Flamenco Photo Diary and Blog by Miguelito

Flamenco at Cabanas. September 19, 2008

2008-09-22T13:09:47Z

The younger generation of DC flamencos (from left): guitarist Mateo Romero, dancer Ginette Perea, singer Hector Márquez, dancer Isabelita, singer Naíto, singer Marylin Márquez and dancer Sarah Hart. September 19, 2008 9:58pm

It's 9-something am on Monday as I type these words. Got a busy day ahead of me. But here's a quickie blog entry with pics from last Friday's flamenco show at Cabanas in Georgetown.

As I took the above pic, it occurred to me that everyone in that photo is a flamenco performer in their early 20's. Three young singers, three dancers and guitarist. Quite a change from when I first started performing in tablaos in 1995 and still in my 20's: my first weekly gig was at Havana Village in Adams-Morgan and I didn't even have one singer back then.

Interestingly, flamenco legend Paco de Lucía partied at Havana Village one time after giving a concert in DC. Fortunately, it wasn't on a night when I was playing at there. Can you imagine what it would be like to have someone like him show up as I was performing onstage? It could happen! ;-)

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Mateo Romero and Hector Márquez. September 19, 2008 10:01pm (photo by Marylin)

Mateo Romero. September 19, 2008 10:02pm (photo by Marylin)

Ginette Perea and Isabelita dancing Sevillanas" />

Ginette Perea and Isabelita dancing Sevillanas. September 19, 2008 10:03pm (photo by Marylin)

Ginette and Isabelita. September 19, 2008 10:04pm (photo by Marylin)

Ginette and Isabelita. September 19, 2008 10:05pm (photo by Marylin)

Miguelito playing an intro to soleá. September 19, 2008 10:07pm (photo by Marylin)

Ginette dancing soleá. September 19, 2008 10:09pm (photo by Marylin)

Ginette. September 19, 2008 10:10pm (photo by Marylin)

Ginette and Mateo. September 19, 2008 10:11pm (photo by Marylin)

Ginette and Mateo. September 19, 2008 10:12pm (photo by Marylin)

Miguelito, Ginette and Mateo. September 19, 2008 10:17pm (photo by Marylin)

Isabelita in alegrías. September 19, 2008 10:19pm (photo by Marylin)

Isabelita and Mateo. September 19, 2008 10:20pm (photo by Marylin)

Miguelito, Isabelita and Mateo. September 19, 2008 10:21pm (photo by Marylin)

Isabelita. September 19, 2008 10:22pm (photo by Marylin)

Ginette in bulerías. September 19, 2008 10:28pm (photo by Marylin)

As for tonight (Monday), I'll be performing as usual at Cafe Citron with singer Gerard Moreno and, most likely, dancer María or Sara Jerez—I never really know for sure who the dancer will be but real flamenco guitarists can play for anyone without rehearsal anyway. Incidentally, this month marks 7 years that I've been performing at Cafe Citron (here are some pics from the very first show in 2001). Of course, on my way home, I'll stop by for a sangría at Bodega in Georgetown. See you there!

Flamenco at the Smithsonian American Art Museum--second batch of pics

2008-09-05T16:59:39Z

José Oretea, Behzad Habibzai and Ramin Rad at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. September 4, 2008 5:48pm

As promised, here is the second batch of pics from the flamenco performance at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Enjoy!

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Behzad, Yolit, Kyoko and Emily. September 4, 2008 5:52pm

José, Ramin, Behzad, Yolit, Kyoko and Emily. September 4, 2008 5:52pm

José and Ramin. September 4, 2008 5:52pm

José singing tangos accompanied by Ramin and Behzad. September 4, 2008 5:53pm

Yolit dancing tangos. September 4, 2008 5:54pm

José, Ramin, Behzad, Kyoko and Emily. September 4, 2008 5:56pm

Yolit. September 4, 2008 5:56pm

Yolit. September 4, 2008 5:58pm

Emily beginning her alegrías. September 4, 2008 6:00pm

Emily. September 4, 2008 6:01pm

Emily. September 4, 2008 6:02pm

Emily. September 4, 2008 6:04pm

Emily. September 4, 2008 6:05pm

Emily. September 4, 2008 6:08pm

Emily. September 4, 2008 6:09pm

Yolit and Kyoko. September 4, 2008 6:11pm

Kyoko performing soleá. September 4, 2008 6:12pm

Kyoko. September 4, 2008 6:12pm

Kyoko. September 4, 2008 6:15pm

Kyoko. September 4, 2008 6:16pm

September 4, 2008 6:21pm

José and Ramin closing the second set with a rumba. September 4, 2008 6:21pm

Yolit, Kyoko and Emily providing palmas. September 4, 2008 6:22pm

José. September 4, 2008 6:23pm

Ramin. September 4, 2008 6:24pm

José and Ramin. September 4, 2008 6:26pm

View of the Kogod Courtyard. September 4, 2008 6:26pm

I highly recommend checking out the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It's a block from the Gallery Place metro on the Yellow Line. As you can see in the pic above, the air-conditioned Kogod courtyard is a perfect place to relax, read a book and if you have a laptop, you can take advantage of the free WiFi.

As for tonight (Friday), I'm performing at Cabanas with dancers Sarah Hart and Emily Mazzotti--shows at 8:30pm and 9:30pm. My singer friend Hector "El Piraña" Márquez might stop by. See you there!

