At DC Dance Collective: upstairs studio converted into a mini-theatre! The audience is just arriving. June 6, 2009 6:49pm

It's 2-something am on Wednesday as I type these words. I got home around midnight feeling tired and was so looking forward to going to bed early for a change. OK, so my body was tired, but I still couldn't fall asleep. So here I am working on a blog—I needed to catch up anywayz. :-)

So this past Saturday, local dancer Flor Pérez Taboada (who has some great ideas to add something a little different to our already active DC flamenco scene) got to see one her ideas come to life: "Verano Flamenco."

Here's a quote from my interview with Flor last month:
...in Madrid, I hosted "Juglar por flamenco." The concept is an "open tablao," where pre-professional or foreign bailaoras, for example, can ask for a show date and perform with great musicians in front of an appreciative audience. Now everyone who knows the Madrid flamenco scene knows about Juglar. 'Cause in Madrid, as here, there are very few opportunities to perform on a real stage with great musicians without being at an advanced level and with lots of experience. Juglar has been going strong every Sunday since 2003, and "Genoveva" was there when I started!! In fact, the first month of Juglar she performed with me!

So it seemed very fitting and sentimental to have Flor and Genoveva dance together in "Verano Flamenco" since this is sort of like a continuation of "Juglar por flamenco" idea transported from Madrid to DC! The featured guest dancers included Pam de Ocampo and Jen.

Musicians' side of the stage before the show. And yes, that mixer is a Behringer! The cajón is by Schlagwerk. June 6, 2009 7:00pm

For those of you not familiar with tablao style of flamenco: there is very little to no rehearsal. While this does make things a little less than polished, it does force the dancers to make sure to communicate effectively with the musicians onstage (and vice-versa). Because the musicians are creating the music as the dance unfolds there is a certain energy that you get that doesn't happen with rehearsed choreographies that you might find in a typical theater performance.

Featured dancers: Pam de Ocampo, Jen, Flor Pérez Taboada and Genevieve Guinn "Genoveva." June 6, 2009 7:09pm

These days, most dancers have set choreographies but in a tablao setting they don't always know what letras the singer will use or what falsetas the guitarist will play. So they have to pay attention and be ready to adjust to whatever is happening musically in the moment. While this relatively chaotic situation sounds nerve-wracking for the uninitiated, it does afford the artists the creative options of shortening or extending sections or to try out some recently-learned material or even improvise if they are feeling especially adventurous or inspired.

Singer José Oretea, guitarist Richard Marlow and Gonzalo Grau on cajón. June 6, 2009 7:10pm

I spoke with dancer Pam de Ocampo last night (she happened to be my dancer for the evening at Las Tapas where I was performing). And she confirmed what I expected: that there was no rehearsal for "Verano Flamenco."

Flor and Genevieve getting the show started. June 6, 2009 7:10pm

I'll just shut up now and let you enjoy the pics...

José and Richard. June 6, 2009 7:13pm

Jen dancing tientos. June 6, 2009 7:15pm

Jen. June 6, 2009 7:18pm

Jen. June 6, 2009 7:18pm

Pam de Ocampo performing seguiriyas. June 6, 2009 7:23pm

Pam. June 6, 2009 7:24pm

Pam. June 6, 2009 7:24pm

Pam. June 6, 2009 7:26pm

Flor Pérez Taboada dancing alegrías. June 6, 2009 7:33pm

Flor. June 6, 2009 7:33pm

Flor. June 6, 2009 7:35pm

Audience. June 6, 2009 7:38pm

Genevieve Guinn "Genoveva" dancing soleá por bulerías. June 6, 2009 7:42pm

Genevieve. June 6, 2009 7:43pm

As is customary in a typical flamenco performance, they ended with a fiesta style bulerías where everyone gathers around in a semi-circle and improvises (even the musicians get up and dance sometimes!)...

DC Dance Collective founder Nancy Newell joins in with a little impromptu tap interpretation of flamenco. June 6, 2009 7:58pm

Local dancer Edwin Aparicio (center) even got up from the audience to dance a little bulerías. June 6, 2009 7:58pm

Up and coming dancer, Sarah Hart joined in for a patada of bulerías. June 6, 2009 8:00pm

Other dancers that were in the audience that got up onstage: María Roncal and Anna Menendez.

Flor chatting with audience members after the show. June 6, 2009 8:15pm

Judging by the response of the audience, the show was very successful. For all you dancers out there: this is also a good stepping stone for those of you who are more advanced and want to improve skills in a tablao environment. Be sure to sign up to join future "Verano" performances. Contact Flor.

