|
|
Miguelito's Photo DiaryMarch 20, 2005 - March 26, 2005
Wedding gig March 26, 2005 Cutting it too close again: I got out of dance class at 2:30pm and I promised my client I'd be there at 2:45pm. I caught the metro and arrived at the gig by 3:20pm and of course being that a lot of the guests were Latino, it started late. Yay! :-) It was a piece of cake. My clients, the bride and groom, were impressed by my guitar solos at Las Tapas on a number of occasions, so they left it completely up to me to create the music to fit the moment. I did at least come up with some basic ideas and wrote notes for each section of the wedding ceremony so that I would avoid the typical "uncomfortable silences" when my musical mind draws a blank. But for the most part, I improvised the music as I read through the ceremony script. As each section came to a close, I resolved the chord progression or melody in time to coincide with the last syllable of the last word. It was just like improvising a soundtrack for the movies except there were no second takes. This was a once-in-a-lifetime important event (well that's what a wedding is supposed to be anyway) with only one opportunity to get each note right--pressure was on! But it was easy: the groom and bride (now husband and wife) are such cool people, I truly wanted to create something special for them. 
What's funny about this pic is that by pure coincidence, there is an exit sign on each side of the altar just in case either the bride or groom changes heart at the last minute and needs to make a quick getaway. :-) March 26, 2005 3:33pm I started playing promptly at 3:45pm and finished at 4:45pm. They paid me well for an hour's worth of easy work. But when you think about it, I "paid my dues" by spending so many days and nights in the practice room in college as a music major. Moral of the story: pay your dues. Practicing at little bit everyday is like saving your pocket change in a piggy bank. One day you'll open your piggy bank and be surprised by the amount you've accumulated. Likewise, don't let a day go by without practicing even if it's just for five minutes--have a specific goal in mind, concentrate and make them five minutes of quality practice time. You might surprise yourself how much you can accomplish. This isn't just for guitarists--it applies to dancers too! Dupont Circle March 25, 2005 I was going to go to Casablanca to support my fellow guitarist Behzad (and dancers Anna Menendez and Tamara Sol), but one of my other musician friends Maynold Moreno called me and wanted to hang out. Besides, I needed a little vacation from flamenco (I try to do this at least once a week). 
The Velvet Lounge. March 25, 2005 9:06pm Maynold and I first went to the Velvet Lounge on U St to listen to some rock bands. Maynold is mainly a drummer but he also produces rock shows and is a recording engineer so thank God he's got connections. Instead of paying the $15 cover, we got in for free. Yay! We hung out with the concert promoters and talked music biz, but as far as the public is concerned, there was nobody there and the first band was running late. Ugh! Anyway, we were starving so we decided to take off. Went to Dupont Circle and drove around for what seemed like an eternity to find a parking spot and ended up at a place that served kabob. Later, we met up with his girlfriend Nancy Medina (my favorite bartender at Cafe Citron) at Eighteenth Street Lounge at 1212 18th St NW DC to hear some jazz on the third floor. Cover charge $5. Almost got in for free--guess we didn't look cool enough. It's funny how some people dress up lookin' sharp and ruin it by putting on a mismatched winter jacket just because it's cold. That was me! :-) Ever notice how sometimes clubgoers walk the streets without a jacket when it's so cold outside? TIP: when a club has a strict dress code, wear the right clothes and make an effort look your best because sometimes you can get a break on the cover charge or better yet get in for free.  Maynold and Nancy. March 25, 2005 11:52pm 
The third floor of the Eighteenth Street lounge has a beautiful view of the city. March 26, 2005 12:06am 