Flamenco at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

2008-09-05T15:10:03Z

José Oretea and Ramin Rad performing tientos/tangos in the Kogod Courtyard of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. September 4, 2008 5:10pm

Yesterday (Thursday) I went to the Smithsonian American Art Museum where a few of my flamenco friends were performing: guitarists Ramin Rad and José Oretea, percussionist Behzad Habibzai and dancers Kyoko, Yolit Yospe and Emily Mazzotti.

They did three half-hour sets between 5:00pm and 8:00pm, but since I had to rush off to Las Tapas to do my own show, I only stayed to photograph the first two sets. I took close to 400 pictures! This is just a random selection. Enjoy!

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Ramin. September 4, 2008 5:11pm

José. September 4, 2008 5:12pm

José and Ramin. September 4, 2008 5:13pm

Enter the dancers: Kyoko, Yolit Yospe and Emily Mazzotti. September 4, 2008 5:14pm

Yolit and Emily dancing Sevillanas. September 4, 2008 5:15pm

Kyoko and Emily. September 4, 2008 5:16pm

Emily and Kyoko. September 4, 2008 5:16pm

Ramin playing an introductory falseta por bulerías. September 4, 2008 5:23pm

Emily dancing a patada por bulerías. September 4, 2008 5:25pm

Emily. September 4, 2008 5:26pm

Yolit. September 4, 2008 5:27pm

Yolit. September 4, 2008 5:28pm

Kyoko. September 4, 2008 5:28pm

Kyoko. September 4, 2008 5:29pm

Emily, Kyoko and Yolit. September 4, 2008 5:30pm

Stay tuned...later on today, I'll add a second batch of pics.

End of Summer Flamenco Juerga at Bodega. August 31, 2008

2008-09-02T16:59:37Z

Daniela, Cindy and Yahaira in the courtyard of Bodega in Georgetown. August 31, 2008 7:28pm

It's 1:00pm on Tuesday as I type these words. I hope you all had an enjoyable three day weekend. I know I did. Anywayz, on Sunday night, I hosted a flamenco juerga at Bodega restaurant in Georgetown which was very well-attended. I only sent out the invitations via FaceBook just as an experiment to see how effective it would be for publicity. The day before the juerga I had 71 people confirmed and 38 maybes!

However, the courtyard at Bodega can hold about 40 people comfortably so fortunately our guests arrived in several waves. Some came for awhile and left, then another small crowd came in. When that crowd left, another came in.

Cool thing was that about half of the guests I had never met before, which is good: new people to introduce to the DC flamenco scene! Of course I told lots of them about DCFlamenco.com and even met a new dancer or two who are new to the area and unaware of the flamenco scene, yay!

Here are the pics. Enjoy!

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Sabrina, Matia, Laura and Inga. August 31, 2008 7:59pm

Stefano, Daniela, Cindy and Miguelito. August 31, 2008 8:01pm (photo by Laura)

Hector "El Piraña" Márquez and Naíto getting the juerga started. August 31, 2008 8:07pm (photo by Daniela)

While I do take credit for bringing in the huge crowd to Bodega, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to these young flamencos, Hector, Naíto and Mateo. They got the party started with cante, guitar and cajón and kept it going for hours and hours! You guys rock!

Mateo Romero accompanying Hector. August 31, 2008 8:25pm (photo by Daniela)

Taking a break between songs while the audience awaits. August 31, 2008 8:40pm (photo by Daniela)

I got many requests to play guitar, and I did play for a very short while, but I was pretty busy greeting guests at the door, introducing myself and promoting the local flamenco scene. I lost count of how many people told me that they didn't know there was such a huge interest in flamenco here in DC.

Jason Vera y Aragón setting the tempo for alegrías. August 31, 2008 8:41pm (photo by Daniela)

Jason singing alegrías. August 31, 2008 8:42pm (photo by Daniela)

Cindy with singer/guitarist José Oretea. August 31, 2008 9:03pm (photo by Daniela)

August 31, 2008 9:04pm (photo by Daniela)

Hector, José and Naíto. August 31, 2008 9:06pm (photo by Daniela)

Denise, Cesar Oretea, Chris and Jason. August 31, 2008 9:07pm (photo by Daniela)

Rumberos Cesar and José Oretea from the group Duende Camarón treated us with what they do best.

Denise, Cesar, Chris, Jason, José and Hector. August 31, 2008 9:12pm (photo by Daniela)

José. August 31, 2008 9:13pm (photo by Daniela)

August 31, 2008 9:13pm (photo by Daniela)

Sandra amidst the crowd. August 31, 2008 10:31pm

Brian with Rosie, one of my most enthusiastic fans. August 31, 2008 10:35pm

One of my dearest friends, Daniela. August 31, 2008 10:43pm

Miguelito, Paula and Patricia. August 31, 2008 10:57pm

Laura and Artemis. August 31, 2008 11:03pm

Patricia, Adriana, Josefina and Paula. August 31, 2008 11:19pm

Sevillanas time! August 31, 2008 11:59pm

Around 1:00am, after drinking so many glasses of sangría, courtesy of my many old and new friends, I realized I hadn't eaten since lunch and I was famished. Unfortunately Bodega's kitchen was closed. So when there was a brief lull in the juerga, to everyone's disappointment, I politely took my guitar away from the last guy who was serenading us. Oh well, there's no way I'm going to leave my beautiful new guitar unattended while I sneak out for a quick bite!

