DCFLAMENCO - Flamenco in Washington DC

Miguelito's Photo Diary/Blog

June 6, 2005 - June 15, 2005

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Madrid Day 1-2. June 6-8, 2005
Madrid Day 3...June 9, 2005
Madrid Day 4...June 10, 2005
Madrid Day 5...June 11, 2005
Madrid Day 6...June 12, 2005
Madrid Day 7...June 13, 2005
Madrid Day 8...June 14, 2005
Madrid Day 9...June 15, 2005

Miguelito's first trip to Spain: Madrid Day 9...June 15, 2005

It's 11:03am on Wednesday. My last day in Spain and the weather is gorgeous yet again. My flight back to the USA leaves at 1:10pm but I'm here at the airport early to allow time for getting through airport security, immigration stuff etc. With two hours or so to kill, I'm writing my last entry for this vacation.

View from my seat window. June 15, 2005 12:50pm

June 15, 2005 12:50pm

Goodbye Spain! June 15, 2005 1:38pm

Last night (Tuesday) I went to the new tablao called Las Tablas. What was interesting about this place was that they intentionally did not use amplification. After getting used to it, I realized it wasn't necessary. The crowd (mostly tourists) was a little more cultured and they actually shut up when the guitarists started playing the introductory falseta for the opening number.

The room here is a little better than Las Carboneras. At Las Tablas the stage is setup in the corner of this L-shaped room and the performers alternate facing each side of the audience. They do a good job with the lighting which is absolutely necessary. Turning on the stage lights is like announcing to the crowd "Hey shut up, the show's starting." :-) When I get back home to Virginia tonight, I'll finally upload some photos so you can see what I'm talking about.

It was a awesome vacation--just what I needed. It wasn't all flamenco but I got to know Madrid, made some new friends, had tons of good food and drink etc. I'm not disappointed about going back to the USA today. It was just long enough for me to have a good time and now that I know my around the streets and sights, I can get even more out of my next visit which will hopefully be very very soon.

Chorizo and a glass of sangría at Las Tablas. June 14, 2005 10:36pm

June 14, 2005 10:46pm

June 14, 2005 11:01pm

June 14, 2005 11:42pm

June 14, 2005 11:46pm

Miguelito's first trip to Spain: Madrid Day 8...June 14, 2005

It¥s 4:32pm on Tuesday. Warm and sunny as usual. It¥s still siesta time so I¥m taking a break and waitin¥for the stores to open up again so I can go shopping for little Spanish gifts and flamenco supplies for a few of my friends.

A few random touristy pics...

After lunch double espresso in Plaza Mayor. That book next to my cup is an excellent tour guide. Buy your own copy now! June 14, 2005 2:30pm

Crossing Gran Vía. June 14, 2005 3:10pm

Puerta del Sol...Madrid's central plaza. June 14, 2005 4:09pm

Metro farecard machine. June 14, 2005 7:05pm

Incoming train. June 14, 2005 7:25pm

Early dinner. June 14, 2005 8:14pm

Some important building in Plaza de la Cibeles. June 14, 2005 8:57pm

The biggest department store in Madrid (on Calle Preciados). June 14, 2005 9:31pm

Last night (Monday) I went to the tablao Las Carboneras near Plaza Mayor. The price was kind of steep at 25Ä (about US$30) but it included one drink and hopefully a decent show which was scheduled at 10:30pm. I got there early and was seated at the back, but I was on a bar stool so I had a better view of the stage. Then a large group of American tourists came in and I thought to myself "Uh-oh, I¥m in a tourist trap!"

June 13, 2005 10:07pm

View of the stage from my seat. June 13, 2005 10:11pm

The stage setup is less than ideal here. It¥s a long narrow room with the stage in the middle but along one of the long walls. The chairs are setup against the wall and there are only two tables in front of the stage. The majority (about 90%) of the audience is seated on either side of the stage so you only get a side view of the two singers and two guitarists (they use the same lavalier microphone I use). Fortunately, the dancers alternate dancing towards each side of the stage. I took a lot of pics.

For my drink, I ordered a glass of sangria. So far, all the other places I¥ve been only serve sangria by the pitcher. I also had a plate of spicy peppers with sausages. Yum!

June 13, 2005 10:30pm

The show started out with a Fandangos de Huelva with an introduction based on Rafael Riqueni¥s Al NiÒo Miguel, the same one I play, and each dancer (two females and one male) took turns dancing a copla before ending together.

