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 Miguelito's Photo DiaryApril 6, 2004 - April 10, 2004
Sesto Senso April 10, 2004 I don't make it a habit of carrying my guitar into clubs when I'm going out for fun, but it just so happened I had a flamenco gig earlier that night and I didn't feel like going all the way home first to drop it off. So my friend, guitarist Steve Svoboda, and I ended up at Sesto Senso, a popular club/restaurant in the Dupont Circle area. (incidentally this is where guitarists Kivanc Oner and Richard Marlow first started performing together years ago). At around 3am, the place was about to close. Wanting to keep the party buzz going, this girl from Spain spotted me with my instrument and asked me if I play flamenco and the next thing I remember was pulling out my guitar and playing some rumba compás while her friends did palmas. 
April 11, 2004 2:59am (photo by Steve Svoboda) 
April 11, 2004 3:00am (photo by Steve Svoboda) 
April 11, 2004 3:05am (photo by Steve Svoboda) 
After our little mini-juerga, I had to tell her about my Monday night flamenco show at Cafe Citron. There's an ad for the show in this week's Washington City Paper page 90. April 11, 2004 3:08am (photo by Steve Svoboda) A couple of years ago, I wrote a short article Always Take your Guitar. Pink Flamenco Party April 9, 2004 Dancer Sandra Bishop throws a party every couple of months at her group house in Chevy Chase, known as the Pink Flamenco. A few of my flamenco friends showed up and we went upstairs to the VIP room and had a flamenco jam session while the non-flamencos packed the dance floor downstairs. 
Juan Delgado and Joanna Szczepanska. April 10, 2004 1:12am 
Amilcar Cruz and Juan. April 10, 2004 1:25am 
Steve Svoboda enjoying the jam session. April 10, 2004 1:26am 
Sandra Bishop dancing a bulerias as Steve accompanies on guitar. April 10, 2004 1:59am 
April 10, 2004 2:03am 
This is me taking a short break. I always seem to meet lots of fellow musicians at Sandra's parties. Thanks Sandra! April 10, 2004 2:10am Guarapo April 9, 2004 I was supposed to have a rehearsal at noon, but it was cancelled at the last minute. It was disappointing because I was so much looking forward to practicing some flamenco with my friends. But I wasn't going to a beautiful day like this go by without sharing it with a friend so I met up with fellow full-time musician Jose Oretea at the King St metro in Alexandria and we headed over to Guarapo in Arlington and hung out for an hour or two. 
Waiting for the train and squeezing-in a little flamenco. April 9, 2004 2:30pm 
At Guarapo in Arlington: yours truly chatting with Jose while he was coiling up a microphone cable and putting away the rest of his sound equipment. April 9, 2004 5:03pm 
We got ourselves some cool drinks, went upstairs to the lounge, sat by an open window to enjoy the fresh air, and had a little flamenco jam session. April 9, 2004 5:29pm 
April 9, 2004 5:30pm 
April 9, 2004 5:49pm (photo by Carolina) Andalucia April 8, 2004 It was an especially busy night: the restaurant was packed with customers so much that, at first, us performers had no place to sit. But the tradeoff was that we had a very appreciative audience. 
Guitarist Steve Svoboda entertaining us at our table. April 8, 2004 8:50pm 
April 8, 2004 8:52pm 
Solea por bulerías: Ginette Perea and Miguelito. April 8, 2004 9:17pm (photo by Billy Currano) 
April 8, 2004 9:20pm (photo by Billy Currano) 
April 8, 2004 9:19pm (photo by Billy Currano) 
April 8, 2004 9:22pm (photo by Billy Currano) 
It seems especially that I play the cajón, a Peruvian instrument, for Ginette: she was born in Perú. April 8, 2004 9:21pm (photo by Billy Currano) 
Guadalupe Cerritos in alegrías. April 8, 2004 9:25pm (photo by Billy Currano) 
April 8, 2004 9:24pm (photo by Billy Currano) 
April 8, 2004 9:23pm (photo by Billy Currano) 
Beautiful braceo (armwork) is one of the things Guadalupe does best. April 8, 2004 9:26pm (photo by Billy Currano) 
I like this picture of me. For the fellow musicians out there, I do use a lavalier microphone. When I wear black pants the cable is almost invisible: it gives the illusion that I'm not "plugged-in" to a sound system. Trust me, if you're on a small stage with dancers you don't want a microphone stand on stage. Besides the fact that a microphone stand looks tacky, it could also get caught by a dancer's manton, pick up vibrations from the stage as they do footwork etc. April 8, 2004 9:26pm (photo by Billy Currano) Cherry Blossom Festival-Union Station April 6, 2004 
Kayoko Iwamoto dancing Sevillanas with a mantón. April 6, 2004 4:34pm (photo by Gina Perea) 
It's not too often that children of flamencos take up el Arte with the same level of passion. Maria, Kayoko's daughter, has been studying flamenco for several years now, including classes with Sara Candela from whom she learned this Garrotín. April 6, 2004 4:37pm (photo by Gina Perea) 
Maria Iwamoto in Garrotín. April 6, 2004 4:39pm (photo by Gina Perea) 
Ginette Perea in solea por bulerías. Despite her busy schedule at school, Ginette squeezes in the time to practice and come up bits of new choreography. Also with the help of her mother Gina, she manages to come up with a new costume combination almost every week--she performs at Andalucia on Thursdays. April 6, 2004 4:46pm (photo by Gina Perea) 
April 6, 2004 4:44pm (photo by Gina Perea) 
April 6, 2004 4:47pm 
Fin de fiesta bulerias. April 6, 2004 4:52pm 
Kayoko never fails to conjure her most passionate emotions and communicate them to the audience who, in turn, respond with the same level of enthusiasm. April 6, 2004 4:54pm (photo by Gina Perea) 
Miguelito, Kayoko, Maria and Ginette. Performing at the Cherry Blossom Festival is a volunteer effort. The flowers given to me by a Japanese member of the audience was very generous gesture of appreciation. April 6, 2004 5:02pm (photo by Gina Perea) More pics from the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Jefferson Memorial. Las Tapas April 6, 2004 
Tamara Sol Flys in alegrías. April 6, 2004 8:54pm (photo by Kevin Perez) 
Lately, I've been bringing my stagelights and placing them at the back of the stage for added dramatic effect. As Tamara moves about the stage, her shadows dance upon the ceiling against a wash of red and blue. Yeah, I know, I'm a lighting design genius. :) April 6, 2004 8:55pm (photo by Kevin Perez) 
Aleksey Kulikov in tientos. Did you know that both Tamara and Alex have Ukrainian ancestry? I didn't know the Spanish word for Ukrainian, so at the end of the show I jokingly introduced them as Alejandro el Rusito and Tamara la Rusa. Oh yeah, just for fun, I called myself Miguelito el Chino. :) (my heritage is Filipino, in case you didn't know) April 6, 2004 9:03pm (photo by Kevin Perez)  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. |