I walked out toward the front bar and ran into Daniela and Cindy who were about to leave and they treated me to dinner at Quick Pita, down the street. That was a very nice gesture. Thank you ladies! Actually come to think of it, I didn't buy a single drink all night, all my friends were constantly refilling my sangría glass. Nice. That's the way it should be! :-)

I was starving and Daniela and Cindy were kind enough to accompany me for a late-night bite at Quick Pita. September 1, 2008 1:22am

On another note: last night (Monday) I had the night off from Cafe Citron for the Labor Day Holiday. Good opportunity to catch up on sleep? Yeah right! :-) It felt weird to stay at home on a Monday night, so around 11:30pm I ventured out to Georgetown (a 20-minute walk from my house) and dropped by Bodega to say hello to my favorite bartender, Sachi.

I overheard the manager saying that Sunday was one of their busiest nights thanks to me! The owners of the Bodega were very pleased cuz we brought in a lot of business (well, it was a holiday weekend, too) but more importantly we added so much to the Spanish-themed ambience with our flamenco juerga.

So if you're wondering if there will be another juerga at Bodega soon, the answer is YES. I'll confirm a date with the restaurant and announce here on DCFlamenco as well as FaceBook. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, do visit Bodega and check it out for yourself and be sure to tell them that Miguelito sent you! The address is 3116 M St (at the intersection of 31st and M) in Georgetown. Call 202-333-4733.

Flamenco at Las Tapas. August 26, 2008

2008-08-27T08:21:36Z

Miguelito and Yolit Kachlon at Las Tapas. August 26, 2008 8:58pm (photo by Brian)

It's 4-something in the morning on Wednesday. After my usual Tuesday night gig at Las Tapas, my friend Jason Vera y Aragón and I headed to Dupont Circle to celebrate Sachi's birthday. Sachi, if you recall from my blog entry on July 8th, is our favorite bartender at the new tapas bar Bodega in Georgetown. I've been going there so often this past summer that quite a few of the employees know me and have become my friends.

Incidentally, this coming Sunday August 31st, I'm hosting a flamenco juerga at Bodega scheduled to start around 7:00pm (of course most people will arrive fashionably late around 9:00pm).

Bodega's located at the corner of 31st and M St in Georgetown. The address is 3116 M St NW Washington DC. You're welcome to join in, but it's going to be packed. The last time I checked the invite list on FaceBook, there were 61 confirmed, 34 maybes and 103 awaiting reply!

Pssst! If you're on FaceBook, look me up and add me as a friend so you can hear about future juergas. If you don't have a FaceBook account, click on the image to the right and sign up.

Anywayz, here's a random selection of pics from last night's show at Las Tapas featuring dancers Sarah Hart and Yolit Kachlon, yours truly Miguelito on guitar and guest singer Naíto.

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Miguelito. August 26, 2008 8:59pm (photo by Brian)

Yolit dancing alegrías. August 26, 2008 9:02pm (photo by Brian)

Sara Hart dancing tientos/tangos. August 26, 2008 9:04pm (photo by Brian)

Sarah Hart. August 26, 2008 9:04pm (photo by Brian)

Sarah Hart. August 26, 2008 9:08pm (photo by Brian)

Sarah Hart. August 26, 2008 9:10pm (photo by Brian)

Miguelito playing his new flamenco guitar "Yahaira." August 26, 2008 9:18pm (photo by Rosie)

Miguelito. August 26, 2008 9:19pm (photo by Rosie)

My flamenco loving friends: Laura, Mason, Brian and Rosie. August 26, 2008 9:31pm

I don't remember the exact date of the anniversary, but this month marks ten years that we've been performing at Las Tapas. I can remember auditioning for the gig back in June 1998 with dancers Sara Candela and Micaela Moreno. The only other gig where I've worked that long was at the Andalucía in Rockville where I performed every week from July 1997 to April 2007!

Tonight (Wednesday) I'm off, but tomorrow I'm so looking forward to performing in Rehoboth Beach again at the new restaurant Shag with Micaela Moreno and singer Hector "El Piraña" Márquez. Here are some pics from the last time we performed at Shag.

It's almost 5am. Time for bed. Good night!

Introducing Yahaira...my new flamenco guitar. :-)

2008-08-26T17:18:29Z

I was so tempted to rip open the box, but I resisted so I can take pictures for you, my readers, as well savor what I had been waiting a long time to receive. :-)

If you read my previous blog entry, you already know what I went through to get this guitar. So you'll understand why I'm devoting a blog entry to a bunch of pics of my new instrument, which my dancer friend Cindy christened as Yahaira. You can laugh if you want, but I actually do have names for all my guitars. I just don't tell people about it.

Don't get me wrong I'm a musician first and foremost and not a guitar collector. So while I do love a pretty guitar, ultimately what matters is the sound and the way it feels in my hands.

I can remember one time more than ten years ago when I went shopping for flamenco guitars at the American Institute of Guitar in New York. The salesman picked out four guitars that he thought I might like, took my credit card as collateral and locked the door to the studio so I couldn't run off with the instruments.