The first solo was an alegrias which was OK (I have yet to see a dancer that blows me away here) but I enjoyed the musical ideas by the guitarists. It¥s not too often I get to hear other dance accompanists so I¥m always hungry for new ideas.

June 13, 2005 10:55pm

Next was a solea and this time the dancer was even better...or maybe it¥s because solea is one of my favorite palos. During the guitarists introduction, the embarassingly uncultured tourists were blabbing away and badly imitating palmas. I wanted to wring their necks--am I becoming a flamenco snob or what? Even the seated dancers were hissing at the audience to shut up. When the dancer got up and did some braceo they finally quieted down. Anyway it was done the same way that Rocio Molina did it at Lisner Auditorium last year--you know, super slow to the point where it almost sounds libre. Then the singers did a solea por bulerias before the last soloist, the guy, did an alegrias.

June 13, 2005 11:06pm

June 13, 2005 11:17pm

The guitarists played an introduction in the dark, then the lights faded on and the male dancer made his grand entrance running up on stage in time to start the opening footwork section, speeding up and closing with a llamada.

June 13, 2005 11:29pm

June 13, 2005 11:34pm

Fin de fiesta bulerias. June 13, 2005 11:38pm

June 13, 2005 11:39pm

Afterwards, I went to checkout the crowd at an outdoor mega dance club called Ananda near Atocha train station.

Entrance to Ananda. June 14, 2005 12:56am

It was kind of dead but then again it's Sunday night and I suppose even Madrileños have to work on Monday. June 14, 2005 1:01am

Ugh...I¥m going to dread editing photos when I get back to DC. Would you believe I¥ve taken 609 photos as of today? I got one of those large memory cards (1 gigabyte) which holds about 1400 pics at 2084 by 1536 pixels resolution so I still got plenty of space. OK...I¥ve spent enough time in this cyber cafe for today. Time to get back out there and enjoy the rest of my vacation. Hasta maÒana!

Miguelito's first trip to Spain: Madrid Day 7...June 13, 2005

The entrance to my favorite cybercafe on Puerta del Sol. June 13, 2005 8:05pm

June 13, 2005 8:06pm

They have over 92 computers here so there's there's always one available. June 13, 2005 8:06pm

A few random touristy pics...

Some important building near the Palacio Real. June 12, 2005 6:19pm

June 12, 2005 6:21pm

Some important gardens near the Palacio Real. June 12, 2005 6:27pm

It¥s 7:14pm on Monday. It¥s a little cooler today. When I first walked out the door this morning, I felt a bit of chill from the wind and thought "I need to buy a sweater," but as soon as I was out in the sun again, it felt like summer weather again I was glad to know that I had yet another beautiful day ahead of me.

Anyway, last night I went to a bar in the Lavapies neighborhood (the Madrid equivalent of DC¥s Adams-Morgan). The place is called El Juglar (Calle Lavapies 37). The place is tiny and when I first went in, I was thinking "Where¥s the stage? Is this just an informal juerga or what?" I tried to be cool and said to the bartender, "Me pones una caÒa." He gave me this puzzled look, muttered something like "Dude, where do you think you are?" and gave me a bottle of beer instead. I should¥ve realized that since there was no visible beer tap in this tiny bar, they only serve bottled drinks. Oh well. :-)

June 12, 2005 9:48pm

As showtime of 10:30pm approached, the people started congregating at a door in the back. Around this time, in walks Domingo Ortega wearing a tank top and carrying his motorcyle helmet. When several people at the bar gave him the usual Spanish hug-kiss greeting--I realized who the flamencos were in the crowd. For all I know, it could¥ve been everyone. There was probably 20 or so people in here.

June 12, 2005 10:27pm

Finally, the back door opened and people started to go in, pay the 5Ä cover (about US$6.02) and entered another room. When I finally got in, I was in a narrow space in back with a stage setup. In the audience, there was probably 15 rows with 5 seats per row. The arrangement of chairs onstage reminded of Casa Patas configuration: the chairs along the back wall were for the dancers and singer while the chair along the side wall (on stage left) was for the guitarist. It makes logical sense except from where I was standing, I couldn¥t see the guitarist¥s hands.

