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Goodbye Mijntje! In March 2001, I first met Mijntje at the Andalucía Restaurant (301-770-1880) in Rockville. I was doing my usual Thursday night show and I heard some palmas by some customers in the corner--which is not unusual, except these palmas were in compás! Naturally, I decided to meet these people when I was done with my set. Mijntje introduced herself and mentioned that she also played flamenco. So I handed her my guitar and asked her play something.
(Interestingly a friend of hers in the Netherlands knew about the DC Flamenco website and emailed Mijnjte about it. As a result Mijntje knew where to find flamenco in Rockville.) As she positioned herself, I deftly put on the microphone before she could stop me. She started playing a basic compás of alegrías. Ena Camargo was there and she decided to get up and dance albeit for only a few compases more, the audience applauded and the rest is history. :) Since then, Mijntje has regularly played for the classes at the Viva Flamenco studio in Rockville. She performed with Viva Flamenco on several occasions including last year's DC Feria. In the above photo from the left is Ena Camargo, Lee Aube, Mijntje, Jim Evans. Those are my hands on the far right. (photo courtesy of Stan Peters). Mijntje first began her flamenco studies in the city of Leiden (about 25 miles south of Amsterdam) with guitarist Joope Foppe, a graduate of the Rotterdam Conservatory where Paco Peña heads the flamenco guitar program. Mijntje moved to the USA to work on her post-doctorate at the National Cancer Institute. When she returns to the Netherlands, she plans to call a few schools to see if they need a flamenco guitarist. She made an impressive amount of progess in one year. She was like a sponge! Usually she would record me playing guitar as I accompanied the dancers. The following week, she would have the music under her hands. I asked her for advice she could offer to other flamenco guitar students:
*About the term "real flamenco guitarist" Despite what many people believe, flamenco guitar playing is not about virtuosity. While it does require a certain amount of skill, you don't have to play like Paco de Lucía to be considered a flamenco guitarist. Speaking in oversimplified terms, you just have to spend the time mastering the basic techniques, compás and musical structure. And then you have to put in the time playing with dancers and singers. Unless you're born and raised around flamenco, there's no other way around it: you must put in the time playing with dancers and singers. Flamenco guitar playing is about being able to musically support and inspire flamenco dancers and singers. It's hard and sometimes discouraging as a student. Many times when things go wrong in performances or rehearsal, the guitarist will almost always get blamed. Dancers and singers make mistakes too. Trust me, they do. They just don't always realize that we guitarists musically cover up their mistakes. It frustrates me when the general public mistakes rumba players as flamenco guitarists. Rumba is a flamenco rhythm, true. But chances are, the rumba players probably have never set foot in a flamenco dance studio. Real flamenco guitarists spend years playing for flamenco dance classes--sometimes this can be mind-numbing especially when one plays the same rhythm over and over for an hour-long class. But the result is that the flamenco guitarist learns how dancers musically think and feel and can therefore better musically support and inspire them. Rumba players who have never spent time in a dance studio just don't deserve to be referred to as flamenco guitarists. This is the reason (and for lack of a better term), I sometimes add the word "real" before the words "flamenco guitarist." Guitarist Valdemar Phoenix, based in Houston, has published two articles on his website that touch upon and reinforce some of the points I made in this article. If you'd like to add some comments about this topic, post them on the message board A little bit of Jerez comes to DC  (Pictured from left: Marija Temo, Sara Candela, workshop organizer Cecilia Walcek, Gloria de Jerez, Roya Bahrami, Marta Chico Martín and Jason Vera y Aragón)
Starting last Thursday until this past Sunday, Virginia Beach-based dancer, choreographer and teacher Gloria de Jerez gave three daily workshops at the studios of the Reston Conservatory Ballet:
"Gloria made me use muscles I didn't know I had." says Marta Chico Martín, who took the Bulerías class, "She went back to the basics, correcting our bad habits. The choreography was beautiful...elegant lines mixed with aire de Jerez. Gloria is an incredible dancer, teacher and person." In the flamenco compás workshop, Gloria covered topics that are rarely touched upon in such detail (if at all) in your typical flamenco dance class:
"She emphasized how important jaleo and palmas are when working with dancers, cantaores and guitarists..." explains Jason Vera y Aragón, "How important it is to sound as one. It helps the performers get more inspired to want to really open up and really show who they are."