As I tried out one guitar after the next and making a conscious effort not to look at the brand label, I came across one with a slightly warped soundboard and a crack. Despite the cosmetic defects, it sounded amazing. All I had to do was wait for the salesman to come back, point to the guitar I wanted and with a swipe of my credit card, I'd be the new owner within minutes. But alas, I didn't buy it. It just wasn't in my budget.

Anywayz, here you are for your viewing pleasure: the unboxing of my new guitar, Yahaira!

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Some of you have been asking me who the luthier is. I'm not going to say. The thing about it is that once you know the maker of the guitar, people have all kinds of preconceptions about how it's supposed to sound. Or if it's a famous name, how it's supposed to be good. And anyway, if you are truly knowledgable about flamenco guitar makers, you'll be able to figure out the maker from the pics above.

If you want, you can think of it as a game. Take your best guess who the maker is! But more importantly, realize that guitars are tools for music making and ultimately it's what you can do with it in your hands that really matters.

My new flamenco guitar is on the way!

2008-08-25T19:11:43Z

flickr photo by Mr. Austin Frothingslosh

Yes, you read correctly. I am getting a brand new flamenco guitar—it's a very generous birthday gift from one of my biggest fans and supporters.

According to the concierge of my palatial crib (yeah, he's well aware by now that I'm expecting a very important delivery) the FedEx truck comes by for the afternoon delivery around 4:00pm (it's 3:18pm as I type these words). And of course, I've been waiting with so much anticipation judging by the number of times I've been refreshing the delivery status page on the FedEx website (see below). Since I'm unable to sit still I might as well put this nervous energy into cranking out a blog entry. :-)

To be honest, sometimes having all this information makes things worse. Don't get me wrong: I truly appreciate FedEx (as well as the US Postal Service) and their usually timely deliveries in the past. But I'm not just being unreasonably impatient. There were a couple of snags this time around...

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According to the FedEx website, the guitar has been on the delivery truck since 5:32am last Saturday. And this information hasn't changed since—see how too much information can make the anticipation worse?

Anywayz, a little backstory going back two weeks: the musical instrument dealer made a first attempt at mailing my new guitar through the US Postal Service. According to the USPS website, the guitar was "delivered" on August 11th, which means someone actually received and signed for it. That person however was not me.

Thing is I live in a large condo complex with four buildings with addresses that vary by only 1 digit. The concierge at my building suggested I go visit the other buildings. He also suggested another apartment complex a block away which has a similar address. The concierges at the other buildings in my complex were very willing to help me out. The desk attendant at the apartment complex across the street (she doesn't deserve the privilege of being labelled a concierge) wasn't very accomodating. When I explained my situation, she didn't even take a moment to look at the past week's parcel delivery records. She just looked at me without batting an eye, "No, I don't have a package for you." Ugh.

Now I could've let the USPS handle it all, but I couldn't relax with the thought of someone else signing for my guitar and doing God knows what with it: keeping it, selling it...who knows? I even went as far as checking Ebay several times to see if someone in my neighborhood was selling a flamenco guitar of the same model and year (sounds like I'm talking about cars, but don't laugh—some guitars can cost as much as car these days).

I did visit two of my nearest post offices. One said they would investigate and that it would take 30 days. The musical instrument dealer also called the post office and informed me that he expected to hear back in about 3 days. But the post office never called me back—but I wasn't too surprised. They probably have people like me asking about lost packages all the time. I even talked to the postal carrier who personally delivers to my building and he he assured me that he would remember a guitar size package. If my expected delivery was just a tiny little envelope, I could understand how it could've "slipped throught the cracks" but a guitar-size package...I don't think so.

I never found out what happened to my guitar on August 11th, but thankfully the musical instrument dealer had insurance and went ahead and sent me another guitar last Friday via Fedex with an expected delivery for today (Monday). I checked with the concierge when the morning Fedex delivery arrived. But no guitar. The afternoon Fedex delivery is at 4:00pm (it's now 3:51 as I type these words).

OK, it's 4:00pm now . Time for me to go check with the concierge again. Stay tuned for an update!

My transition from classical guitar to flamenco--the short version

2008-08-22T05:45:34Z

It's 1:45am on Friday as I type these words. I arrived home a little more than an hour ago after seeing Woody Allen's latest movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona starring Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall. Fun film with lots of gorgeous shots of Barcelona but the soundtrack, which featured quite a few classical guitar pieces, transported me back to my days as a classical guitar major at Cal State Fullerton.

Trailer for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

In case you didn't know that about me before, yes, I did study classical guitar in college with a focus on performance. Eventually I got my Bachelor of Music degree—not that you really need such a thing to work as a musician.

The classical portion of the soundtrack to Vicky Cristina Barcelona included:
Granada and Asturias from Suite Española by Isaac Albéniz,
El Noi de la Mare by Miguel Llobet,
all of which I learned way back then.

Nowadays as a flamenco guitarist, I spend a lot of time practicing just to keep up my technique. So much so that over the years I've forgotten most of my classical repertoire—not that I couldn't pick it up again with some effort. But as I enjoyed this 90-minute movie set in Spain, the piece Granada was used as a recurring theme every time one of the female characters reminisced her one unforgettably romantic night in Oviedo.