June 12, 2005 10:43pm

I was told that this was a show by student performers. Since I went in expecting a lower level of accomplishment, I wasn¥t disappointed. The first of three female dancers did a long bulerias--it was OK. The second did a solea por bulerias and was much much better. The third and final dancer did an alegrias. Not too much to say about these dancers. I was really paying attention to the guitarist¥s accompaniment. This kind of flamenco music is almost never published in recordings and I just wanted to pick up some new ideas to apply when I get back home (to DC).

June 12, 2005 10:53pm

June 12, 2005 10:54pm

June 12, 2005 10:57pm

June 12, 2005 10:59pm

June 12, 2005 11:05pm

June 12, 2005 11:09pm

June 12, 2005 11:25pm

June 12, 2005 11:26pm

My friend Tamara was running late. She called me around 10pm saying she wouldn¥t be able to make it, but when I told her that Domingo was there, she changed her mind. ;-) She got in about halfway through the show and was glad to have made it anyway--one of the dancers takes the same class with Domingo that she does.

I only had a beer and was kind of hungry and so was she, so we went down the street to an outdoor cafe that her friend Felicia took her to before. I let Tamara do the ordering since she knew what was good. The menu was unusual (for me) because it consisted only of two pages: tostas and bebidas or toasts and drinks.

The tostas are basically open-faced toasted sandwiches with all kinds of delicious toppings. I ordered the payes de jamon iberico and Tamara got the steak (don¥t remember the name). she also ordered a bottle of red wine. When the waitress came back she had two large crystal wine glasses--the kind you usually find at your typical expensive restaurant in the USA.

For a neighborhood like Lavapies, it wasn¥t what I expected, but Tamara told me that this place is known for its wine and it was evident because these glasses were large enough to let the wine decant (expose to the air to "open up" the flavor). We did the usual catching up with what we each did the past couple of days and took turns showing each other pics from our digicams. We split the check and I walked her back to the metro at Puerta del Sol and stopped by my favorite cybercafe which was closed unfortunately, so I went instead to my usual late night stop at the 7-11 to pick up some munchies and drinks before heading home.

June 13, 2005 12:29am

The next day (Monday) I had lunch with a girl I met last Saturday at one of the clubs on Calle Huertas. She knew that I liked Japanese so we went to a place called Kawara (Calle Aduana 23) near Puerta del Sol. Oh shoot, I¥m running out of time on this computer. Talk to you tomorrow.

Miguelito's first trip to Spain: Madrid Day 6...June 12, 2005

It¥s 12:25pm on Sunny-day. I got up early for a change (around 9am) despite not getting home until 4:30am last night. Even at that hour, the streets of Madrid were still abuzz with hundreds of late night clubbers and some places still had lines of people waiting to get in!

Yeah I know it¥s early for me to be on the computer, but besides a handful of shops and the famous Sunday morning Rastro flea market, everything¥s closed...so here I am. The guidebook I¥m using and highly recommend, Time Out Madrid, was right:

"[the Rastro is] an obligatory visit, but more for the atmosphere than the goods--you will almost definitely walk away empty-handed."

Rastro flea market. June 12, 2005 9:49am

As far as flamenco supplies, the Rastro has everything from cheap fans, cheap castanets, cheap small mantones (around 6Ä or US$7.23) and CD¥s but I didn¥t even bother looking at titles. This one kiosk had the first track of "Entre Dos Aguas" on repeat. I mean, yeah it¥s a catchy song, but it doesn¥t merit playing it again and again.

After the Rastro, I headed over to my favorite outdoor cafe on the Plaza Mayor. Don¥t ask me the name cuz they don¥t have big signs announcing the place. I just picked a table in the sun, and within a few moments a waiter appeared and I told her what I want. I opted for a breakfast of bocadillo de jamon serrano, tostada (that¥s just white toasted bread), fresh-squeezed orange juice and a cup of Spanish-style hot chocolate (think Starbucks Chantico--but thicker). Yum!

Plaza Mayor. June 12, 2005 10:36am

Breakfast. June 12, 2005 10:41am

Instead of going to the Sala Rociera at Almonte last night as I originally planned, I went to check out a few clubs on Calle Huertas--c¥mon, it¥s my vacation!!! Anyway, it was a fun mix of locals and tourists (quite a few American college students). Around 4am when things were winding down, I went to the Sol area to get some late night nourishment and to see what the lines were like at Joy Eslava and Palacio Gavira.