More importantly, I hope that after this first "Verano Flamenco" more people will learn to appreciate the energy and excitement of a tablao show where no one really knows exactly what will come out onstage! And let's not forget that you can also catch tablao shows almost every night of the week in the DC area (see my calendar).

The next "Verano Flamenco" is scheduled for Saturday July 18, 2009, so mark your calendars and get there early to snag the front row seats! Check Flor's website and DC Dance Collective for the latest updates.

PS...in June 2005, I visited Flor's Juglar before I even knew Flor! For more pics visit my old photo diary documenting my trip to Spain (and click on the link for day 7).

Juglar in Madrid. June 12, 2005 9:48pm

]]> tag:www.dcflamenco.com,2009:/photoblog//2.494 2009-05-22T00:46:06Z 2009-05-22T02:27:10Z

Xaviera. May 9, 2009 1:46pm The adult dancers are going to be kinda upset with me. Why? Well, I took about 500 pictures all day at the Spanish Embassy and I'd say that about 75% of them are of the...

Miguelito http://www.dcflamenco.com

Xaviera. May 9, 2009 1:46pm

The adult dancers are going to be kinda upset with me. Why? Well, I took about 500 pictures all day at the Spanish Embassy and I'd say that about 75% of them are of the children. Can't help it—as you'll see in these pics, they are absolutely adorable.

Xaviera. May 9, 2009 1:47pm

These next few pics from the 1:30pm performance feature Mariana, an exceptionally precocious young girl. Not to mention that she has so much personality onstage.

Mariana. May 9, 2009 1:50pm

Mariana. May 9, 2009 1:52pm

Mariana. May 9, 2009 1:53pm

May 9, 2009 2:00pm

May 9, 2009 2:00pm

Mariana, Ana Martinez, Diego, Paco de Málaga. May 9, 2009 2:04pm

May 9, 2009 2:09pm

May 9, 2009 2:12pm

May 9, 2009 2:12pm

These next few are from the 2:30pm performance...

Mariana. May 9, 2009 2:42pm

Mariana. May 9, 2009 2:42pm

Mariana. May 9, 2009 2:43pm

Mariana. May 9, 2009 2:44pm

Xaviera and Lori. May 9, 2009 2:53pm

Natasha. May 9, 2009 2:56pm

Nathalie and Mariana. May 9, 2009 3:02pm

May 9, 2009 3:04pm

May 9, 2009 3:04pm

I hope you enjoyed viewing these few pics. I had a blast watching the show live and capturing so many beautiful and inspiring moments. Can't wait to see these flamenco kids develop artistically in the years to come!

Furia Flamenca members Sylvia, Katie, Morgan, Karina and Lillian. May 9, 2009 10:33am

On May 9th, 2009 the Embassy of Spain opened its doors to the public for the annual European Union Open House. Embassy representatives were giving out flyers and booklets promoting tourism and culture of Spain and even some highly coveted freebies like abanicos imprinted with the familiar Spanish logo. Seriously, everyone was asking me, "Where did you get that fan?"

Of course, with the delicious free tapas and hourly flamenco shows, the lines were long and the place was packed. It was hot in there and those free fans came in very handy! I skipped out on the free food though (I eat Spanish cuisine every week anyway) and staked out a prime spot for taking pics. Take a look...

Sylvia and Katie. May 9, 2009 10:33am

Flamenco guitarist Torcuato Zamora. May 9, 2009 10:39am

Daniel and Morgan. May 9, 2009 10:41am

Daniel and Karina. May 9, 2009 10:44am

Lauren, Karina, Lillian, Morgan and Katie. May 9, 2009 10:48am

Katie. May 9, 2009 10:49am

Furia Flamenca performed throughout the morning. I anticipated long lines so I skipped breakfast and rushed from home in order to arrive early for the first show. I was like the fourth person in line, yay! However, in my hungry state, I could only stay for the first of several performances by Furia Flamenca. Seriously needed to get some lunch and came back in time for the performances in the afternoon by the Ana Martinez company. See next blog entry...

Milagros Uribe, student of Anna Menéndez, dancing Garrotín at the Flamenco Recital at American Dance Institute. May 2, 2009

It's almost 1:00pm on Monday as I type these words. I'm at a bookstore right now and my allotted free WiFi time is about to run out so this'll be a quickie blog.

This past Saturday May 2, 2009 I attended a Flamenco Recital featuring the students of Anna Menéndez as well as her apprentice company Pastora. It took place at the American Dance Institute in Rockville, Maryland.