Soheila Nassiri took the Rumba/Tangos workshop: Although the workshops were advertised as being accompanied by Solo Compás CD's, that didn't stop local flamenco guitarists Ramin el Persa and Marija Temo from coming to provide live music for the benefit of the students. Jason adds, "Definitely, do not miss the next workshop. It was well worth it!" For more information about Gloria de Jerez, visit her website at www.angelfire.com/va2/gloriadejerez
Remembering Ena Camargo 1931-2002
Ena was a very sweet lady. Tom Cotton introduced me to her. I was looking for an opportunity to accompany dancers during a period in which my day job had disappeared. Though I had many years of experience as a flamenco guitarist, my experience playing for dancers and singers was pretty limited at the time. Ena invited me to come play for her dance class, and when the class was over she told me that I was welcome to play for her as frequently as I liked, and she hoped I would come back. I played for her group frequently in 1995-1996. Ena and I became good friends. All her students loved her. She was a wonderful person, and the world is a better place because she was with us.
The above photo was taken at the Andalucía Restaurant in Rockville, MD where yours truly had the pleasure of accompanying Ena every Thursday. That's Guadalupe standing to the left. I met Ena three years ago when I was searching for a studio to accompany dancers. As you know, Mike, I'd played a little solo flamenco for years, but arrived at the time in my life when I wanted to support dancers. Ena, and her Viva Flamenco family, welcomed me. In hindsight, that is no small feat. As you saw, more than others, she (and they) sufferred through the stumbles, and mistakes a learning accompaniment guitarist makes for the first year or two. Marija Temo had prepared the fundamentals for me, but Ena had to have grimaced internally during that learning period, as I slowly transitioned to the level where I honestly began to make a contribution to her and her dancers. And during that time, she always smiled, laughed and encouraged me onward. I will be forever grateful. One small thing I'll share with you. At last year's Feria, in the caseta, there was a short break. Everyone was either resting, or in search of food and sangría. Believing I was kind of by myself, I played a Zambra which Curro had taught me many years ago. I looked up, and saw Ena take the floor, strike a pose, look up, then slowly enter into the compás of the Zambra I was playing. She become one with it, creating as she danced and I played. It was without a doubt the most profound moment of my years of flamenco. A crowd had quickly gathered, and when she had finished there was an overwhelming applause for her from the collected audience. Afterward, we never even discussed that dance...just another creative moment for Ena...for me "a moment forever etched" in my soul.
We all lost a fine friend, Mike, and I am so pleased that you are using your wonderful website to preserve Ena Camargo's memory for us. Several weeks ago, Lee suggested that he and I visit Ena and play our guitars for her entertainment. So we did. She was bedridden at the time and wouldn't let us see her in her weakened condition, so I set up my amplifier and we serenaded Ena from the bottom of the stairs. She complimented us on our music, thanked us and we said goodbye. Little did I know that it would be the last time I would speak to her. On the day of her funeral, I was asked to play guitar in a Misa Flamenca in her honor. Of course, it was a great privilege to musically contribute to such an important event. But it meant so much more to me that the last time that Lee and I spent with Ena was sharing something that we all loved: flamenco. I met Ena when I was a beginner and the big wide world of flamenco
was still new to me. Ena was the more experienced dancer, and she often
invited me to perform with her group about town. At that time, none
of us had a "company" or even a name for our group. We just went to
perform wherever we had the opportunity, and we put together shows based
on each person's contribution. When I began to get Ena was one of the few people in Flamenco who never had a negative
word about anyone. Ever the lady, she presented her shows with refinement
and without any attempt to grab the spotlight. She steered clear of
the complications and turmoil that always swirls around the flamenco
community, and she conducted herself with kindness, and elegance.. We
used to sub for each other at el Bodegón way back in the beginning
of my dance career. I always admired her beautiful costumes and good
taste. I hadn't been in contact with her as much in recent years, only
running into each other at Feria or similar events, but it seems to
me, from the following she had, and from the flow of activity at her
caseta, that Ena has developed a legacy which will endure.