They weren¥t too long, but I just wanted to take a peek and it didn¥t justify waiting in line for who knows how long. I went to my favorite late night 7-11 (here they¥re called "Sprint") and got a small plastic-wrapped tortilla espaÒola, a couple of juice boxes and as I walked home, I picked up a bocadillo for 3Ä (about US$3.62) from one of the Asians that setup makeshift sandwich stands at every street corner near the clubs.

Oh cool! Speaking of food, just a few moments ago, as I sat here typing these words a girl came around with tray of free tapitas of bread with cured meats (salami, chorizo, jamon serrano etc) to offer us surfers something to eat while we cruise the Net. I love this cybercafe--the one located in Puerta del Sol. It¥s 5Ä (about US$6.03) for three hours of Internet access.

Ugh...the grogginess from lack of sleep is setting in. I think I¥ll go take a siesta somewhere or better yet find a cafe with a view, wake up with a few espressos and watch the people go by--I don¥t want this vacation to end. Believe it or not, I almost don¥t miss having my guitar with me. Speaking of coffee, um, yeah, I¥ll admit I did visit Starbucks a few times. It does count as a cultural experience: interestingly they only make espressos one way, and it¥s the way I always order them when in DC: doppio which I think is Italian for double.

Talk to ya later.

Miguelito's first trip to Spain: Madrid Day 5...June 11, 2005

A few random tourist pics...

Zara, a very popular clothing store in Madrid. This is their flagship store on Gran Vía. June 11, 2005 8:26pm

Inside the Zara on Gran VÌa. I did most of my shopping here. June 11, 2005 8:26pm

Stradivarius, another popular store on Gran Vía. June 11, 2005 8:30pm

Early dinner. Usually you get a plate of olives with your beer. At outdoor cafes like this one, it's normal to just throw the olive seeds on the ground. In some bars you can even throw your used napkins on the floor. June 11, 2005 8:50pm

OK...so I missed American food. I ordered a hamburger and this is what I got: chorizo, beef patty, tomatoes, fried eggs, fries and a bread basket. June 11, 2005 8:54pm

It¥s 4:23pm and it¥s yet another hot, sunny and beautiful day. The streets in the Puerta del Sol area are filled with large noisy groups of people wearing either green or red shirts, doing palmas and singing "fight" songs for the respective football (soccer) teams. Just before I got here, there were a few pretty girls flashing the football fans below from their balcony--kinda like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. :-)

Football fans crowding Calle de Ciudad de Rodrigo just outside of Plaza Mayor. June 11, 2005 3:11pm

Later the girls in the balcony put on a "show" for the fans. June 11, 2005 3:45pm

OK after seeing last night¥s show at Casa Patas, I feel like I¥ve really arrived in Spain. I finally saw some flamenco that lived up to my very high expectations. The show was breathtaking. The only artist on the stage whose name I recognized was Jeronimo Maya. Actually his name was printed on the program as Pepe Maya, but his gitano-looking friends in the corner kept yelling jaleos with "Jero." I figured it must be Jeronimo. Anyway, forget the fact that he¥s famous. The guitar playing was out of this world. I¥m not going to try to compare Jero with another well-known guitarist. All I can say is that he had all the technique he needed to express himself and more. He opened up the show with a solea (he used a clip-on lavalier microphone on the soundhole). There were about 10 or so gitanos in the corner yelling "Ole!" at the end of almost every falseta. I was thinking to myself "Don¥t they know any other jaleos besides Ole?" Who am I to question what is authentic. Next he invited the percussionist onstage to accompany por bulerias.

Walking up Calle Cañizares towards Casa Patas. June 10, 2005 11:43pm

Room is still filling up. June 11, 2005 12:05am

June 11, 2005 12:30am

As the lights dim, the crowd quiets down. This is the girl I sat next to during the show. June 11, 2005 12:31am

Jeronimo starts the show. June 11, 2005 12:35am

As a guitarist, it was cool to hear all kinds of new melodic ideas, harmonies and rhythmic variations that I had never heard before. Usually when we guitarists go hear other guitarists, we can usually pick out the falsetas..."Oh that¥s Paco" or "That¥s Vicente" etc etc. But I couldn¥t categorize the falsetas he was playing. It was very dynamic in the sense that he would play some lines purely with ligados (left-hand hammer-ons and pull-offs) that can only be audible in a club with amplification. This is the guitar playing of the new millenium--decades ago guitarists had to play everything full-out to be heard. Nowadays we guitarists can play very softly to express a wider dynamic range with the help of more sensitive microphones.