As the DC flamenco community's self-appointed historian and promoter, I probably attend more local flamenco events than anyone. But I was especially looking forward to attending the Flamenco Recital with the intent of seeing some fresh new talent.

Some teachers more than others produce students who become accomplished performers and Anna is one of those teachers! I'm not just saying that because she's a personal friend (actually come to think of it, I'm friends with practically all the local teachers in DC anyway), but because I've performed in tablaos frequently over the years with quite a few of her students! The only soloist in the recital I haven't performed with yet (but I hope I will eventually) is Milagros Uribe, a very promising young student of Anna Menéndez...

Milagros. May 2, 2009

Milagros. May 2, 2009

Flamenco guitarist Behzad Habibzai. May 2, 2009

Milagros in soleá por bulerías. May 2, 2009

Daniela Maldonado in soleá por bulerías. May 2, 2009

Marisol and Mark in seguiriyas. May 2, 2009

Milagros and Daniela in tientos. May 2, 2009

Milagros and Daniela. May 2, 2009

Jen in tientos/tangos. May 2, 2009

Dancer Anna Menéndez, singer/dancer Bárbara Martínez and Behzad. May 2, 2009

Elena in soleá por bulerías. May 2, 2009

Denise and Kassandra in soleá por bulerías. May 2, 2009

Cecilia Terrasa in soleá. May 2, 2009

Cecilia. May 2, 2009

Bárbara and Behzad. May 2, 2009

Pam de Ocampo in alegrías. May 2, 2009

Pam. May 2, 2009

Anna Menéndez with Jen and Pam in soleá. May 2, 2009

Anna with Jen and Pam. May 2, 2009

Anna and Pam. May 2, 2009

Pam. May 2, 2009

Anna. May 2, 2009

Anna. May 2, 2009

Final bow: Jen, Pam, Cecilia, Abbey, Anna, Bárbara, Behzad and Milagros.May 2, 2009

Gotta sign off before I lose my connection. Feel free to leave some commentary below.

As for tonight (Monday), I'll be performing at Cafe Citrón with singer José Oretea and dancer Emily Mazzotti. First show at 7:30pm. See you there!

Furia Flamenca members Sylvia and Morgan at the Cherry Blossom Festival Tidal Basin Stage. April 11, 2009 3:51pm

It's 11-something pm on Thursday as I type these words. Yeah I know it's a beautiful night to be out and I was actually considering going to Aroma in Olney, Maryland to checkout the new Thursday night rumba show by guitarists José Oretea and Ramin Rad. But after my school show today (Thursday), I went straight home and jumped into bed. Was tired but don't know why.

By the way, the school show went really well. Not to say that my guitar playing was at its best, cuz it wasn't—haven't been able to practice that much lately, remember (see previous post)? But I just kept in mind that my job was not necessarily to impress the students with amazing guitar skills, but rather to touch them emotionally with my music and educate them about how to appreciate the art of flamenco.

Morgan. April 11, 2009 3:52pm

Allow me to digress for a moment. Just realized that for quite some time now, I've been publishing blogs featuring pics of this and that flamenco event and for the accompanying text, I've been writing about something completely different, usually something personal. Oh well...nearly 500 blog entries later (you're reading #490), the statistics speak for themselves: the blog is consistently the most popular section of my website! So I do have an audience, yay! :-)

Katie. April 11, 2009 3:56pm

Come to think of it, as technically dazzling as flamenco can be (whether it's dancing, guitar playing, singing or palmas), for me, I find it more satisfying to focus on expressing myself through my music knowing that along the way, my audience will be emotionally touched (on some level, hopefully deep).

Bala. April 11, 2009 3:58pm

Kinda reminds me of when I was a music major in college. Between classes, I used to work on my fear of stage fright by practicing outdoors where lots of students passed by. Whenever a student did sit down next to me, I did feel the nervousness but learned how to keep going no matter what. Then of course when a pretty girl sat next to me, I made the mistake of wanting to impress her and instead of expressing myself (as I should have been doing), I focused on dazzling her with technical skill by playing more difficult pieces while in my nervous state. While I was able to pull it off most of the time on a technical level, I didn't feel emotionally satisfied—in plain English: it wasn't as fun. On the other hand, it was still an easy way to meet girls. :-)

Karina. April 11, 2009 4:04pm

OK, so in today's school show, I went in realizing that my guitar technique was kind of lacking, but when it came to accompanying the dancers I kept in mind that one does not have to be a virtuoso to be a flamenco guitarist.