]]> Hearing that melody over and over again reminded me of the many nights I'd spend in the practice rooms on the top floor of the music department working on my classical guitar technique and repertoire. Sometimes I'd stay until 1:00am or later—but I wasn't the only one. There were at least a few other dedicated music majors honing their craft at all hours of the night. (For those of you who envy us musicians who only work at night doing what we love, just remember that these lonely hours spent practicing, while our fellow college student friends were out partying, counted as "Paying our dues.")

In any case, when I was done practicing for the night I had to make the lonely walk across campus to the vast student parking lot. From the distance I could see my trusty Honda Accord, got in, started the cold engine and drove home to Norwalk tired but usually satisfied that I made some kind of musical progress.

Cal State Fullerton campus at night. (photo by whoamitchwhoa)

During the day, between classes, I'd find an empty bench in the quad, usually close to the music department building and practice. Well yeah, I did work on my technique a bit, but spent the majority of my time "performing" for passersby.

Occasionally, some random college student would sit on the bench next to me and listen. This was kind of my way of learning to get over performance anxiety. Of course we had juries every semester (performing for a panel of music professors for a grade). And we had ensemble performances on a regular basis throughout the semester, but it was the solo performances in front of crowds where I needed work.

This is probably one of the benches where I sat and practiced as a classical guitar performance major years ago at California State University, Fullerton. (photo by pedroOaceves)

I had a couple of regular listeners some of whom became my friends and yeah I did meet a few pretty girls too. :-) One girl in particular turned out to be a flamenco guitarist. Her name was Elizabeth Montes—I didn't keep up with her after graduating from college, so I don't know what she is up to now. She's the one who gave me my first few informal lessons in flamenco and referred me to the Blanca Luz Dance Academy in Buena Park where she regularly played for flamenco dance classes.

The Blanca Luz Dance Academy in Buena Park where I got my first start in accompanying dancers. (photo by julesschroom)

I was fascinated by flamenco at first but I wasn't completely "converted" just yet. Elizabeth stopped by lots of times when I was practicing outside on the benches and occasionally she would play some flamenco for me. As much as I enjoyed Elizabeth's company, at the same time I wanted to do all those fancy rasgueados (strumming) that she was doing but I needed some serious lessons so she referred me to her teacher, Ted McKown, a protégé of Sabicas who resided in nearby Santa Ana, a short drive from my college campus.

Between Elizabeth and Ted, I learned enough basic compás patterns to play for beginner dance classes at Blanca Luz Dance Academy. Usually the teacher was Giselle, Blanca Luz's daughter who was always thrilled to have live music to provide for her students.

During my last year of college, I continued to play for dance classes on a weekly basis and became more and more confident in accompanying dancers even to the point of doing my first few paying gigs with a couple of student dancers, some of whom have continued to perform flamenco to this day such as Arleen Hurtado and Richard Chavez.

Arleen Hurtado (from her MySpace profile)

Being a classical guitarist certainly helped my technical development as a flamenco but it was the accompaniment of dancers that was the real challenge. To do it well, you had to have the technique down well enough that you could focus all your attention on the dancer(s) and catch all the nuances of rhythm and movements and moods and play the appropriate music to complement them.

And while I could read books, listen to recordings, watch videos and take lessons, the place where I really learned the most was in the dance studio especially when I sat alongside more experienced guitarists. I also learned from my peers some of whom were more advanced in certain palos--and vice versa.

There really is no other way to learn than to just get out there do it, make mistakes and learn from them. For example, it's one thing to explain to another guitarist what a dancer's llamada looks and sounds like. And it's quite another thing to become familiar with it through hands-on experience and recognize it instantly.

Anywayz, getting back to my time as a classical guitar major, here's an interesting fact: I used a Raimundo flamenco guitar for my main instrument. In all my performances as a classical guitar major I used that very instrument—little did I know that years later, I would become a flamenco guitarist.

What's more, is that for one of my recitals I played Isaac Albéniz's Sevilla inspired by the rhythm of Sevillanas. Little did I know that I'd be playing Sevillanas all the time as I do to this day.

Although I spend most of my time listening to flamenco, I still love classical guitar music to this day. It's just that after the seeing the movie I saw last night, I was reminded of all kinds of good memories of college that made me want to dig up my classical guitar CD's and reminisce.

Sometimes I wonder if I hadn't practiced outside and met Elizabeth, would I have become a flamenco guitarist? Perhaps...perhaps not. Who knows? Elizabeth, or "Liz" as she preferred I call her, wherever you are, thank you!

Flamenco Friday at Cabanas. August 8, 2008

2008-08-11T07:54:00Z

Miguelito playing Sevillanas at Cabanas. August 8, 2008 10:12pm (photo by Daniela)

It's 11am on Monday as I type these words. It's been a crazy but fun flamenco-filled weekend so I've been going to bed at 4am or later and getting up late everyday. Anywayz, here are some pics from last Friday at Cabanas. We had a lot of friends in the audience including Daniela and Cindy (and her family), the "Italians" Antonia and Roberto, Marylin and Marcela, Lydia, Nina, Mateo and Idi. Onstage we had dancers Ginette Perea and Shahram, singers Hector "Piraña" Márquez and Naíto and cajón player Jason Vera y Aragón and yours truly, Miguelito, as always on guitar. :-)

Daniela gladly volunteered to be my photographer during the show. Cindy's dad also took some pics..stay tuned.