The important thing for me was I felt as though the performers were "in the moment" and I could feel some emotional connection to what was going on in the give and take between the musicians (and later, with the singers and dancer). At one point, I was almost in tears--but it could¥ve been the smoke though. As a DC area performer, I "live" in smokey places several nights a week, but it didn¥t prepare me for the excessive smoke in Casa Patas. I realized it wasn¥t just me cuz the American girl next to me asked me if I had any eyedrops. I thought to myself, Huh? Who carries eyedrops? I wish I did though, my eyes were actually stinging from the smoke. Anyway, I digress...

It cost me 30Ä (about US$36.17) to get in this place which I thought was kinda pricey, but the admission included the first drink. I ordered a doble. Remember what that is? The food on the menu was expensive (e.g. tortilla espaÒola for 16Ä or US$19.29!!!) so I ordered the cheapest thing: a bowl of anchovy-stuffed olives for 5Ä (about US$6.03). Yum! Back to the show...

June 11, 2005 12:58am

The cajon player left the stage and a singer came up and sang a solea por bulerias. I could hear the tonos of the singer well enough that I could have accompanied him myself...well not with the same cool chords and technique as Jero, but enough to keep the show afloat, so to speak. So as a guitarist, I needed to hear something more than the basic chord progession and Jero came through with some really off the wall ideas. Sometimes he would play a short but intense line of ligado that would have us guitarists on the edge of our seats, not just because of the technique required to play it so well, but because there were so many notes, it didn¥t sound like he would finish the phrase in time to stay in compas. But somehow he would resolve the melody in some funky way that was clear to the singer that he was "done." And the gitanos in the corner picked up on that and yelled "Ole!"

June 11, 2005 1:05am

June 11, 2005 1:08am

June 11, 2005 1:09am

Anyway, it¥s hard for me to go on in trying to describe this evening without going into poetic sappy descriptions of what I was feeling during the performance. Take my word for it. Those tears in my eyes were not just from the smoke. The music was really that inspiring. Interestingly, 90% of the show was guitar solos, duets and cante. The featured dancer didn¥t come onstage until the very end and he only did one dance, an alegrias. I¥m not sure if this is typical of shows in Madrid or in Spain for that matter. After the show, I felt like sharing my experience with a friend, so I sent text messages to some of my friends in the USA (See? it¥s good to have a Spanish cellphone! You can get yours via Telestial.)

It was close to 2:00am when the show let out and I thought of going to this place called Almonte which is supposed to be one of those clubs where they dance Sevillanas. But it was in another part of Madrid that I haven¥t been to yet and I wasn¥t in the mood to get lost this early in the morning, so I went home and called it a night. I¥ll go to Almonte on Saturday.

The next day (Saturday), I got up around 11am, got dressed and headed out to Gran Via again to check out another shopping district on Calle Fuencarral.

Calle Fuencarral. June 11, 2005 2:04pm

I stopped by a place to get a nice Spanish lunch: a bocadillo de jamon serrano con tomate, patatas fritas and a coca cola...gotta cut down on the beers. :-) I seem to be getting quite a tan here in the Madrid sun so I chose a table without an umbrella. To give you an idea of how dark I¥m getting: at the end of the day, when I take off my sandals, I can clearly see the "white" parts of my feet that were covered by the straps.

Adolfo Dominguez. June 11, 2005 2:04pm

Took lots of pics of the different store fronts and saw lots of cool clothes that I was so tempted to buy, but were a bit out of my price range (The shirts at Adolfo Dominguez looked great until I saw the 59Ä or US$71.14 price tag.). I¥m normally not a big shopping kind of guy, but I packed rather light and I thought it would be cool to buy clothes in Madrid so I wouldn¥t stand out so much as an American. Clothing-wise, it turns out that Madrid is very much like New York City, you can wear normal American clothes and not really stick out too much.

