm 
You might be thinking, "This is a Mexican restaurant. Why flamenco?" Well, it so happens that the owners are from Morocco which is geographically next to door to Andalucía. Flamenco makes the owners feel close to home. February 12, 2005 8:07pm 
There's even a painting of a flamenco fiesta. February 12, 2005 8:09pm 
It was an evening of Sevillanas just like what they have at the Jaleo restaurant chain--with dancers performing between the tables. They tell me that next week, the owners will have a tablao stage built in time for the show. February 12, 2005 8:44pm 
Isabelita's younger sister, Gabriela plays a little bit of guitar. She took lessons with Torcuata Zamora as a child. February 12, 2005 9:06pm 
The restaurant owners were pleased when I pulled out my guitar and played for a little while. I even convinced Debra and Isabelita to do a short set of Sevillanas for a couple that came a long way to see the show but arrived too late. Maybe I'll get the job accompanying dancers here in the future. I'll keep my fingers crossed. :) February 12, 2005 9:13pm 
The lovely ladies of the Otero family: Gabriela, Marcela, Isabel and Isabelita with yours truly. Here is a pic from 3 years ago. February 12, 2005 9:42pm 
Former college classmates at UVA (in Charlottesville): Melissa and Gabriela came to support Isabelita. February 12, 2005 9:59pm El Ranchero has shows (with recorded accompaniment) every Friday and Saturday night starting around 7:30pm. Call (703)524-1010. Flamenco is back at Casablanca Restaurant February 11, 2005 I used to perform here at Casablanca Restaurant every Friday night in 1996 with dancer Sara Candela. As far as the younger generation flamencos performing regularly in DC tablaos, we were it. At the time the only other tablao performers were Ana Martinez and Paco de Malaga at Las Tapas just down the street. So after my show at Casablanca I would walk down the street to pay my respects to them. Unfortunately, they didn't have the raised stage that we currently have but of course, that didn't detract from the quality of their show. Nine years later, I'm back again, except I'll be trading off the accompaniment duties with my colleague, guitarist Richard Marlow who has to take time off from his Bambule gig to play at Casablanca. The regular dancers here now are Edwin Aparicio and Anna Menendez. The show is the same format: There's a good chance that dancer Sara Candela may be subbing here this coming Friday February 18th. If I'm the guitarist that night, it'll be like old times again. 
The dimly-lit ambience works well for the belly dance show. But I'm going to have to bring my stage lights next time to brighten up the stage. February 11, 2005 8:07pm 
February 11, 2005 8:16pm 
The sword dance is always a crowd-pleaser. February 11, 2005 8:17pm 
February 11, 2005 8:17pm 
Ah yes...the perks of working as a performer in a restaurant. TIP: if you order the Bastilla pastry appetizer, be careful not to let the powdered sugar fall on your dark-colored clothes--trust me on this. Other than that, come here hungry. The portions are generous. February 11, 2005 9:10pm Shows at Casablanca Restaurant are every Friday at around 8:00pm. Call (703)549-6464 to make your reservations. Cafe Citron February 7, 2005 It was especially good night business-wise. There were a few regulars but mostly a lot of new faces. But it's a good thing! A reporter from the Washington Post interviewed yours truly before the first show.
View from end of the bar. February 7, 2005 8:32pm 
View from the same seat. February 7, 2005 8:33pm 
View from the stage after the second show. February 7, 2005 9:51pm 
Saying hello to some of the regulars here at Citron: Heather, Jill and Richard. February 7, 2005 9:03pm (photo by Nancy Medina) 
Line of Sevillanas dancing. For a change, these weren't my flamenco performer friends. These were just ordinary customers who happened to know how to dance Sevillanas! DJ Helio who works here on Mondays does his best to get the crowd in a Spanish mood by playing some flamenco CD's and occasionally some Sevillanas. February 7, 2005 10:10pm 
Fernando, Olga, guitarist Cesar Aquino, singer/guitarist Jose Oretea and Miguelito. February 7, 2005 10:54pm 
Singer/songwriter Maynold Moreno. February 7, 2005 11:10pm 
Later in the evening, the stage is cleared and the tables removed to make room for dancing. February 7, 2005 11:12pm 
February 7, 2005 11:13pm 
Maggie and Nancy Medina. February 7, 2005 11:15pm After the Sara Baras concert at Lisner Auditorium February 6, 2005 
That's Sara Baras in the center wearing red dress. February 6, 2005 9:15pm 
Very important people: Lisner Auditorium director, Rosanna Ruscetti; Flamenco Festival artistic director, Miguel Marin; and yours truly, the unofficial guru of publicity for the DC flamenco community, Miguelito. :) Not pictured, but busy working hard behind the scenes was Marketing Associate, Carl Graci. February 6, 2005 9:37pm Rodriguez Guitars in Richmond February 6, 2005 
Marty Dow and RJ Uebersezig at the door of Rodriguez Guitars. February 6, 2005 12:15pm 
Marty, just moments after receiving his brand new custom Rodriguez flamenco guitar: guitarist's bliss. :) February 6, 2005 12:23pm 
Marty has a collectors' item. This is the first time it's been labelled the "Marija Temo Model" and signed by Marija herself. February 6, 2005 12:24pm 
Luthier Tom Rodriguez chatting with RJ as he plays his recently repaired flamenco model. February 6, 2005 12:25pm 
I want one of these! It's the lightest (yet very strong) case available for guitar. Made of Kevlar, which in theory makes this bullet-proof! Weighs only 6.6 pounds and is available in a variety of colors. Manufactured by Accord. Price: around $900. February 6, 2005 12:38pm 
Testing one of the peg tuner models. February 6, 2005 12:39pm (photo by RJ) 
Favored by earlier generations of guitarists, this style looks beautiful, makes the guitar lighter and supposedly improves the tone. But difficult to tune. February 6, 2005 12:42pm 
A side view of the case that I want! :) February 6, 2005 1:24pm 
Da boyz celebrate by going out to lunch in downtown Richmond. February 6, 2005 1:46pm 
You know you're in the hip part of town when you see bottles of Voss water. :) February 6, 2005 1:47pm 
After lunch, we packed up the car with the guitars and headed back towards DC. February 6, 2005 3:38pm 
The day's not over yet. Tonight is the Sara Baras concert at Lisner! February 6, 2005 4:26pm  Photos taken with the Olympus Stylus 300 Digital Camera Text and original images ©1996-2013 by . Please do not republish content from this website, including text and photos, in whole or part without prior written permission. |
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