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Singer Naíto. August 8, 2008 10:15pm (photo by Daniela)

Singer Hector "Piraña" Márquez. August 8, 2008 10:15pm (photo by Daniela)

Miguelito, Jason Vera y Aragón, Hector and Naíto. August 8, 2008 10:19pm (photo by Daniela)

Dancer Ginette Perea performing soleá. August 8, 2008 10:21pm (photo by Daniela)

Miguelito playing soleá por bulería. August 8, 2008 10:25pm (photo by Daniela)

Percussionist Jason Vera y Aragón playing cajón. August 8, 2008 10:33pm (photo by Daniela)

Hector, Naíto and Ginette providing palmas. August 8, 2008 10:37pm (photo by Daniela)

Hector singing bulerías. August 8, 2008 10:39pm (photo by Daniela)

Ginette dancing bulerías. August 8, 2008 10:41pm (photo by Daniela)

Miguelito, Ginette and Jason. August 8, 2008 10:41pm (photo by Daniela)

Friends and fellow flamencos: Antonia Gambacorta, Roberto, Cindy Ali, Daniela Maldonado and Marylin Márquez. August 8, 2008 10:51pm

Hector getting the after-show juerga started. August 8, 2008 11:04pm

Marylin Márquez, Naíto and Hector. August 8, 2008 11:55pm

Naíto and Hector. August 8, 2008 11:57pm

Daniela and Miguelito. August 8, 2008 11:59pm (photo by Cindy)

Marylin, Naíto and Hector. August 8, 2008 11:59pm

Hector and Marylin. August 9, 2008 12:05am

Marylin dancing as Naíto sings a rumba. August 9, 2008 12:09am

Naíto. August 9, 2008 12:16am

Hector. August 9, 2008 12:16am

Jason and Nina. August 9, 2008 12:17am

Marylin and Marcela. August 9, 2008 12:26am (photo by Cindy)

Marylin and Miguelito. August 9, 2008 12:26am (photo by Cindy)

Salvadoreños: Hector, Marcela, Salvador and Marylin. August 9, 2008 1:17am

As for tonight (Monday), I'll be at Cafe Citron as usual performing with singer Gerard Moreno and dancer Sara Jerez. This'll be a good night to come...a LOT of my flamenco friends will be there:

Local guitarist Juan Delgado will be there--it's his last time to party at Citron before he leaves the country.

My dancer friend Cindy Ali will be celebrating her last week of summer vacation before returning to work. Get this: the last couple of Mondays my friends have gotten up on the bar to dance...it's a famous Cafe Citron tradition. The motto is "Dancing on the bar is not only allowed, it's encouraged!" I hope to see a whole bunch of my friends dancing on the bar tonight. See you there!

Flamenco juerga at Bodega. August 1, 2008

2008-08-04T21:56:58Z

Marylin Márquez. August 1, 2008 10:37pm

It's 6-something on Monday evening as I type these words. Finally get back to blogging again. These are pics from last Friday at Bodega in Georgetown. Since my Friday night gig at Cabanas was canceled for the evening due to a private event I decided to setup a little impromptu party aka juerga so that my fellow flamenco performers and friends could still get their flamenco fix on a Friday night.

I called a few friends and those friends called more friends and the party sort of grew from there. As you can see, we had a blast. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my good camera so the pics are a bit blurry. Enjoy!

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Jason Vera y Aragón on cajón. August 1, 2008 10:55pm

Miguelito. August 1, 2008 11:13pm

Local dance student Cindy Ali. August 1, 2008 11:14pm

Miguelito. August 1, 2008 11:14pm

Hector Márquez on guitar accompanying singer Naíto. August 1, 2008 11:15pm

Cindy Ali on guitar. August 1, 2008 11:16pm

Naíto and Hector. August 1, 2008 11:19pm

Marylin. August 1, 2008 11:19pm

"Isabelita" Otero dancing bulerías. August 1, 2008 11:23pm

Isabelita. August 1, 2008 11:24pm

Kyoko, Sandra, Hector and Miguelito August 1, 2008 11:25pm

Hector and the ladies. August 2, 2008 12:45am

Hector. August 2, 2008 12:51am

Nina. August 2, 2008 12:57am

Miguelito and Cindy. August 2, 2008 1:00am

Two of my closest friends, Daniela Maldonado and Cindy, at Johnny Rockets for late night bite. August 2, 2008 2:11am

People are already asking me, "When's the next Bodega juerga?" Don't worry...I'll definitely announce it very soon. In the meantime, visit Bodega yourself and try out their delicious food and warm ambience. Checkout the review in Yelp. Bodega is located at 3116 M St NW Washington DC in the heart of Georgetown. Call (202)333-4733 for more information.

Just a reminder that this Thursday and Friday the Gipsy Kings are performing at Wolf Trap. TIP: don't bother with the theater seats, get the lawn seats. That's where the partying happens. ;-) Buy your tickets now!

Flamenco Friday at Cabanas. July 18, 2008

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Isabelita Otero and Jason Vera y Aragón dancing Sevillanas at Cabanas. July 18, 2008 10:07pm (photo by Daniela)

It's 3:55am on Sunday as I type these words. My photographer/dancer friend Daniela Maldonado took pics of my show last Friday at Cabanas Restaurant on the Georgetown Waterfont. Enjoy!

