Miguelito's Photo Diary

February 2, 2004 - February 7, 2004

• Cafe Citron February 2, 2004
• Gala de Sevilla February 3, 2004
• La Tasca Arlington February 4, 2004
• Jose Merce at Lisner February 4, 2004
• Private gig February 7, 2004

Private gig February 7, 2004

Making a living exclusively from performing can be, shall we say, "precarious." Two weeks ago, my Tuesday night show was cancelled due to snow. And I had to take the night off this past Tuesday to attend the Gala de Sevilla at Lisner Auditorium. That's two days' worth of pay that I missed--OUCH!

But sometimes, the powers that be drop a high-paying gig in my lap to make up for my losses. Actually, the word "loss" wouldn't apply to the Gala de Sevilla: what I missed out in pay that night was certainly made up many times over in the inspiration I gained from the performances!

Guitarist Amilcar Cruz and I performed rumbas at a private party.

In case you're wondering, no, I didn't leave my expensive guitar on the chair like that while I was on my break. It's an accident waiting to happen! I just set it down for a second while I took this picture. Interestingly, a guitarist friend of mine refers to the act of "sitting on a guitar" as "doing a Vicente Amigo." :) Really! Apparently the story has it that guitarist Vicente Amigo carelessly left an expensive guitar on the bed one night and sat on it. February 7, 2004 10:30pm

February 7, 2004 10:33pm

Jose Merce at Lisner February 4, 2004

I can remember on Tuesday night, people were walking out of the second half of the Gala de Sevilla concert apparently because there was more cante than dancing. Too bad for them. Maybe they didn't like cante, but they missed out on the climax of the show when Manuela came out again and performed her final solo.

Last night, Jose Merce and Moraito and friends made their Washington DC debut at Lisner. Throughout the evening (there was no intermission) Jose announced each song and acknowledged the crowd's enthusiastic applause and shouts of jaleo, even indulging a song request. It felt as though we were all hanging out in a cozy tavern in Jerez, having a few drinks and relaxing for an hour or two with a friend. There were some minor sound problems: Moraito's guitar signal was too hot and was making popping sounds when the overloaded signal went into the sound system--probably needed some compression. It was a bit distracting at times.

For the final encore, Jose and Moraito did some Jerez-style bulerias without amplification. Jose stood up and walked downstage towards the audience and even danced a few patadas por bulerias. Moraito pulled away from the microphone too. It was the best part of the evening.

Unfortunately, the auditorium was only half-filled. There's a chance that any future cante concerts will have to be presented a smaller venue or eliminated completely from the next festival. I realize that cante is an acquired taste for most people and probably will never have mass appeal. But I'm sorry to say: if you can't appreciate the singing in flamenco, you're missing a huge chunk of what is flamenco is all about. I'm not saying you have to be a cante scholar, but at least be able to connect with the singing on an emotional level. Flamenco started with the cante--historically, the dancing and the guitar accompaniment were inspired by it and came later. Without cante there would be no flamenco.

Here is DC's track record of cante concert attendance for the last year:

• Enrique Morente (November 2003) CANCELLED due to low ticket sales
• Carmen Linares (November 2003) auditorium half capacity
• Jose Merce (February 2004) auditorium half capacity

You do the math. From the business perspective, do you think we'll have cante concerts in the future?

An anonymous friend writes:
"Wow, Jose Merce was powerful. The audience was small but what we lacked in size we more than made up in passion. (of course our passionate reception doesn't pay the rent). It seems that newcomers to flamenco are attracted first by dancing and musica de feria. Appreciating great cante is maybe the final stage. While Jose Merce was singing I couldn't imagine being distracted by a dancer. It would be like watching a dancer while trying to pay attention to Ella Fitzgerald or Placido Domingo. I am so glad for the opportunity to hear him here in Washington and only hope there are future events. Plese bring him back!! "

Local dancer Jason Vera y Aragon with Jose Mercé February 4, 2004

Marta Chico Martin and Jose. February 4, 2004

Moraíto and Miguelito. February 4, 2004 It was cool to finally meet one of my biggest sources of inspiration for the guitar. One of my friends had Moraito autograph the liner notes from his CD Morao y Oro. Funny thing is that this was the first time he had seen the cover of this newly released version of his recording. He was examining it closely with a look of disbelief You can still buy the original 1992 release of Morao y Oro from Amazon

Local guitarist Jesus Serrano and Moraíto. February 4, 2004

Moraito and local guitarist Ramin Rad. February 4, 2004

The cool people who came out to support cante by coming to Jose Merce's concert. February 4, 2004 Behzad Habibzai, Jason, Tamara Sol, Marta, Jesus, Moraito and Ramin.