As we descended the stairs to go back out to Dupont Circle, we saw the line of people waiting to get in. Despite the lack of a sign on the door, this place is very popular. The cover charge fluctuates according to the whim of the bouncer--we heard of people being asked to pay $30! March 26, 2005 12:13am Next stop: the Pegasus Lounge 1337 Connecticut Ave NW DC,2nd floor. Cover charge: $10. But we got in for free cuz Maynold and Nancy know the owner--a very friendly guy named Nick. He showed me around and mentioned the idea of putting on a flamenco show here--it never hurts to ask. He might stop by sometime to see my Monday night show at Cafe Citron, which is practically next door. We'll see.  Pegasus Lounge. March 26, 2005 12:39am It was Russian night and the DJ was putting on some techno with lyrics sung in russkii yazik. Music was good (I like techno, too) but the DJ wasn't picking the right songs to make the crowd want to get up and dance. Anyway, I wasn't having any luck getting any good pics, so I just put the camera away for the rest of the night. Thanks to my friends Nancy and Maynol for taking me to some new clubs. OK, some of you are thinking, "So Miguelito, you went to a couple of clubs on a Friday night, who cares?" I hear you, but the point of this photo diary entry is to remind you that as much as we all love flamenco (some to the point of obsession), we should all make the time to check out other kinds of music and forms of artistic expression. Wedding rehearsal March 25, 2005 A couple of months ago, I received an email from someone who saw me performing at Las Tapas. She wanted to hire me to provide music at her wedding. We had a meeting a couple of weeks earlier to go over the wedding ceremony program outlining where and where not to play music. I had my guitar with me of course, so I offered to run some musical ideas by them, but she and her fiancé said it wasn't necessary. They trust my judgement. The wedding rehearsal went fine. I improvised everything starting with a Guajiras for the opening procession and my own simple arrangement of "Here Comes the Bride" (inspired by the version from Carlos Saura's Bodas de Sangre). The one classical piece I played was Francisco Tarrega's Lágrimas during the poetry reading. More improvising then closed with some Alegrías as the groom and bride rehearsed walking down the aisle for the first time as husband and wife. They were very pleased with my music, but this was just a rehearsal. The real thing is this afternoon (it's 8:44am on Saturday as I type these words). 
March 25, 2005 3:50pm The rehearsal took less than an hour. I took the above pic as I was leaving. Turns out I have performed with flamenco dancers in this very room several times over the years. Cecilia in Dublin, Ireland March 2005 Local dancer Cecilia Terrasa writes: "Hey Michael. I'm back from 10 exhausting days in Ireland. Too much Guinness and potatoes!!!!! Had a good time though. My first day there, before going out with everyone, I headed to a Hollywood Dance Studios in Dublin to take a flamenco class. Can you believe it? On vacation and I can't let go of flamenco. What do you expect??....I'm obsessed." "Well the class was the last class of a 10 week session and they were working on bulerías. The teacher, Joyce Richardson was the teacher and she was very welcoming. I totally appreciated her purple suede shoes (it's a girl thing). We did a long warm up and then did the choreography. It was an hour long and although I was a bit tired from traveling, I had a good time." "I took some pictures and I just thought I had to tell you about flamenco in Dublin. Here is their website I thought you might appreciate it. :-) Now to get back to class here and play catch up. See you soon."  March 2005 (photo courtesy of Cecilia Terrasa) "This is a pic of me waiting outside the studio for the beginner class to finish. They were working on an alegrias escobilla. I was listening to her sing the rhythm and it sounded different than what I've heard in my experience (an astounding 3 years, wink) and she handed out at the end of that class and my class as well, a sheet that explained 'Flamenco Footwork Rhythm Names.'" "For example "DI": Sole of foot (dig into floor) and "GA": heel beat, "DA": Heel beat and lift quickly = diga da: triplet......anyway, it was cool to see what our feet do and/or attempt to do on paper. She even broke down the alegrias step on the paper." "Outside the studio people have written, well graffiti, all over the walls. I found some of it interesting. I was laughing when Kev took this picture."  