Viva Flamenco at First Sunday Arts Festival in Annapolis
October 14, 2010 by Miguelito
Cerritos, Pamela and Romina. October 3, 2010 (photo by Juan or Katherine Lander)
It's 6:30pm on Thursday as I type these words. Between intense practicing and catching up on sleep, I've been intentionally staying in a lot the past week. Although I'm thinking of going out tonight to either Las Tapas for some flamenco or Guarapo for rumba. Just one or the other and my budget is just ONE drink! ;-) We'll see.
Admittedly it's been a long while since I last posted pics of Viva Flamenco. But that doesn't mean they haven't been busy performing and giving classes. They have! Viva Flamenco was originally established by Ena Camargo in the late 70's and when Ena passed away in 2002, Gigi Ortega kept the Viva Flamenco school and company going to this day!
Gigi Ortega (far left) is the teacher and director of Viva Flamenco. October 3, 2010 (photo by Juan or Katherine Lander)
One of their annual traditions is to perform at the First Sunday Arts Festival in Annapolis. These pics are from this year's festival which was on Sunday October 3, 2010. (I was hoping to attend, but as it turned out I had a show scheduled at the same time and all the way in Baltimore!) Live accompaniment by flamenco guitarists Lee Aube and Tom Cotton.
I played guitar with Lee and Tom and a number of other guitarists, such as Jerry Lobdill and Mijntje Aarts over the years when I was active with Viva Flamenco from about 1995 to about 2005. Some other names you may recognize:
- Guitarist Richard Marlow got his first start playing for dancers with Viva Flamenco back in 1998
- Guitarist Behzad Habibzai made his tablao debut at the Andalucía Restaurant with Viva Flamenco dancer Gigi Ortega back in 2003.
Pamela. October 3, 2010 (photo by Juan or Katherine Lander)
Back then I was also doing a lot of shows with Viva Flamenco dancer Micaela Moreno and performing every week at the Andalucía Restaurant in Rockville just around the corner from the Viva Flamenco studio. My usual routine on Thursdays nights was to play for dance classes at the studio and afterwards we'd get in the car, drive around the corner and put on a show with Ena and several of her students at the Andalucía and they'd give us a free Spanish dinner. Good times!
Gigi, Cerritos, Romina and Pam. October 3, 2010 (photo by Juan or Katherine Lander)
My thanks to Juan Lander for permission to republish these pics of Viva Flamenco. Stay tuned. I'll be sure to announce upcoming performances!