More cool people: RJ Uebersezig, Carlton Ashton, Steve Svoboda, Cecilia Terrasa, Behzad, Tamara, Jason and Marta. February 4, 2004

La Tasca Arlington February 4, 2004

They had their grand opening on Tuesday. I was at the Gala de Sevilla so I had to wait until the next day to get some pics. For those of you who don't know, La Tasca is a chain of Spanish restaurants based in England. Their first branches in the USA are right here in the DC area!

The Arlington branch is located at 2900 Wilson Blvd. Call 703-812-9120.

View from the third floor. I hereby officaly propose this second floor loft to be the future performers' lounging area. This is where the after-show juergas will take place. :)

Third floor.

Upstairs bar.

My thanks to Raul for the tour of the new restaurant. As of now, there is no flamenco entertainment. But I'm working on it!

Gala de Sevilla February 3, 2004

This was the first concert of the 4th Annual Flamenco Festival at Lisner Auditorium. Flamenco Festival producer Miguel Marin dedicated this evening's performance to Manolo Soler, who passed away last year.

At intermission: local flamenco dancers Tamara Sol and Ginette with Miguelito. February 3, 2004 9:42pm (photo by Aref)

Paco de Malaga, Ginette and Ana Martinez. February 3, 2004 9:46pm

Ginette, Carlton Ashton and Steve Svoboda. February 3, 2004 9:48pm

Lisner Auditorium director, Rosanna Ruscetti and Miguelito. February 3, 2004 11:19pm Thank you Rosanna for presenting the Flamenco Festival for the 4th year in a row. I was pleasantly surprised to see my name in the program, page one at the bottom. (photo by Ginette)

Backstage: Miguelito, singer Rafael de Utrera and Richard Marlow. February 3, 2004 11:25pm (photo by Ginette)

Ginette, Rafael and Roxanne Vera y Aragon. February 3, 2004 11:26pm

Manuela Carrasco and Ginette. February 3, 2004 11:29pm

Steve Svoboda, Behzad Habibzai, Miguelito, Daniel Méndez and the rest of the musicians. February 3, 2004 11:33pm I tried, but didn't get the names of all the artists. Please email me, if can identify some or all of the them. Thanks to Trevor for identifying Daniel. (photo by Ginette)

Ginette with the musicians. February 3, 2004 11:33pm

Behzad, Ginette, Rocio Molina, Steve and Miguelito. February 3, 2004 11:37pm I first met Rocio two years ago at a Spanish Embassy reception when she was with the Maria Pages company. Twenty-year-old Rocio is an amazing dancer with a unique style--she performed a solea. (photo by ?)

Tia Curra, Tia Juana la del Pipa, Tia Antonia, La Susi, Samara Amador and Manuela Carrasco. I'm pretty sure about the names of the artists on the right, but I need help matching names with faces for the ones of the left. February 3, 2004 11:45pm (photo by Ginette)

The artists needed a ride, so Steve graciously offered. February 3, 2004 11:46pm

Joaquin Amador, Juan de Juan and ?. February 3, 2004 11:52pm

Inspired by the concert, some of the local flamencos gathered for a mini-juerga at Jaleo DC. February 3, 2004 12:24am Carlton Ashton, Marija Temo and Roya Bahrami sang some tangos, while everyone provided palmas. We had the distinct honor of hearing Manolo Leiva sing a few letras of bulerias. (photo by Soheila)

Cafe Citron February 2, 2004

Yeah, it's been a couple of days since the last diary entry, I know. Keeping up with the flamenco scene is always tons of fun, but sometimes I need to be selfish and take a few days off for me! :)

This week I have the pleasure of presenting the photography of Corinne and Meredith. For the fun of it, I altered them to give them that classic black and white look. Enjoy!

Corinne and Elvio February 2, 2004 Do you remember Elvio from the late night party two weeks ago?

Carlton Ashton, Sara Candela and Juan Delgado February 2, 2004 (photo by Corinne/Meredith)

Miguelito and Gerardo Moreno February 2, 2004 (photo by Corinne/Meredith)

Sara and Carlton. Sevillanas students, take note. This is the real way to do a pasada! February 2, 2004 (photo by Corinne/Meredith)

Carlton and Sara February 2, 2004 (photo by Corinne/Meredith)

Sara always seems to look great in photos. Dance students, watch and learn! Your dance teachers tell you to raise your arms a certain way for a reason: so the audience can see your beautiful face! February 2, 2004 (photo by Corinne/Meredith)

My thanks to Corinne and Meredith for volunteering to take pictures for me.

Photos taken with the Olympus Stylus 300 Digital Camera

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