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Isabelita and Naíto. July 18, 2008 10:10pm (photo by Daniela)

Isabelita dancing alegrías. July 18, 2008 10:11pm (photo by Daniela)

Isabelita. July 18, 2008 10:11pm (photo by Daniela)

Isabelita. July 18, 2008 10:14pm (photo by Daniela)

Isabelita's shoes. July 18, 2008 10:15pm (photo by Daniela)

Miguelito and Mateo Romero. July 18, 2008 10:17pm (photo by Daniela)

Ginette Perea dancing soleá. July 18, 2008 10:21pm (photo by Daniela)

Ginette. July 18, 2008 10:22pm (photo by Daniela)

Ginette. July 18, 2008 10:23pm (photo by Daniela)

Miguelito, Mateo, Naíto, Isabelita and Ginette. July 18, 2008 10:27pm (photo by Daniela)

Isabelita. July 18, 2008 10:30pm (photo by Daniela)

Isabelita. July 18, 2008 10:33pm (photo by Daniela)

Ginette dancing bulerías. July 18, 2008 10:36pm (photo by Daniela)

End of the show! July 18, 2008 10:37pm (photo by Daniela)

All flamenco dancers: Ginette, Isabelita, Daniela and Isabel. July 18, 2008 10:56pm

My thanks to Daniela for being my volunteer photographer for the evening!

Flamenco at Cafe Citron on Bastille Day 2008

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Miguelito warming-up before his show at Cafe Citron. July 14, 2008 9:30pm (photo by Jani)

It's 11:53am on Wednesday as I type these words. These are pics from Monday night at Cafe Citron, as usual, taken by my friend Jani. Thanks Jani! Enjoy!

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Musician/photographer and longtime friend Maynol Moreno. July 14, 2008 9:49pm (photo by Jani)

María and Jason Vera y Aragón dancing Sevillanas. July 14, 2008 9:49pm (photo by Jani)

Miguelito and José Oretea playing a rumba. July 14, 2008 9:50pm (photo by Jani)

Miguelito and José. July 14, 2008 9:55pm (photo by Jani)

Miguelito and José. July 14, 2008 10:00pm (photo by Jani)

My beautiful flamenco dancer friend Daniela! July 14, 2008 10:00pm (photo by Jani)

María dancing soleá. July 14, 2008 10:02pm (photo by Jani)

María. July 14, 2008 10:03pm (photo by Jani)

Miguelito, José and María. July 14, 2008 10:03pm (photo by Jani)

José. July 14, 2008 10:07pm (photo by Jani)

Miguelito. July 14, 2008 10:07pm (photo by Jani)

Miguelito and José. July 14, 2008 10:12pm (photo by Jani)

Miguelito and José. July 14, 2008 10:13pm (photo by Jani)

José singing bulerías. July 14, 2008 10:18pm (photo by Jani)

Miguelito. July 14, 2008 10:19pm (photo by Jani)

Amigas mexicanas: Josefina and Nancy. July 14, 2008 10:35pm (photo by Jani)

More of my gorgeous friends: Antonia (from Italy), Daniela (from Bolivia) and Cindy (from Perú). July 14, 2008 10:41pm (photo by Jani)

Cindy is not shy after all: it didn't take much to convince her to take part in the longtime tradition at Cafe Citron...dancing on the bar! July 14, 2008 11:26pm

Daniela joined Cindy in this well-known Cafe Citron tradition. :-) July 14, 2008 11:36pm

For the record, I've danced on the bar at Citron a few times over the years. Here are some pics from 2004.

Cindy playing cajón. July 15, 2008 12:23am (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

Cindy and Daniela. July 15, 2008 12:26am (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

Cindy's definitely the sexiest roadie I could ask for. :-) July 15, 2008 1:30am

No more paparazzi pics, please! :-) July 15, 2008 1:31am

As for tonight (Wednesday), I'll be performing at Las Tapas, subbing for guitarist Richard Marlow who's away in Spain this week to participate in the flamenco workshop taught by Gerardo Núñez. See you there!

Flamenco at Cabanas. July 11, 2008

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Ginette Perea and Isabelita Otero dancing Sevillanas at Cabanas. July 11, 2008 9:04pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

It's 11:30am on Sunday as I type these words. Here's a random selection of pics from last Friday at Cabanas. My volunteer photographer for the evening was my good friend Daniela Maldonado. Thank you Dani. Enjoy the pics!

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Ginette and Isabelita. July 11, 2008 9:04pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

It was a fun night overall but the only sad part is that our singer Hector Márquez left on a trip to Australia the following morning. Not to worry: he'll be away for only a few weeks returning to DC just in time for my birthday this month, yay!

Singer Hector Márquez and guitarist/percussionist Mateo Romero. July 11, 2008 9:08pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Ginette dancing alegrías accompanied by Miguelito. July 11, 2008 9:09pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Ginette. July 11, 2008 9:09pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Ginette and Mateo. July 11, 2008 9:10pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Ginette. July 11, 2008 9:10pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Mateo on cajón. July 11, 2008 9:11pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Ginette. July 11, 2008 9:11pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Hector Márquez and Isabelita. July 11, 2008 9:12pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Ginette. July 11, 2008 9:12pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Ginette and Miguelito. July 11, 2008 9:13pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Ginette. July 11, 2008 9:14pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Isabelita and Miguelito. July 11, 2008 9:16pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Isabelita. July 11, 2008 9:16pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Hector. July 11, 2008 9:22pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Miguelito and Ginette. July 11, 2008 9:28pm (photo by Daniela Maldonado)

Of course, just being able to make a living performing flamenco is a wonderful thing that I'm grateful for every single day. But what made this evening especially inspiring was having lots of our flamenco friends in the audience coming to support us...