June 11, 2005 2:04pm

June 11, 2005 2:05pm

A very popular Madrid women's clothing store. June 11, 2005 2:24pm

June 11, 2005 2:43pm

Here's a closeup of the manton dress at Divina Providencia. June 11, 2005 2:43pm

June 11, 2005 2:47pm

I know you must be thinking..."Man, Miguelito. You really should be checking out more of the historical places etc and doing some sightseeing." I hear you, but I¥m just trying to get a feel for Madrid. I¥ve made a few friends but I¥m spending most of the time here on my own. This is not going to be my only trip here. I¥ll be coming back again soon, probably to Andalucia next time. Besides this is a vacation and I don¥t want to be rushing from one place to the next just to be able to say "Yeah, I saw the Prado" or "Yeah I saw Puerta de Alcala" etc etc. That¥s not for me.

OK, I¥m starting to get used to the Spanish keyboards now, but I¥m getting hungry again. Time to go out and find an outdoor cafe that¥s not mobbed by the football fans. I don¥t know, I think Tamara was thinking of going to Corral de la Moreria but in case she doesn¥t I can still check out Almonte. Even if I stay out late again, I¥m going to try to get up early on Sunday morning in time to see what the Rastro (flea market) is like. Yay more shopping! Ciao for now!

Miguelito's first trip to Spain: Madrid Day 4...June 10, 2005

It¥s 7:58pm and it just started raining for the first time since I got here. Last night¥s show was a bit disappointing. I won¥t name the performers and it really doesn¥t matter since I could have the same opinion when talking about even the stars of flamenco. It wasn¥t that they lacked talent. They were obviously sick of performing the same show over and over again night after night. I just wasn¥t responding emotionally to their show. And of course, being that I am in Spain, I had very high expectations. Oh well, so much for my first live show in Spain. At least it was free (we had a coupon) and I enjoyed the company of two flamenco dancer friends: Tamara and Felicia.

Tamara, Miguelito and Felicia at an outdoor cafe in the Ibiza neighborhood. I bought my shirt at Desigual on Calle Mayor. June 9, 2005 11:56pm

Afterwards, we went to an outdoor cafe and enjoyed a few beers and conversation before calling it a night. Tamara took the train home but I walked her friend Felicia all the way on the street that circles round Parque de Buen Retiro and up Paseo de Prado and Calle Atocha--for once I found someone that likes walking just as much as I do, perhaps even more! It was a little after 2am and I was in need of nourishment so went to the area close to Puerta del Sol where the all-night dance clubs were located (Joy Eslava is open until 6am!!!). I figured that area would be where I could find a late-night eatery to satisfy my hunger. I found the equivalent of a 7-11 and got a chorizo sandwich and a Fanta Limon and walked home to the Lavapies neighborhood.

The all-night store near the all-night dance clubs. June 10, 2005 2:06am

Joy Eslava club. June 10, 2005 2:11am

Palacio Gavira, another all-night club. June 10, 2005 2:12am

The next morning (Friday) I wanted do a few more touristy things but beforehand I needed to stop by the bank to exchange dollars for euros. Unfortunately at noon, many of the small businesses were buying hundreds of euros worth of coins for change. It was taking forever and I was starting to get annoyed and the worker at the desk took notice and went back and got my "small change." Thank God!

With money-in-hand it was time to go clothes shopping again. I decided to go to the Gran Via area where all the majors had huge stores including Zara, H&M, Nike etc. Nothing new at Zara--as much as I like their clothes, the selection wasn¥t much different from the smaller branches spread all over Madrid. Ditto with H&M--in fact they had the exact same selection as the Washington DC stores. Kind of disappointing cuz the prices were pretty good.

Gran Vía--kinda reminds me of New York's Time Square. June 10, 2005 1:07pm

June 10, 2005 1:19pm

Oh well, I¥ll have to make a quick sweep through the stores on Sol Mayor and see if I can find a nice shirt to wear on what I hope will be my first decent night of flamenco at Casa Patas--I¥m going to the midnight show. The performers: Rafael Martos (baile), El Bocadillo and El Cabanica (cante), Pepe Maya and Juan Serrano (toque) and Amadaor Losada (percussion) with Maria Paz Lucena (invited artist).

I was supposed to pick up a few items for my dancer friends so I visited a store near Puerta del Sol called "Gil" that sells mantones (telephone 915-212-549). I took the liberty of converting the euro prices to US dollars to give you an idea of the prices.

