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Miguelito's Photo Diary and BlogOctober 5, 2005 - October 14, 2005
Cabanas/Sette Bello October 14, 2005 It's 3:28pm on Sunday. I finally got around to uploading these pics. Let's hope I have some time to add commentary (yeah right!). Anyway, in case I don't have time, enjoy the pics! There's more from my flamenco-filled weekend.  October 14, 2005 (photo by Linette)  October 14, 2005 (photo by Linette)  October 14, 2005 (photo by Linette)  October 14, 2005 (photo by Linette)  October 14, 2005 (photo by Linette)  October 14, 2005 (photo by Linette)  October 14, 2005 (photo by Linette)  October 14, 2005 
October 14, 2005 (photo by Ginette)  October 14, 2005 Wednesday with Miguelito October 12, 2005 Good morning. It's 10:57am on Thursday and I got up a short while ago. Just finished adding these pics but now I'm out the door to do some errands (like adding airtime to my phone) and meeting a dancer at 1:30pm to rehearse. When I get home, I'll add some commentary if it's not too late in the evening. Nowadays, I do some of my blog entries in my palm pilot as I commute to and from my gigs and rehearsals. So when I get home, I just plug it in, cut and paste and voila, I'm done. Technology is wonderful when it works!   I'm looking forward to spending all day Friday practicing and hanging out with one of my favorite dancer friends so better I go to bed early tonight for a change! :-) 
October 12, 2005 2:28pm 
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October 12, 2005 7:56pm 
October 12, 2005 7:59pm Flamenco at the Wedding October 12, 2005 My friend Jenifer writes:  October 12, 2005 (photo courtesy of Lola)  October 12, 2005 (photo courtesy of Lola) Las Tapas/Guarapo October 11, 2005 I arrived at Las Tapas around 6:00pm (first show starts at 7:45pm) so I had plenty of time to setup sound and lights and go for a leisurely walk down King St.  October 11, 2005 7:02pm I got myself my usual doppio espresso and headed next door to Olsson's Books to checkout the latest selections on their CD listening stations. It's good to listen to other genres of music. But also kind of depressing in a way cuz the more I realize how much wonderful music is out there, the more I realize I will never get to listen to all of it. So if I have time, I just scan all the tracks of all the CD's until I come across something that intrigues me like this tango/electronica fusion compilation:  I know it seems unusual for a live music advocate like myself to enjoy recordings of computer-generated rhythm tracks. But not everything has to be logical. I like electronica and that's all that matters!  October 11, 2005 7:42pm As I listened to this CD, I lost track of time and had to walk briskly to Las Tapas arriving with just enough time to enjoy plate of olives with my Estrella Galicia at the bar before heading to the stage to begin my opening guitar solo.  October 11, 2005 8:52pm The dancers were Shahram Tehranian and Anna Menendez. It wasn't that busy a night, but there were enough appreciative people in the audience to make it an enjoyable evening for us performers. All we ask is that people keep the conversation to a minimum and just give us the respect we deserve by paying attention to our show. My intention was to leave immediately after the second set and catch the train to Arlington and walk to Guarapo. I promised my singer friend Indira Terraza I would see her show and I didn't want to let her down. Turns out that my friend José Oretea was at Las Tapas and wanted to go to a lounge somewhere to chill out so we went together in his car, a white Scion that he affectionately calls the "Toaster." :-) 
Front entrance. October 11, 2005 10:42pm We arrived in time to enjoy the music as they finished their second set. When the group, Dani Cortaza Quartet, plays instrumentals Indira sits down and chats with her friends. When the next set started, a guest singer named Lisette got up to perform a few songs (Indira is the regular singer here). 
View of the stage from the bar. October 11, 2005 11:00pm 
Miguelito and Indira. October 11, 2005 11:10pm I really wanted to stay until the end, but I didn't have a place nearby to crash and didn't want to impose on José this time. So I left around 11:35pm and walked to the Rosslyn metro station in time to catch the very last train home. It was a very satisfying evening but I didn't realize how tired I was until I lay down and quickly drifted off to sleep. It's 10:57am on Wednesday. While I worked on this blog entry, I was listening to a CD by Huascar Barradas. Beautiful stuff! My friend Juliana likes track number 6 (Tonado de Luna Llena) but I've had track number 4 (Es Verdad) on repeat for the past hour or so. It's almost like a tanguillo that works well for flute and guitar. I'll think call up my flautist friend and setup a rehearsal! Speaking of rehearsals, I got two today. The first from 1:00pm until about 3:00pm. The other one is very late tonight but I won't find out what time until the last minute cuz my dancer friend doesn't know what time she gets off work. Maybe I'll go catch a movie in her neighborhood. Sounds like a good plan! I love my job! :-) Cafe Citron October 10, 2005 She's been away from DC for six months already, but, interestingly, working with Sara Candela last night at Citron (while she's here in DC for a brief visit), it felt as though I had just seen her last week. All these Mondays at Citron are just a blur. My sense of passage of time is warped. Maybe I need a vacation again. Cancún anyone? :-) 
October 10, 2005 7:10pm It was Columbus Day which for many people was a holiday. Days like these can either make it really busy or very dead at Citron. It wasn't bad but it could've been better. Still, it wouldn't be fair to compare it to any other night of the week cuz Monday is undoubtedly the hardest night to get people to go out to a club. 