You still have to be good enough on guitar to not have to think about technique and consequently be able to devote most of your attention on tastefully accompanying the dancer or singer. So I did just that. And as a group, I'm proud to say that the dancers and I really made an impact on our audience. In fact, after our lecture/demo the teachers and parents were raving about how it was rare that these students were quiet, attentive and engaged, especially considering the presentation lasted an hour and 15 minutes!

Lillian. April 11, 2009 4:06pm

And yeah, I have to give credit to especially to my colleagues Ziva Cohen and Jaime Coronado. Back in the early 90's, I did school shows with them all the time and some of their presentation skills have rubbed off on me. I'm sure if they were in my audience at today's school show, they'd come up to me afterwards and say, "Hey Miguelito. Those are my lines you're using!" Guilty as charged! :-)

Syliva, Amy, Estela and Daniel. April 11, 2009 4:17pm

Furia Flamenca director Estela Velez and flamenco guitaristTorcuato Zamora. April 11, 2009

So that I'm not completely remiss, let me say a little something about the pics. I have to give credit to Estela Velez and her company Furia Flamenca. You can't tell from the pics, but it was quite cold and windy where this performance took place and they still performed quite admirably! I could barely stand the cold as I took these pics and the same goes for my friend and fellow flamenco guitarist Ayhan Ozdag, who came all the way from Ashburn, Virginia to see the performance.

Anywayz, I got a lot of fun stuff planned for this weekend:
1. Friday night flamenco at Cabanas with dancer Ginette Perea and friends
2. Saturday rehearsal and performance with Arte Flamenco at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore
3. Sunday hanging out with friends on the Georgetown waterfront (temps will be in the upper 80's!!!!)

So I should go to bed, rest up and save my energy. Good night!

Flamenco guitarist Guillermo "Tito" Aguilar at the Coprodeli fundraiser. April 9, 2009 7:27pm

It's 10-something pm on Wednesday as I type these words. If you've been keeping up with my twitter updates, you'd have known that I've been spending a lot of daytime hours at bookstores with Wifi access cuz for the past few weeks from 9-5 there's been some repair work going on in my apartment involving lots of noisy tools, dust, water and toxic fumes.

Not exactly an environment conducive to working on the computer, not to mention that I don't have a comfortable place to practice guitar. Grrr....but thank God, I mean Mother Nature, that the weather is gradually warming up now, so in a worst case, I can always resort to practicing outdoors (checkout these pics from March 2004).

OK...so my being "exiled" from my apartment the past few weeks has taken a huge toll on my practice routine. So what to do? Just show up earlier at gigs and squeeze in as much warm-up time as I can. It hasn't been that bad to be honest, but once this repair work is done in my apartment, I'm going to have to double-up on practice time for sure!

Anyhow, let's talk about these pics you see here...

Flamenco dancer Emily Mazzotti performing alegrías. April 9, 2009 7:32pm

First of all, I'm sure you're wondering, "What is Coprodeli?" Sounds Italian doesn't it? Actually it's an acronym for COmmunity PROmotion DEvelopment LIberation.

According to the Coprodeli website,
"Coprodeli USA supports the work of Coprodeli in Peru which aids Peruvian families by providing for fundamental needs, promoting education and job training, and developing strong self-sustaining community programs. Volunteers from the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and from among the disadvantaged people of Peru provide hope and vital services to those in need."

Emily Mazzotti. April 9, 2009 7:33pm

Local flamenco dancer Emily Mazzotti happens to be from Lima, Perú originally, so naturally she, along with guitarist Guillermo "Tito" Aguilar and a guest male dancer, donated their services to raise money for this worthy cause.

The performance took place in the historic mansion of the Josephine Butler Parks Center which overlooks Meridian Hill Park, not too far from Adams-Morgan.

Since I happened to be free that night, I took the liberty of tagging along and take pics of the performance. In a way, you can say I donated my services too, since a LOT of people with an interest in flamenco keep up with my blog. Who knows? Some of those same people may end up making a donation to Coprodeli too!

Aside from the flamenco, the theme of the evening was Perú so there was a Pisco bar (which proved to be very popular!) and some tasty samples of Peruvian delicacies such as ceviche and rocoto.

Anywayz, you've probably seen Emily dance in local tablaos many times, but it's not too often you see Tito playing for flamenco dancers lately. Usually you'll find him performing with his band Gypsy Karavan on Fridays and Saturdays at Las Tapas playing mostly songs by the Gipsy Kings and other selections from the rumba repertoire.