June 10, 2005 2:42pm

Let¥s see what else did I do? Oh yeah...the touristy things. Checked out the Reina-Sofia Museum mostly to see Picasso¥s "Guernica." Last year I had to prepare an art history presentation on top of my flamenco presentation for a Spanish culture class for high school kids. So I read a book called Picasso¥s War and learned everything there was to know about the history behind the painting. It seemed appropriate that I go see the painting after spending so much time learning about it. Took pictures of course, then as I was exiting the museum I noticed signs saying that photography was prohibited. Oh well. :-)

The famous glass-enclosed elevator of the Reina-Sofia museum. June 10, 2005 3:03pm

Museum entrance. June 10, 2005 3:04pm

View from the elevator. June 10, 2005 3:14pm

June 10, 2005 3:14pm

Out the elevator and down the corridor. June 10, 2005 3:16pm

Finally...Picasso's famous Guernica! June 10, 2005 3:21pm

Next, I met up with a friend that I met in the immigration line at the airport on Monday. She wasn¥t into the museum thing but I thought it would be cool to take her to the Parque de Buen Retiro to see if we could find that area where they shot that one scene in "Abre Los Ojos." Didn¥t find it but I had a few hours to practice Spanish and get to know her a little better. See? Didn¥t I tell you it¥s a good idea to have a Spanish cellphone? ;-)

One of many beautiful views in Parque del Buen Retiro. I put my camera away so we could enjoy the walk. June 10, 2005 4:01pm

Afterwards, she went back to her hotel and I decided to return to the Flamenco-World.com store to see if Daniel MuÒoz was around and sure enough he was. It was cool to finally meet an internet colleague of mine that I¥ve known for years via email. His site has been around since 1997. Took lots of pics and saw plenty of flamenco goodies that I was eager to buy. I decided I would make my purchases the day before I leave.

June 10, 2005 6:35pm

Daniel Muñoz and Miguelito. June 10, 2005 6:41pm (photo by Alan)

June 10, 2005 6:41pm

June 10, 2005 6:42pm

June 10, 2005 6:43pm

June 10, 2005 7:01pm

June 10, 2005 7:02pm

Next stop: Flamenco Vive, another flamenco store. It was located on an isolated street and they had to ring me in--don¥t blame them though, they have expensive guitars, tons of CD¥s, DVD¥s, dresses and other accessories.

June 10, 2005 7:36pm

With all this walking, I was getting a serious workout for my legs. My guidebook recommended the Medina Mayrit. It's a Turkish bath which basically is like a heated pool where people go to relax. It's coed and you have to wear a swim suit--luckily I brought one. For €18 (about US$21), you make an appointment for a specific hour and you get 90 minutes of time to use the pools. There are several sections: a steamy sauna, a hot pool, less hot, warm and cool. The place is dimly lit with red candles and soothing arabic chillout music is piped in through the hidden speakers. The pools are very shallow so that the average person can sit on the side and keep just their head above the water.

I couldn't take pics of the bath--anyway it's kinda creepy taking pics at a pool and besides the camera lens would fog up from the steam. :-) The pic below is borrowed from a tourist website.

I went in the middle of the day so my fellow "bathers" were tourists (mostly American college students) but there wasn't much socializing going on. Everyone pretty much kept to themselves and soaked in the relaxing ambience. Afterwards, I felt very refreshed. I highly recommend a visit to the Medina Mayrit!

June 10, 2005

Anyway, I¥m starting to get annoyed by the Spanish keyboard they have on the computer at this cyber cafe and I got to stuff to do (like eat) before I go to the midnight show at Casa Patas. Hasta maÒana.

Miguelito's first trip to Spain: Madrid Day 3...June 9, 2005

June 9, 2005 5:39pm (photo by Miguelito)

It¥s 5:53pm here. Still can¥t connect my laptop due to technical issues. The above pic is from the webcam at my computer in the cyber cafe in Puerta del Sol.

This morning I met up with Tamara at Amor de Dios, but on the way, I stopped by the Flamenco World store on Calle Huertas (just a few blocks from the studio). I was hoping to meet Daniel MuÒoz, the webmaster but the girl at the front desk told me to come back after 4pm.

Anyway, I had a hard time finding the studio since there is no frikkin¥ sign outside. The girl told me to go to the market where they sell meat, fish and vegetables and go upstairs. Well I found the market and walked all the way around the block until I heard the familiar sounds of footwork and palmas coming out of the windows on the second floor.