View from the stage towards the bar. October 10, 2005 7:12pm Actually I arrived here with my equipment earlier than usual: a little after 12:00pm. The manager Nancy suggested I go ahead and setup my sound and lights so that I wouldn't have to deal with it when I came back around 7:00pm. So I did and she was right. It was good not to have to deal with setting up right before the show. Ideally all my gigs would have sound and lights already setup when I walk in, but for now I do it all. That's why I get paid twice as much as the dancers...just kidding! :-) 
Checkin' myself out in the mirror during soundcheck. October 10, 2005 7:13pm I'm not that vain. :-) But this is show business, so appearance does in fact play an important part. But I was actually just observing my hands. If my technique looks natural and effortless then chances are I'm doing it efficiently and correctly. I do look good though! :-) 
Cecilia Walcek and Sara Candela in Sevillanas. October 10, 2005 9:33pm(photo by Byron Stewart) 
Miguelito and Gerard Moreno. October 10, 2005 9:34pm (photo by Byron Stewart) 
October 10, 2005 9:57pm (photo by Byron Stewart) In the audience was Antonio Vargas. It's good to have knowledgable flamencos in the audience because it gives me even more reason to put more into my show knowing that someone out there understands the art of flamenco. 
Cecilia with Antonio Vargas. October 10, 2005 10:45pm As I was writing this blog entry, I got an email from María Fernández. She writes: Despite his celebrity, Antonio's a cool and level-headed guy with some strong opinions about the needless social fragmentation within flamenco communities especially in the USA--something that's in my own thoughts these days. I'd love to sit down with him some time and pick his brain (credit for this idea: Juliana). By the way, Cecilia has organized a number of DC area flamenco workshops with Antonio that shouldn't be missed. Details Cafe Citron features a live flamenco show every Monday night at about 8:00pm and 9:00pm. Call 202-530-8844 to make your reservation. I'll try to write some more when I get home tonight. (I always say that don't I?) I'm going through "a transition" in my life as my friend Juliana says. She's so right of course and it's affecting my concentration when I need to write--blogging is very therapuetic--something I really need. (Here's an article in the Post about blogging as therapy.) But I have to tell someone what's on my mind especially the more personal side. So I give her the unedited, uncensored spoken version of my blog cuz I know she understands my need to vent (not about this night in particular but about other stuff). Anyway, it wouldn't be cool to air my dirty laundry in public so to speak. So for now, you'll have to settle for the cool pics and brief commentary which still gives you a pretty good insight into what's going on in my life. Hey it's not so bad. I'm doing what I love for a living. I just gotta find some balance and the good news is that I'm making progress! Chi-Cha Lounge October 10, 2005 There weren't as many people as I expected. I assumed this was going to be one of those huge last-day-of-workshop parties--Carmela Greco's workshop ended today. But it was still good times cuz I saw friends that I hadn't seen in a while. Well OK, I did see Indira last Sunday here at Chi-Cha but I don't see her all the time. Making conversation, I asked her, "So where can I see her perform these days?" She politely reminded me that I asked her the same question last time. So I tried to play it off saying, "Well I'm a busy guy so I lost track of your show schedule." Laughing, she came back at me saying, "Well I know your schedule!" Calling her bluff I said, "You do? OK, tell me." "Monday at Cafe Citron. Tuesday at Las Tapas. Wednesday at Cafe Bonaparte..." "OK, OK. You got me. I'll be at your show Tuesday." But I was still happy to know that she visits my website often enough to be familiar with my show schedule. Thanks Indira, you made my day! [Editor's note: Indira performs at Guarapo in Arlington on Tuesday nights with the Dani Cortaza Quartet. Call 703-528-6500.] 
Miguelito and Indira Terraza. October 10, 2005 12:41am (photo by Juan Delgado) I got a call from dancer Sara Candela on Sunday. She's in town and she'll be performing on Monday at Cafe Citron. Please stop by, say hello and check out our show at around 8:00pm and 9:00pm. Call 202-530-8844. 