Guillermo "Tito" Aguilar. April 9, 2009 7:34pm

Emily Mazzotti. April 9, 2009 7:34pm

Emily Mazzotti. April 9, 2009 7:35pm

Emily Mazzotti. April 9, 2009 7:39pm

I interviewed Emily a couple of months ago and I'm still, albeit slowly, transcribing the audio recording of that interview. Which means I still have to edit it etc. But I promise an interview will be published on my website very soon! As you can imagine, my to-do list is pretty full right now (not even counting stuff I have to do as a professional performer). But I have a review of a DVD about rumba and a review of Rubem Dantas' latest CD, not to mention the backlog of blog entries about local flamenco events, whew!

Emily Mazzotti and Guillermo "Tito" Aguilar. April 9, 2009 7:53pm

Exterior view of the Josephine Butler Parks Center. April 9, 2009 9:16pm

As for this evening (Wednesday), I was so tempted to go to Café Citrón to say hello to my favorite female bartender Sachi, who works at Citrón's third floor VIP lounge (you do know about it, don't you?), but knowing me, if I went, I'd end up staying until 2:00am and probably oversleep the next day. Not wise considering I have a school show on Thursday early afternoon (with two beautiful and talented flamenco dancers) that I have to be well-rested for to pull it off!

OK it's getting late. I hope you enjoyed these pics. Ciao for now!

PS...come to Cabanas this Friday for my usual flamenco show with dancer Ginette Perea at 8:00pm. It's going to be a warm and beautiful night. So why not enjoy it at the most beautiful spot in Georgetown with a view of the Potomac? See you there!

April 29, 2004 3:32pm

It's 11:30am on Thursday as I type these words. I'm here at my neighborhood Starbucks doing my usual computer-related daily activities: DC Flamenco updates, email, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc. And it's about time I published another blog entry, but since I haven't been taking pics lately, I decided to dig one up from the archives.

If you've been following my tweets lately, you know I've been spending my days at Barnes & Noble and Starbucks—y'know, the places where freelancer people like me hang out and do their work. I've been meaning to do this for the longest time, but I wasn't able to before cuz I couldn't afford a laptop, on my struggling musician income, until now with the recent popularity of relatively low-priced netbooks.

But now you're probably asking yourself, "Wait a minute. Is Miguelito a musician or is he one of those generic laptop-toting, cappucino sipping, office-casual-jeans-wearing freelancers that typically inhabit Starbucks during the day?" :-)

Normally, I'd do this all from the comfort of my apartment, but for the next month or so there's some repair work being done (replacing the water pipes of my building) that involves drilling, hammering, lots of dust and occasional splashes of water which doesn't mix well with computers.

So here I am, yet again, spending the day working on my netbook. On top of that, I normally practice guitar at home, and if it was warm outside I'd just find a nice sunny spot in Georgetown (see photo above) and practice for hours to my heart's content. But, Mother Nature can't seem make up her mind whether to make it warm or cold out, grrr!

Well, ok, so my practice regimen is taking a serious hit right now. I'm hoping and praying that the weather will warm-up really soon. For now I'll have to squeeze in practicing guitar at night and resorting to warming-up my hands right before shows on the nights that I work. In the meantime, since I'm spending a lot of time in bookstores I might as well learn some new stuff.

New stuff? Like what? Well, for years (13 to be precise) I've been maintaining the DC Flamenco website. I know enough HTML, CSS, PERL and Javascript to make a website from scratch (all I need is a text editor like Notepad) but not quite enough to call myself a cutting edge professional web developer. I wish.

Nowadays you can learn so much professional level web developer stuff from books at Barnes & Noble. So that's what I'm doing: playing catch-up, learning the stuff I need to know like PHP, MySQL, AJAX, Flash etc to bring my webdev skills up-to-date. Not that I want to make a career out of it, but I have been taking on a few web design clients here and there over the years to supplement my artist income. However, I still need to learn the latest developments in webdev to keep up with the competition. In the meantime, the money I make designing websites is not bad albeit it is kind of irregular, but hey, that's the freelance lifestyle.

Which brings me to my work as a flamenco guitarist. Am I doing what I love? Yes of course. Is the money following (see title of this blog)? Yes. "Do what you love and the money will follow" has been one of my mantras since I became a music major in college. I mean c'mon, what real musician goes into music for the sole purpose of making money? Ok so you do what you love and the love of doing it will carry you through the hard times as you hone your craft which hopefully will lead you to become good at what you love which means you'll get lots of work, right?

Perhaps that true to a certain extent. But then again, there are lots of extremely talented skilled artists out there who are either starving or have resorted to getting regular dayjobs to get by. I'm so close to going that route myself, but the occasional web design client, thank God, is keeping me in the freelance world.