Hidden entrance to Amor de Dios. June 9, 2005 12:15pm

As soon as I peeked into the first studio, the teacher waved at me and approached me. It was La Truco! It¥s been over a year since I last saw her (she gave a workshop and performance in April 2004 in DC). I took a few pics and sat and watched the class for awhile. It looked like they were working on solea por bulerias. I asked Truco if she saw Tamara and she told me to go to Manuel Reyes¥class and that¥s where she was!

La Truco's class--so many beautiful Spanish girls. :-) June 9, 2005 12:28pm

Manuel Reyes' class. Tamara is in the pink top. June 9, 2005 12:39pm

Tamara and I had been communicating by phone the past couple of days and finally I saw her in person. Funny thing about being here at Amor de Dios is that I felt so much at home even though I know I¥m several thousand miles away.

I went back to Truco¥s class and they were working on tangos now. Down the hall came Tamara on the way to a class by Domingo Ortega, so she invited me along. I sat in the corner by the tiny air conditioner. It gets pretty hot in here. There¥s even a guy that goes down the hall every few minutes with a water bottle to spray a cooling fine mist on the dancers as they come out of class.

Domingo Ortega's class. June 9, 2005 1:08pm

I don¥t know Domingo and I couldn¥t pick him out of the dancers in the class. I was surprised to learn that he was the muscular-looking guy. You know the kind with muscles so big he walks with his arms curved out. Nothing wrong with that, I was just expecting the stereotype of a thinner, more ballet-type body. They worked on fandangos. The guitarist was good but I was especially impressed with the cajon player. The musicians here are amazing and they don¥t even use amplification.

Another one of Domingo's class. June 9, 2005 1:08pm

As I was waiting for Tamara to get changed into street clothes, I waited in the lobby. I heard two girls say "Bye Miguelito!" as they exited the studio. Yay! I'm famous even in Madrid! :-)

The lobby bulletin board with class announcements. June 9, 2005 2:02pm

After class, Tamara and I got together with her dancer friend Marcos (formerly from San Francisco USA) and we got a bite around the corner at a bar named Vinicula (not too sure about the name). I learned the different sizes for beer: caÒa for a small, doble for a large. I ordered a empanada and a tomato salad. Simple stuff but so delicious!

I¥m meeting Tamara tonight to go see a flamenco show somewhere near the Ibiza metro just on the other side of Parque de Buen Retiro (remember Penelope Cruz in the park scene in the movie "Abre los Ojos"?). I could take the metro there but you all know much I love to walk. I still have to go shopping for some nicer clothes...all I brought with me was one pair of walking shorts and two shirts. Yesterday I went shopping at Zara and bought two shirts and another pair of shorts. The shops won¥t be open too much longer, so I better sign off and find something to wear tonight. Here are a few random storefronts as I went shopping...

One of many clothing stores on Calle Mayor. June 9, 2005 7:42pm

I ended up coming back here later to buy some clothes. June 9, 2005 7:44pm

Calle de Postas, just off of Calle Mayor. A few days later, this street would be filled with football fans. June 9, 2005 7:49pm

Spanish costume store. June 9, 2005 7:51pm

One of many kitschy souvenir stores. June 9, 2005 7:52pm

Puerta del Sol, Madrid's central plaza. Notice how sunny it is at around 8:00pm! June 9, 2005 8:06pm

Calle Carretas, just off Puerta del Sol where they have lots of clothing stores. June 9, 2005 8:07pm

June 9, 2005 8:07pm

June 9, 2005 8:08pm

June 9, 2005 8:10pm

The weather here is beautiful...it¥s hot but almost no humidity. I¥ll tell you about tonight¥s show later. Ciao for now.

Coming soon...pics from Madrid. June 6-8, 2005

Guess what? Yours truly is in Madrid right now (in a cybercafe in Puerta del Sol). I¥ve been taking lots of pics, but still haven¥t found an Internet cafe that lets me wirelessly connect my laptop so you¥ll have to wait until I get back from my vacation.

In the meantime, if you¥re reading this and happen to be in Madrid, call me on my cellphone here at 695-441-203. I¥m meeting up with dancer Tamara Sol Flys tomorrow (Thursday June 9) to visit Amor de Dios and to see a flamenco show somewhere. But I¥m open to meeting up with other flamencos in town.

Some of you have been asking me what it was like at the hostel where I stayed, so here you go...