Jason Vera y Aragón, Miguelito, Sara Candela, Roxanne, Juan Delgado. October 10, 2005 12:40am (photo by Indira Terraza) It's 3:34am on Monday morning (Happy Columbus Day!). I got home a short while ago and I'm wide awake now--so much for regulating my body clock. :-) One of my dancer friends, Juliana, asked me to call her around 5:00am when she wakes up (I'm not kidding) and possibly get together and practice in the morning. I love it when dancers are inspired enough to practice at anytime of the day or night. Anyway, this plan was contingent upon my staying out all night with my flamenco friends. We'll see. If I'm still awake at 5:00am, maybe I'll call her anyway. Joy of Motion October 9, 2005 It was supposed to be my day to hang out with friends and do non-flamenco stuff--I was planning to invite my friend Juliana to see a movie. But this morning, first my guitar student called me to ask me to join him at Joy of Motion to accompany the dance classes in the afternoon. It's walking distance from my house and I caved in and said yes. It was fun of course. When the class was over, I heard about Furia Flamenca's performance tonight at Joy of Motion studio's 29th anniversary. I couldn't say no to that either. Plus they offered to get me in for free--actually one of the company members was generous enough to offer me a pair of tickets. So much for my movie plans. :-) Still, I was so glad I came. OK, so I was supposed to get away from flamenco for a day--a promise to myself as a way of getting some balance in my flamenco-filled life. I'll make up for it later. I promise. :-) The concert featured various forms of dance from modern to tap to Middle Eastern and more. And of course, the primary reason I came: to support Furia Flamenca. 
Furia Flamenca in bulerías. October 9, 2005 8:28pm I didn't take that many pics and the few that I got were way too blurry since I wasn't permitted to use flash. As I waited for the dancers to come out, I stood near the entrance to Chevy Chase Ballroom where they were having their weekly salsa class/party--I love salsa! When the Furia Flamenca dancers came out of the dressing room in the street/party clothes, we all went in to the party. One thing led to another I ended up dancing some salsa--a big step for me! Of course, I couldn't say no to Karina. :-) 
October 9, 2005 9:28pm (photo by Estela) It's 11:11pm on Sunday and I heard that there's a bunch of flamencos gathering at Chi Cha Lounge to celebrate (I think) the last day of the Carmela Greco workshop. Yeah, it'll be an all-nighter...again. I seem to be doing a lot of these the past week or so. Thank God for Red Bull! :-) For more info about Furia Flamenca, visit their website. Area 405 October 8, 2005 Aleksey Kulikov writes: 
Carmela Greco. October 8, 2005 (photo by Aleksey Kulikov) 
Carmela. October 8, 2005 (photo by Aleksey Kulikov) 
Paco, Richard Marlow and Marta Chico Martín. October 8, 2005 (photo by Aleksey Kulikov) 
Edwin Aparicio and Anna Menendez. October 8, 2005 (photo by Aleksey Kulikov) Cabanas October 7, 2005 It was an unrelentingly rainy night. But that didn't stop people from coming out to Cabanas Restaurant to enjoy our show. The dining room filled up more than I expected. And some people even asked for tables in the covered section of the outdoor patio (despite the pouring rain) to see the show, albeit from behind. Over the past month, I've presented different dancers almost every week including: Micaela Moreno, Marta Chico Martín, Sara Jerez, Cecilia Terrasa and Tamara Sol Flys. This past Friday featured dancers Ginette Perea and Shahram Tehranian. 
Yours truly playing an intro to Ginette Perea's soleá por bulerías. October 7, 2005 8:39pm (photo by Gina) This was my first time to see Ginette wearing her new costume. Very nice! 
October 7, 2005 8:40pm (photo by Gina) 
October 7, 2005 8:41pm (photo by Gina) 
October 7, 2005 8:41pm (photo by Gina) The double skirt's a good idea because you can grab the outer layer and use it expressively without worrying about raising the skirt too high. 
October 7, 2005 8:44pm (photo by Gina) 
October 7, 2005 8:44pm (photo by Gina) 
October 7, 2005 8:45pm (photo by Gina) 
October 7, 2005 8:45pm (photo by Gina) 
Shahram in soleá por bulerías. October 7, 2005 8:48pm (photo by Gina) 
October 7, 2005 8:49pm (photo by Gina) 
October 7, 2005 8:51pm (photo by Gina) 
October 7, 2005 8:51pm (photo by Gina) 
Fin de fiesta bulerías. October 7, 2005 8:56pm (photo by Gina) 
October 7, 2005 8:56pm (photo by Gina) 
October 7, 2005 8:57pm (photo by Gina) Although we had a nice breeze coming in through the open windows behind the stage, I still worked up a sweat. 