Remember my office experience last year? Well I did it again this year and I stuck it out for the full length of the office gig this time. The idea of having a regular schedule with a regular income was actually very comforting. OK so the office job didn't have any real meaning to me personally other than to make money and hang out in an office environment with the friend who got me the job. ;-) But in the end, I got a decent size paycheck which helped me to afford this HP Mini 10000 netbook that I'm using right now. (Thank you Jojo!)

So what's the plan Miguelito? They say the economy sucks but I can't use that as a real excuse. While I do make significantly less money than most of the people I know, I can confidently say I have more fun at my job than most people. And I love my job cuz I'm doing what I love. It just doesn't pay that much money. It pays in other ways: fun!

And yeah, as for my other "job," I do love working with computers and the Internet and it is relevant to my career as a musician. All this time spent on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and writing these deeply fascinating thought-provoking occasionally non-flamenco related blogs do lead to actual-paying flamenco gigs for me, really! Not to mention the fact that I promote the DC flamenco community in general (pats himself on the back). But I digress.

The plan is to continue doing my flamenco thing but diversify my income stream with some web design gigs. Who knows what the future will bring? In the meantime I'm having a blast and hopefully I'm inspiring people like you to rediscover your passion and make the time to do what speaks to your heart and maybe make some money doing it, too. ;-)

April 29, 2004 4:41pm

Anywayz, my free WiFi access here at Starbucks tops out at 2 hours and I've got five minutes left. Ciao for now!

On Saturday February 28, 2009 at the Alden Theatre in McLean, Virginia, Estela Velez’s company, Furia Flamenca, presented a show called “Lorca: Flamenco Poetry,” based on poems and songs of Federico García Lorca.

Figure 1. Romance de la Luna.

In May of 1997 I spent a week at Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in Southern France for the annual Pilgrimage of the Gypsies (Rom). Each day I would mix and mingle in the streets in cotton pants and shirt, listening and dancing to the music and absorbing the atmosphere. Around midnight I would return to La Roulotte, my tiny pensione across from the church where an effigy of their patrone Saint Sara is kept wrapped in multiple robes prior to the annual procession to the sea. This all captured in “Latcho Drom” (1993) directed by Tony Gatlif, and some of my 1997 photos are posted on the website of La Patrin

The featured guitarist I photographed under “Music and Dance” is J. “Chico” Bouchikhi, founding member and original spokesperson of the Gipsy Kings, who married into the Reyes family and co-wrote their big hit “Bamboleo” and some other songs. When I went to sleep each night there would still be a group of Slovenian Rom playing violins in the courtyard outside my ground floor window. In the room above, a Rom mother, grandmother and two daughters from a camp in Nice had been accommodated at the request of the priest.

Figure 3. The Goring and the Death.

The day I left town I asked the girl in the record store what CD souvenirs I should buy. She suggested three—one by a local Rom in the Nuevo Flamenco style; “Descubre El Flamenco,” which my friend from Barcelona, Nuria Quella, described as “a bunch of the old guys;” and “Los Gitanos Cantan a Federico García Lorca.” I never get tired of listening to this last CD.

The words are by Lorca (1898-1936), Spanish poet, dramatist, theatre director and martyr of the Spanish Civil War. There are ten tracks and five singers, with five songs by José Monje Cruz (1950-1992), known as “Camarón” (Shrimp) and one track, “Verde,” by José Ortega Heredia, known as “Manzanita” (Little Apple). I thought the use of this last song for an extended finale in the performance of “Lorca: Flamenco Poetry” was an inspired choice.

Figure 4. Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejias.

The Furia Flamenca show was designed by Estela and danced by her company. Before curtain time, Torcuato Zamora came into the lobby to greet a distinguished looking group of Spanish speaking guests, looking every inch the silver fox in his ruffled white shirt. I told him if he played as well as he looked we were in good hands, to which he replied modestly, “I think you will enjoy the show.”

Figure 5. (l-r) Antonio Castro-Ossorio, Torcuato Zamora, Andrea Vercoe, Guillermo-Juan Christie, and Jorge Porta.

Most of the musical arrangements were by Guillermo Christie, a fine guitarist who told me after the show that he rarely plays out—it was Lorca who brought him out on this occasion (Fig. 5). His father told me that Guillermo runs The Guitar Gallery on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, DC. Torcuato played guitar and wrote the music for “Anda Jaleo,” which was sung by Margarita Ossorio. Margarita was born in Madrid; her son, Antonio Castro-Ossorio, played cajón. Andrea Vercoe played a sensitive violin and sometimes added palmas, and Jorge Porta was the lead male voice. For one song, Guillermo tried his hand with hammer and anvil. Margarita and Jorge recited the poems in Spanish over the music.