March 2005 (photo courtesy of Cecilia Terrasa) "This is Joyce and I after the class. She had a really pretty style. I noticed quite a bit of jazz and ballet in her choreography. Very different then what I'm used to but I picked up some cool stuff."  March 2005 (photo courtesy of Cecilia Terrasa) "This is a pic of all the gals in the class after we finished. All were very nice. I hope to run in to the teacher again some day. She mentioned she was going to take some classes in London and she said to the class that she was hopefully going to bring back some "new stuff"." "She said when we took that group shot that it was good to document the day so that maybe one day she could say she knew me before I was famous and I said or "vice versa". She was cool." GWU March 25, 2005 Woke up early and stopped by the dining hall to get my usual tall soy caramel macchiato. I actually did some studying before the class for a change. :-) 
Marvin Center Dining Hall at GWU. March 25, 2005 9:01am We continued reading through Act Two of Bodas de Sangre and listened to an old recording of a flamenco singer accompanied on guitar in an Alboreá--a gypsy wedding song. On Wednesday, we're going to watch Carlos Saura's cinematic interpretation of Bodas de Sangre. I had seen this video before, but it will be more interesting this time around since I've been reading the play itself and am now learning about Lorca's symbolism: What does the knife represent? The crown of flowers? What is meant by "Despierta la novia la mañana de la boda. ¡Que los ríos del mundo lleven tu corona!"? Andalucía Restaurant March 24, 2005 Not in a chatty mood today. So just enjoy the gallery and the brief commentary. Monica took some pics of the show, but they all turned out so-so. Not her fault. My camera doesn't take good shots from far away. To make up for it, I took some candid shots of the dancers after the show. 
Guadalupe Cerritos cooling herself off after the show. March 24, 2005 9:00pm 
March 24, 2005 9:02 
March 24, 2005 9:03pm The Andalucía Restaurant features a flamenco show every Thursday at 8:00pm. GWU March 23, 2005 It was the first day of class after Spring Break and it was raining lightly enough that I could get away without using an umbrella--didn't have one anyway. Instead of taking the metro to Foggy Bottom as usual, I walked across the Key Bridge to go through Georgetown because I needed to stop by Barnes and Noble (opens at 9am) to buy a book I needed for Lorca poetry class. 
Walking up I St to Phillips Hall. March 23, 2005 9:31am I needed some caffeine to wake up but I was cutting it too close to make a stop at Starbucks. I arrived just as class was starting at 9:35am. We picked up where we left off in Bodas de Sangre, a play by Federico García Lorca which tells a story set in the countryside in which passion overpowers honor and tradition. The term Alborea came up as we discussed the wedding tradition illustrated in the play. It is a song performed at gypsy weddings, usually set to the rhythm of bulerías and the words may refer to a pañuelo blanco (white handkerchief) which represents the physical proof of the bride's virginity. Next week, we're going to watch Carlos Saura's interpretation of Bodas de Sangre on video. Just a sidenote...a few days ago, I got an email from a girl trying to reconnect with a local dancer whom she knew when they were high school freshman five years ago. On a more romantic note...a young woman who met a guitarist friend of mine last year but lost his contact info found him again through DC Flamenco and now they're back together! Isn't technology wonderful? :-) Las Tapas March 22, 2005 Each week at Las Tapas, it's always a surprise for me--I never know which dancers will be performing. It would be a nice courtesy if the dancers called me to let me know, but then again they really don't have to because they know I can confidently accompany just about any dancer with little or no rehearsal. I'll take that as a compliment. As usual, I arrive early to setup the sound and lights:  March 22, 2005 6:55pm If I have some extra time, I'll take a leisurely walk down to the waterfront to my favorite Starbucks and stop by Olsson's to preview some CD's at the listening station and come back to Las Tapas in time to briefly warm up before going onstage at 7:45pm. When I get back, I grab a stool at the end of the bar, order a glass of wine and go through some finger exercises to loosen up the muscles. 