October 7, 2005 8:59pm (photo by Gina) The second show started a little after 10:00pm. This time Gina used her camera mostly but still got a few pics with mine. She didn't use a flash so you can better appreciate the ambience of my stage lights... 
October 7, 2005 10:23pm (photo by Gina) 
October 7, 2005 10:23pm (photo by Gina) 
October 7, 2005 10:24pm (photo by Gina) After the show, we went to nearby Cafe Milano to enjoy Manolito's rumba show until closing time around 2:00am before heading to Prince Cafe (they stay open almost all night) for a late night snack and hookah. We wanted to check out the belly dance show next door, but there was a $20 per person minimum. Us struggling artists couldn't afford that on our budget this week. Oh well. :-) The next show at Cabanas will be on Friday October 14, 2005. Shows at around 8:30pm and 10:00pm. Call 202-944-4242 to make your reservations. Carmela Greco Workshop October 7, 2005 Aleksey Kulikov writes: [removed for privacy]
Workshop participant [removed for privacy] (center) with Jason Vera y Aragón, Cecilia Terrasa and Anna Menendez. October 7, 2005 (photo by Aleksey Kulikov) 
Nicole Totah with Jesús Montoya and Richard Marlow. October 7, 2005 (photo by Aleksey Kulikov) 
Jesús and Richard. October 7, 2005 (photo by Aleksey Kulikov) Andalucía October 6, 2005 For the gigs that I'm in charge of, usually, I leave it up to the dancers to work out who performs from week to week. But the past couple of months, I've taken on the duty of selecting dancers on a weekly basis for some of my shows. I have this reputation of giving up-and-coming dance students performance opportunities. Cool thing is that the public gets to enjoy seeing a variety of dancers. And in the long run, I help nurture some new talent to become the new professionals. A lot of the pros you see in the DC tablaos today were at one time up-and-coming students. Chances are yours truly was the one playing for them at their tablao debut! 
October 6, 2005 8:21pm (photo by Monica Serrano) This past Thursday I had the pleasure of working with Jen at the Andalucía Restaurant. Our friend Jason Vera y Aragón stopped by to support his fellow student onstage with palmas and some jaleo. Jen and Jason take classes with Anna Menendez at the American Dance Institute. 
October 6, 2005 8:31pm (photo by Monica Serrano)  October 6, 2005 8:31pm (photo by Monica Serrano) Don't let the coziness of Andalucía Restaurant fool you. It still can be an intimidating place to perform especially since the audience it's right there a few feet from you. The only way to learn to deal with this, is go out there and face it. 
October 6, 2005 8:35pm (photo by Monica Serrano) The other night I was having a long talk with my young but very wise dancer friend Juliana who said to me, "the only way to grow is to go outside your comfort zone." Years ago, I came across a self-improvement book whose title succinctly epitomizes the requisite performers' attitude: "Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway." 
October 6, 2005 8:36pm (photo by Monica Serrano) What I'm trying to say here is that flamenco and just about every other type of performing is more that just executing learned routines perfectly. Flamenco is hard enough as it is just do the steps correctly, in compás, with proper upper body form etc. You've got to deal with the constantly changing challenges of the performing including:
These are just a few of many examples. You can do your best to anticipate all these potential problems but you still have to reserve your mental and emotional energy for the performance itself. With experience you learn what works and what doesn't and little by little you gain more confidence in dealing with problems as they come up. The best performers (not necessarily the best dancers) can take a problem in stride and make it a part of the show. (I'll get back you with an example.) TIP: when you get a performance opportunity, give it your best effort but approach it as a learning experience by expecting yourself to make mistakes. Remember: performing on stage is something you cannot learn in a classroom. The only way to learn is to get out there and just do it! The key to growing in these situations is to learn from your mistakes (and you will make them) and move on. It's 12:40pm on Sunday and since Joy of Motion is closeby I'm going to play for dance classes for awhile and find something fun/relaxing to do afterwards on my day off. Also, I might have a special guest coming to Cafe Citron this Monday. Wednesday with Miguelito October 5, 2005 I reserved studio space for 2:30pm at the Arlington Center for Dance--where I used to play for dance classes over the years for Joana del Río, Susan Woodward, Melisa Tomás and others. It was such a beautiful sunny day, I decided to practice outdoors near the exit for the metro station where I was meeting up with dancer Ginette Perea. 