Fig. 6. Casidas de Palomas Oscuras.

The spacious Alden stage features a luminous plain backdrop that can change color and this was used to great effect. The musicians were bunched to the right rear and, with a bright blue backdrop, Estela floated out in a voluminous white costume for the opening Soleares, “Romance de la Luna” (Fig. 1). The second piece, Tangos de Málaga, was “Prendimiento (Arrest) de Antoñito el Camborio” danced by Estela’s brilliant student Daniel Paredez, with the principal dancers dressed like soldiers (Fig. 2). Then came “Muerte (Death) de Antoñito el Camborio,” a Martinete with Daniel and the whole company. These three pieces were from Lorca’s “Romancero Gitano,” or Gypsy Ballads.

Fig. 7. Sevillanas del Siglo XVIII.

There was a brief pause, during which Daniel was revived to play the matador in a Tientos duet with Estela, “La Cogida y la Muerte” (The Goring and the Death, Figs. 3 and 4), followed by “La Sangre Derramada” (Spilled Blood) a Soleá por Bulerías with the principal dancers, and then a Caña with the whole company. These three pieces were based on “Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejias,” described as Lorca’s greatest elegy, for his friend, the famous bullfighter, who died in the bull ring at five in the afternoon. Every second line of the poem rings out hypnotically:

“A las cinco de la tarde.”

Lorca argued that great art depends on a vivid awareness of death, connection with a nation’s soil and an acknowledgement of the limitations of reason. Now we had the serious business out of the way, Estela arranged a lively second half, still based on Lorca’s poems. There were six pieces, each with colorful costume changes and coordinated shoes (Figs. 6 and 7). The finale, Tangos with the whole company, was “Romance Sonámbulo,” a poem called “Verde” set to haunting music by Manzanita who sings it on my CD with an unforgettable broken style. The poet speaks of green wind, green branches, the boat on the sea, the horse on the mountain, and the girl who is waiting at home—a poem of longing, of distance, of bitterness and danger. And always the insistent chorus:

“Yo te quiero verde, ay, ay
Yo te quiero verde.”

“Green, green, I love you, yes, yes
Green I love you.”

Jorge Porta did a fine cover version of this song, with Margarita Ossorio doing back up vocals, accompanied by the two guitars, violin and palmas. This was a most ambitious program, delivered with great aplomb by all concerned (Fig. 8).

Figure 8. Dancers and musicians take a bow.

PHOTO CREDITS Photos 1, 2 and 4 by Kaveh Sardari (sardari.com); photos 3, 6 and 7 by Shana H. Creech; photos 5 and 8 by Ken McNaughton ().

COPYRIGHT This work is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any medium without written permission from the author, Ken McNaughton, 3778 College Avenue, Ellicott City, MD 21043; phone/fax: 410-418-9340; (March 3, 2009).

Singer El Rubio de Pruna, Isabelita Otero, Ginette Perea and guitarist Antonio Rey just outside the stage door at Lisner. February 26, 2009 10:18pm

It's 9-something am on Friday as I type these words. I'm at a loss for words to describe the inspiring performances last night at Lisner by Los Farruco. Those of you went to the same show I did, know what I'm talking about. ;-)

As usual I went backstage to meet the artists (Why? I explain in a previous blog). Anywayz, I got a busy day ahead of me, so the commentary will be minimal. Enjoy!

El Rubio de Pruna, Milagros, Laura, Ximena and Antonio Rey. February 26, 2009 10:21pm

Usually, I'm one of the few people that always goes backstage (my self-appointed duty to represent the DC flamenco community and personally thank the artists). But this time, there were quite a few local flamencos already congregated in front of the green room. So I took pics outside for awhile until the other artists such as Farruco and Farruca came out...

Isabelita, Farruco and Ginette. February 26, 2009 10:35pm

Milagros, Laura, Farruco and Ximena. February 26, 2009 10:36pm

Farruca and Isabel Otero. February 26, 2009 10:37pm

Isabelita, singer Pedro el Granaino, Ginette and singer Mara Rey. February 26, 2009 10:39pm

El Rubio de Pruna, Ginette, guitarist El Tuto and Isabelita. February 26, 2009 10:42pm

El Tuto y Miguelito. February 26, 2009 10:42pm

After meeting the artists, we headed over to Bodega, the usual after-concert hangout for local flamencos. I was starving and unfortunately the kitchen was closed (it was already 11-something pm), so I suggested to my companions that we go to a late night eatery down the street. Later we stopped by Bodega again and discovered, not surprisingly, that a juerga was in progress. By that time, a lot of local flamencos had arrived. I was so tempted to stay but I didn't (seriously needed to catch up on sleep). In any case, I'm sure I'll see a bunch of photos from the juerga soon. Here's one pic that was taken at Bodega:

Milagros, Miguelito and Ximena at Bodega. February 27, 2009 12:32am

Saving the best for last, Los Farruco was the last concert in Lisner Auditorium's 9th Annual Flamenco Festival. Read Sarah Kaufman's review of Los Farruco in today's Washington Post. Can't wait to see what Lisner has in store for the 10th Annual Flamenco Fest!