March 22, 2005 7:37pm 
March 22, 2005 7:38pm As I sat at the bar, I received a call from dancer Anna Menendez telling me she's arriving just in time for the show and then she gave me some great news: the second dancer is Tamara Sol Flys--one of my favorites! Needless to say, the show went well. We had a good time and it showed. Sorry no pics. Afterwards, I visited some of the tables introduced myself and got to know some of the guests. One of them turned out to be someone I met at Cafe Citron last Fall. She has a unique unforgettable name. Thanks for coming Aranzasu! Thing is, I know a LOT of DC area flamenco people via email that I have yet to meet in person. My question is: how many of them come to my shows and don't bother to come up and introduce themselves to me? C'mon people, it's a lot easier for you to come and meet me. You all know what I look like and if you read my photo diary regularly you already know a lot about me so you can easily come up with something to talk about. I won't bite. :-) But if you're going to be shy, well then I guess it's up to me to go out and meet you! After Las Tapas closed, we went down the street to Cafe Salsa with Tamara's friends from Arizona, Kevin and Matt, to have some the DC area's best mojitos! 
Kevin, Tamara, Matt, Anna and Miguelito at Cafe Salsa. Those are sticks of sugar cane in our glasses. It's part of an authentically prepared mojito. March 22, 2005 11:30pm They do have salsa lessons here on Tuesdays but it's at the same time as my show at Las Tapas. Fortunately, Tamara was on a salsa dance team when she lived in Arizona. So I got her to teach me some basics. Thanks Tamara! You'd assume that since we musicians have got rhythm that we can dance well. Let's just say I'm working on it. Give me some time! We stayed until closing time satisfied that we showed Kevin and Matt that we DC people partied the best we could, for a Tuesday night in Old Town Alexandria. :-) 
Walking down a rainy King St. March 23, 2005 1:05am Cafe Citron March 21, 2005 I was slackin' last night--had my camera but didn't take a lot of pics. Oh well, I published close to 100 photos last week (go ahead and count), so I deserve a little break. Let's see if we can piece the story together with what I've got: 
As the sun sets, I can officially say goodbye to Winter and hello to Spring. I arrived at Citron at 5:36pm, quickly setup the sound system and lights and rushed to meetup with my friend Aru--something I was looking forward to all weekend. March 21, 2005 6:03pm 
An hour or so later, the curative properties of the frozen margaritas have taken effect--the hint of the flu that I felt earlier was gone. Note to self: don't order frozen margaritas with salt--you can't sip a frozen margarita anyway. This was an enjoyable mini-vacation away from flamenco and quality time with a good friend. Thank you Aru! March 21, 2005 7:02pm We left Kramer's Cafe and arrived at Citron just in time to settle in and get ready for the first show. 
Nancy Medina lining up the mojito glasses to prepare for tonight's crowd. In my opinion she does more than serve good drinks. Nancy is, in a way, Citron's "social director"--she casually introduced me to lots of interesting people the many times I sat at the bar during the past year. Thank you Nancy! March 21, 2005 7:54pm I had so many friends here this evening--it was seriously more than I could handle. :-) I came with Aru, and soon after arrived Sarika, then Sonia (met in September), then Karina (met in June) then a few friends came for Shahram's birthday party including Sevgi, Andrea, Steve, Linette and Shahram's mom who was visiting from out of town. Then of course there was my friend Carlos who took this next photo during the first show. Thank you everyone for coming! 
Yeah it was cold outside but I insisted on wearing a short sleeve shirt anyway. I can pretend it's a warm Spring night, can't I? :-) I almost didn't publish the original version of this one--the glare in my glasses kind of bugged me. But when I showed it to my friend Karina after the show, she liked it and suggested I rotate and crop it to focus on me (she knows Photoshop a little) and now it looks great and come to think of it, so do I! Thank Karina! March 21, 2005 8:19pm (photo by Carlos Jones) 
Carlos Jones and friend. March 21, 2005 8:45pm After the show, I was hopping from table to table, saying hello to everyone and briefly catching up with one friend before moving on to the next. I have to do this: first of all, they're my friends and secondly they took the time to come see my show. Fast forward three hours later--that's three hours of lost photo opportunities--the hard core party people remain... Last but not least, I hung out with Sarika (met in October) and her friends Chris and Nithia who were new to the flamenco night here at Citron. 