Yours truly practicing. Lots of people seem to like this shirt. October 5, 2005 2:07pm 
The canopied exit for the Virginia Square metro station. October 5, 2005 2:08pm Rehearsal went especially well. We only had an hour of studio time but the inspiration was flowing. Despite the time limitations, I made sure Ginette and I spent at least a few minutes stretching and warming up. We worked on her soleá por bulerías, sevillanas and bulerías. Despite only studying flamenco for a few years, Ginette is very musical. She can improvise because she knows how to feel the compás. It also helps that she's a musician too but more than anything else, she absolutely loves to dance and it shows! I always enjoy playing for her. Ginette will be performing with yours truly and dancer Shahram Tehranian this Friday night at Cabanas Restaurant in Georgetown. Later, I stopped at the art boutique where my brother Kevin works. (I'm so proud of him--he's a full-time artist like me!) One of my flamenco fans, who wishes to remain anonymous, dropped off a stylish brand new mobile phone for me and I went to check it out. Apparently she heard that my current one was falling apart. :-) 
Old and new. October 5, 2005 4:22pm (My laptop died a few months ago. Anyone want to buy me a new one? :-) Never hurts to ask.) Normally, it's a simple process of removing the sim card from my old phone and inserting it into the the new one and all the info transfers. But, I've got several hundred names and numbers in the phone memory which are not on the sim card. So I have to write down all the contact info by hand and meticulously reenter it on the new phone. Ugh...maybe I can do this to pass the time while riding to and from my gigs on the metro. Without a doubt, I've got the largest collection of flamenco contacts in the DC area and therefore can't afford to accidentally lose any of them! After spending some quality time with my brother, I had to meet up with Behzad to pick up the sound system from Las Tapas and head to our gig at Cafe Bonaparte in Georgetown in time for our 8:00pm show. We arrived at 7:10pm giving us enough time to sit down at the cafe and enjoy a quick snack before we started playing. 
The sound equipment on the sidewalk in Georgetown. October 5, 2005 7:14pm 
Entrance to Cafe Bonaparte. October 5, 2005 7:34pm I was a little hungry so I ordered the Bonaparte fries. Don't know what special things they do to the potatoes, but these fries are unusually delicious. Served European style with both ketchup and mayonnaise on the side. 
October 5, 2005 7:45pm I ordered a bottle of the French beer Kronenbourg to go with my fries--a perfect combination. 
October 5, 2005 7:45pm After the first set, Behzad showed me the article in Capitol File magazine where he was mentioned in the section where they show DC party photos of famous people. He performed at one of those ritzy parties at the embassy of Colombia a few months ago. 
Carlton, cafe manager Omar and Behzad. October 5, 2005 9:19pm 
Omar and his sister Fatima run this family-owned and operated cafe. October 5, 2005 9:35pm 
Nice shot of the bar. Walking by is one of the waitresses. I'll get her name next time--she just started working here a few weeks ago. October 5, 2005 9:40pm (photo by Omar) 
October 5, 2005 9:41pm (photo by Omar) 
Behzad, Carlton Ashton and Miguelito. October 5, 2005 10:51pm (photo by Omar) Below is the same scene without the flash. This captures more of the natural lighting of this place. They turn down the lights for a romantic ambience. Customers here are either couples, groups of college girls or flamencos. 
October 5, 2005 10:51pm (photo by Omar) The place was packed early in the evening, but during the last set there were two or three tables all the way in back. Anna Menendez and Richard Marlow arrived from Las Tapas in time for the last half hour. I turned off the sound system and we just played purely unplugged with Behzad on cajón, yours truly on guitar and Carlton singing. 
October 5, 2005 10:51pm (photo by Omar) At closing time, a bunch of our flamenco friends showed up but the cafe doors were already locked so they lingered outside for a short while before heading towards Aguardiente. Below is Omar and one of the waitresses (she's from Colombia but I'll get her name next time). 
October 5, 2005 11:25pm Close to midnight, I ended up going straight home to catch up on sleep to help get my body clock back to normal. Still, I was hungry so I walked over to my neighborhood Booyemonger to grab a quick bite.  October 5, 2005 11:55pm I got their special: a bratwurst sandwich in celebration of Oktoberfest and chatted on the phone with a friend reviewing my long but flamenco-filled day. When I hung up, I lay down and quickly fell into my much-needed sleep. I woke up a little after 7:00am. Yay! Little by little, I'm getting back to my normal sleep schedule. Cafe Bonaparte has its flamenco night every other Wednesday. The next show is on October 20, 2005 from 8:00pm-11:00pm. Call 202-333-8830 to make your reservations.
Photos taken with the Olympus Stylus 300 Digital Camera
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