Coming up this Saturday: Furia Flamenca at the Alden Theatre. I heard that it's nearly sold-out, so if you intend to go, buy your tickets now.

Behzad Habibzai, Cecilia Terrasa, Lenore and John Boulet. February 12, 2009 10:26pm

While the rest of you were watching TV as Slumdog Millionaire dominated the Oscars Sunday night, I was sitting in front of my computer writing this blog.

On Thursday February 12th, Dorantes and Arcángel performed at Lisner Auditorium as part of the 9th Annual Flamenco Festival. If you already know me by now...this is something I always do: go backstage after the show. Why?

1. It's an opportunity to personally thank them for being an inspiration to people like you and I.

In fact, if I can't think of anything else to say, I tell them just that: "Thank you for being an inspiration." (in Spanish of course!) Trust me on this, being a performer myself (of course, nowhere near the level of the Lisner flamenco festival artists!), I always love hearing a member of the audience telling me how my performance (or performances over the years) have affected them in a positive way. And I'm pretty sure the flamenco festival artists feel the same way.

A really good example of this can be found in my blog from a year ago, when my friend Cindy and I went backstage to meet Eva la Yerbabuena.

Dorantes, Miguel Ángel Cortés, Paco de Málaga, Rosario Toledo, Arcángel and Jesús Serrano. Paco and Jesús are the local artists. February 12, 2009 10:31pm

2. To represent. Tell the artists about the local flamenco community.

Shameless self-promotion: thanks to my website, many many people all over the world are aware that there is a flamenco scene in DC. But when I go backstage, I always assume that the artists don't know that we have a constantly growing community of flamenco aficionados, students and performers. Of course, I'm very proud of our local community, but I'm not showing off. My intention is to make the artists aware that here in DC there are people that know and truly appreciate flamenco. One of the benefits is that if the artists know that are serious flamenco students here, next time around, they might consider giving one-day workshops in addition to the performance! What do you think of that?

Pianists comparing hands: Dorantes and Lenore Boulet. February 12, 2009 10:35pm

3. To capture the moment and document history.

You know me: I almost always have my camera with me and take pics of everything and everyone. Years from now, you might ask yourself, "When did Dorantes make his debut in DC?" And all you'd have to do is go to my website and find the answer in my flamenco events archive and even view some backstage photos in my blog. How cool is that?

Did you know that Vicente Amigo made his USA debut in Washington DC? And if it wasn't for me and my blog and relentless pursuit of photographing everything flamenco in DC, how would you figure that out? I can go on and on, but you get the point.

4. To tag along for the after-concert party.

I realize, this is bordering on groupiness, but c'mon, admit it. Wouldn't it be cool to party with the flamenco artists? Or at the very least sit down with them for a few drinks and conversation?

I can remember one time hanging out with Farruquito and his guitarist Raúl Perla after a Lisner concert in 2000 when they were touring with Torombo.

Backstage, I introduced myself to Raúl and interestingly he asked me (sort of like a test) who my favorite guitarists were. So I said, "Vicente Amigo, Tomatito, Gerardo Núñez and Moraíto."

So he seemed convinced that I knew good flamenco and he invited me and these two girls I was with (actually he was probably interested in hanging out with the girls more than with me, haha). So we got on the tour bus and there I was with the Farruco family and Raúl handed me his guitar and told me to play something. Despite my nervousness, they were so supportive with their jaleo as I played a brief bulerías.

Long story short...Farruquito, Perla, the two girls and I ended up spending a few hours in one of the girls apartments just hanging out and enjoying some flamenco, conversation and drinks. Um, yeah, I know...I'm just name-dropping. I'm allowed to do that every now and then. :-)

Anywayz, this Wednesday and Thursday February 25-26, 2009, Lisner Auditorium will be featuring what I believe is the most anticipated concert in this year's Flamenco Festival: Los Farruco. I'll be going to the Thursday night show and you can count on me to go backstage to meet the artists. See you there!