I received this email from Ena's first student, Catherine Guzman: I went to live with Aunt Ena and Alba when I was six years old. My mother was ill and they took care of me for the following seven years of my life. This was in 1976. She started in the basement of the house there in Bethesda on Rosedale Ave. She gathered some of my school mates who were interested somehow through their parents, and every Friday we had a class. There were three of us. My Aunt worked for NIH (National Institute of Health) at the time and had given shows there before. We loved it, it was great fun, I practiced every night with castañuelas and zapateado. Soon we too were part of the shows at NIH, and that was even more fun. And in the summertime we would perform in the summer festivals. Soon more and more students started joining our class. She always loved Flamenco. My favorite dance was Las Lagarterianas--my aunt Alba made the costumes for us. Of course Las Sevillanas and Paso Doble were part of our act, along with Fandangos which I loved as well. To watch her dance was a great dream. She was always so passionate about Flamenco. My very favorite was when she would dance, "La Farruca." I was absolutely blown away. I loved it and can still hear the music in my head. From my Great Aunt I attribute my love for music and art and what it is to feel with your heart that which no words can truly express. Flamenco was her life she lived it and for it, she always was practicing and encouraging me to practice as often as I could, she would spend hours just on castanets alone. Before I turned 13 I went back to Chicago to live with my mother, and from there to Colombia. Sadly no Flamenco, language was my new passion. Years later I got married and took up some lessons at Northeastern University in Chicago but it was short lived. My aunt was so excited and on her next trip to Spain she invited me to come along with her. This was ten years ago and she already had her academy, and would go every year to Spain, to learn new dances to come and teach and enjoy with her students.Wow! I was delighted and jumped at the opportunity. It was amazing! Literally schools and schools of Flamenco, students in rooms with guitars, the place itself was Flamenco. We were in Sevilla I will never forget that trip. There were children as small as three years old taking classes and were Really Good!!!!!!! No joke and my aunt and I spent hours just watching them dance. I never took it up again, life took over and all that this entails. In Washington it was great because I grew up around Flamenco and the music was always played in our house. I attended countless rehearsals and shows, I was always kinda shy, but managed to do the Las Lagarterianas solo, so it was the darkness, the light of the stage, and my aunt on the side encouraging, and following the routine to remind me if I forgot a step. She always was there on the side helping us, when it was our turn on stage. I have my original costumes [from] when I was little and cherrish them always. It was like magic to me this Flamenco world and I love it still. My husband is in the Army, we live in Germany with our three children: Andrew, Fabyana and Gabrielle.
Well Michael thank you for listening, it was nice to remember my childhood and my sweet aunt that taught me to love life, apreciate culture and feel Flamenco.
 [Editor's note: more quotes will be added as I receive them via email. My address is miguelito@dcflamenco.com] [earlier articles][later articles][main index] |
I would just like to say goodbye to a dear friend. She was such an inspiration in so many levels. I learned a lot from her and just aspire to achieve a small fraction of what she accomplished in her life.
Ena
has left an inheritance to all of us who knew her. One way or another
she has touched the lives of so many. The flamenco family has lost a
very important member of the family. We, her students, were like her
children. She shared her talent and passion for flamenco not only to
her adult students, but also children. She shared her gift of dancing
with the elderly, handicapped, and any one who could benefit in one
way or another from it. The flamenco family will miss Ena. 
my
own shows here and there, Ena was always one of the people to form part
of the core group as well. Somewhere in my "stuff" I have a nice large
photo from the Baltimore Sun of Ena dancing at the Hispanic Festival,
with myself and with Pepe de Cadiz (now in Madrid). I will try to dig
it out.