Local dance student Daniela Maldonado and her mom. July 11, 2008 9:41pm

Singer Naíto, Rebekka Keuß, guitarist Mateo and Lori. July 11, 2008 9:43pm

Rachel, dancer/percussionist Jason Vera y Aragón, dancer Sarah Hart and singer Hector. July 11, 2008 9:44pm

Dancers Kyoko, Sara and Ginette. July 11, 2008 9:57pm

Yesterday (Saturday), I met up with a student flamenco singer and jammed for a while. During a break, she played a track from a CD by ladino singer Yasmin Levy, Nací en Alamo, a ladino/flamenco interpretation of the song playing during the closing credits of the movie Vengo. It's from the CD titled, La Juderia: Ladino Meets Flamenco. I'm listening to it while I write this blog entry. You'll love it!

As for today (Sunday), it's my day off, so I'm just going chill out, work on my tan and catch up on sleep. As for tomorrow (Monday), I'll be performing at Cafe Citron as usual. Subject to last-minute changes, the dancer should be Sara Jerez and the singer José Oretea (subbing for Gerard Moreno who's out of town). See you there!

Also, don't forget that the Carmela Greco workshop starts on Monday!

Flamenco at Cafe Citron. July 7, 2008

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María and Danielle dancing Sevillanas at Cafe Citron. July 7, 2008 9:47pm (photo by Jani)

It's 11:38am on Tuesday as I type these words. Last night at Cafe Citron was especially enjoyable. Since our regular singer Gerard Moreno was out of town, we had a substitute singer, José Oretea. Jason Vera y Aragón joined us onstage to play cajón. Plus we had a few of our flamenco dancer friends in the audience. Here are some random pics taken by my friend Jani. Enjoy!

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María and Danielle. July 7, 2008 9:48pm (photo by Jani)

Miguelito. July 7, 2008 9:49pm (photo by Jani)

María. July 7, 2008 9:49pm (photo by Jani)

Jason Vera y Aragón and María. July 7, 2008 9:50pm (photo by Jani)

María and Danielle. July 7, 2008 9:50pm (photo by Jani)

María dancing alegrías. July 7, 2008 9:57pm (photo by Jani)

Miguelito. July 7, 2008 9:58pm (photo by Jani)

Miguelito and José Oretea. July 7, 2008 10:04pm (photo by Jani)

Singer José Oretea. July 7, 2008 10:04pm (photo by Jani)

Our favorite Citron bartender Jaime El Gato July 7, 2008 10:09pm (photo by Jani)

Jason and Danielle. July 7, 2008 10:13pm

As usual, we headed over to Ozio around 11:00pm to support our fellow artists, Duende Camarón then around 12:30am we continued the party at Steve's Bar for Industry Rock Night.

Hanging out at Steve's bar with the staff from Bodega: Miguelito, Sachi, Jason and Daniel. July 8, 2008 12:47am

As for tonight (Tuesday), I'll be performing at Las Tapas most likely with Kyoko and another dancer TBA. My singer friend Hector Márquez might stop by too. See you there!

Flamenco at Las Tapas. July 1, 2008

2008-07-02T16:42:50Z

Claudia Easton and Hector Márquez at Las Tapas. July 1, 2008 9:04pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

It's 12:55pm on Wednesday as I type these words. While I do have a few errands to run, it's really my day off. But first I thought I'd publish some pics from last night at Las Tapas.

The dancers were Claudia Easton and Kyoko. My singer friend Hector Márquez joined us onstage. And Jason Vera y Aragón was our photographer for the evening. Enjoy!

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Hector. July 1, 2008 9:05pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

As usual, I never know who the dancers will be until I arrive at the venue. But you know me: I love the challenge of accompanying a dancer with little or no rehearsal. And as it turned out, the dancers were Claudia and Kyoko. I perform often with Claudia, but it had been a while since I last shared the stage with Kyoko--I think the last time was back in April.

Zapatos. July 1, 2008 9:08pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

Claudia dancing alegrías. July 1, 2008 9:09pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

Claudia. July 1, 2008 9:09pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

Claudia. July 1, 2008 9:10pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

Kyoko dancing soleá. July 1, 2008 9:14pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

Kyoko. July 1, 2008 9:17pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

Kyoko informs me that she has moved back to the DC area, yay! (If you recall from my interview with Kyoko, she moved to Miami in 2003.)

Kyoko. July 1, 2008 9:18pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

Kyoko. July 1, 2008 9:20pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

Kyoko. July 1, 2008 9:21pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

Kyoko. July 1, 2008 9:24pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

I hope you enjoyed these pics as much as I did--thanks again to Jason for being our volunteer photographer for the evening. Now it's time for me to get out and enjoy the day--thinking of checking out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Just for fun, here are some blog entries from around this time back in 2005.

Oh, and don't forget to check out my new message board. Ciao for now!