Nithia, Sarika, Chris and Miguelito. March 21, 2005 11:15pm 
Nancy and Sarika. March 21, 2005 11:16pm I squeezed in a little salsa with Sarika before heading out the door. Thank you Sarika! Note to self: take some salsa lessons!!! :-) 
Lucky Bar March 22, 2005 1:21am Steve and I went down the street to Lucky Bar and grabbed a quick bite at Julia's Empanadas before calling it a night. It's 9:02am on Tuesday as I type these words. Good morning! Note: please don't complain to me about the fact there was only one flamenco pic. Think of today's photo diary entry more like a tribute to the friends who come to support flamenco--where would I be without them? Private Lesson March 20, 2005 I gave a guitar lesson today and my student videotaped the entire session. Of course, it's just a home video. It's not like it's going to be broadcast on national TV. But I still felt compelled to be careful about what I was saying during the lesson because chances are that my student will be looking at this video over and over again hearing me repeat my words so I had better get them right, right? The lesson took place in a high-security government building with video surveillance everywhere--we had a private room with no distractions. Still I didn't have the audacity to pull out my camera and happily snap away as I normally do. Sorry no pics. Cool thing about the lesson is that I realized something very important: that I'm not really a teacher, well at least not a trained teacher. I'm just an experienced player who's trying his best to pass on his wisdom (thanks Sonia!) and knowledge to the best of his abilities. In college, I majored in classical guitar performance. The music majors aspiring to become teachers take music education and pedagogy classes. My intent was to become a performer, NOT a teacher, so my curriculum included more private lessons, workshops and masterclasses. But a friend of mine, told me that in flamenco, ultimately you teach yourself. I know this applies to the guitar but I'm sure it works for the dance too. I can explain all the basic flamenco guitar techniques and flamenco theory in a short amount of time, but it's not going to make sense until you get some real-life flamenco experience. In dance class on Saturdays, I let the student guitarist accompany on his own while I sit back on watch him struggle under my meticulous gaze. Am I cruel? Yeah, but it's a necessary step in learning to be the guitarist. Intellectually he gets it, but instinctively he has a long way to go. For example, I can say that typically in solea, you have a letra and after the first line, there is a remate, followed by a repetition of the first line...blah blah blah. OK, the student memorizes this sequence and goes to a flamenco party and the singer begins a soleá but the dancer instead does not do a remate or does a remate but extends to two compases. So who is right and who is wrong? Well there is no right and wrong. Just different interpretations. Maybe it's a soleá apola, soleá de alcalá or maybe even a soleá de rockville. :-) You just have to get out there, come across these different interpretations, boldly make mistakes if you have to, and learn from them. Sometimes you just don't know what the dancer will be doing next until a moment before it happens and you have to really listen and watch. Some things you can prepare for meticulously but dance accompaniment is a skill you cannot study from a book or from a lesson. Assuming you have to put in the time apprenticing with a more experienced guitarist, the next step is to put yourself in a situation where you are the only guitarist with everyone depending on you to nail it. This is where you really learn. Typical learning progression:
You will make mistakes, but with more experience, the string of "Oops sorry." situtations get shorter between the "OK I got it." situations. You might even say the dancer teaches you, but ultimately you teach yourself. Flamenco is constantly trying to reveal itself to you and if you're not keeping your "eyes" open, you'll miss the message. You'll know what I'm talking about it, when you find yourself thinking, "Oh...ok now I get it."  Friendship heights photo taken sometime last week. After the lesson, I rewarded myself with a late lunch at Booeymonger in Friendship Heights. While I enjoyed a Californian sandwich, I thought about walking down the street and playing for Anna Menendez's afternoon classes at DC Dance Collective. Never made it. By the time I finished reading the Sunday paper, I had just enough time to catch the next show of "Dot the I" at the E Street Cinema.  Photos taken with the Olympus Stylus 300 Digital Camera
Text and original images ©1996-2013 by . Please do not republish content from this website, including text and photos, in whole or part without prior written permission. |
|
