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Miguelito's Photo Diary/BlogAugust 14, 2005 - August 19, 2005
Casablanca August 19, 2005 This the second time this month I played at Casablanca. As I was setting up my sound system, De Kai approached me and said hello. He's the cajon player from Hong Kong who's been in Baltimore the past month in a half. Usually when I see him, it means that dancer Tamara Sol Flys is in the vicinity cuz he usually gets a ride with her from Baltimore. Turned out that De Kai's sister was in town and she has a car and he got a ride with her. The dancers were Anna Menendez and Edwin Aparicio. Marta Chico Martín was in the audience so we invited her onstage to provide palmas. 
Anna Menendez dancing a soleá. August 19, 2005 8:41pm (photo by De Kai) My guitar playing was really on again! It seems I'm finally making some breakthroughs in my technique after plateauing out for awhile. Yay! I've been very inspired the past couple of weeks and it's coming through my music. 
Edwin Aparicio dancing alegrías. August 19, 2005 8:57pm (photo by De Kai) 
August 19, 2005 9:07pm (photo by De Kai) After the show, we enjoyed the usual delicious Morrocan feast before heading to Las Tapas. I left early so I can go home and catch up on sleep. That way I can party tonight in Delaware. It's 1:39am on Saturday as I type these words. I'm riding up with Carlton Saturday morning to visit my dancer friend Micaela Moreno near Rehoboth Beach. We'll do some rehearsing, maybe some outlet shopping and check out the beach nightlife. Then on Sunday we'll perform at the Festival Hispano in Millsboro around 2:30pm. Our group for this performance includes dancers Micaela Moreno, Marta Chico Martin, Pam and Alex from Arte Flamenco, Cecilia Terrasa, singer Carlton Ashton and yours truly Miguelito on guitar. This is going to be a blast! Casablanca has flamenco shows every Friday. Call 703-549-6464 to make your reservation. I probably won't be updating the website until I get back late on Sunday night. Ciao for now. Have a great weekend! Tutto Bene August 18, 2005 While I was all the way out in Rockville doing my show at the Andalucía restaurant last night (Thursday), Torcuato was doing his show in Arlington at Tutto Bene restaurant. My friend Ayhan was kind enough to send me pics: 
Alex, Nora Lopez and Marta Chico Martín. August 18, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) The three beautiful ladies in pic below will be among the dancers performing with yours truly at Festival Hispano in Millsboro, Delaware this Sunday at 2:30pm. 
Alex, Marta and Pam . August 18, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) 
Pam, Marta and Torcuato Zamora. August 18, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) 
Pam and Natalia Monteleón. August 18, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) 
Alex, Pam, Sarah McKenney, Nora, Marta and Natalia. August 18, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) 
Alex and Sarah. August 18, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) 
Gloria Monges and Alex. August 18, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) Here's special photo gallery of the show at Tutto Bene by Elizabeth. On the metro August 18, 2005  August 18, 2005 10:10pm Sitting here on the train going home with nothing but my own thoughts to keep me entertained, I reflected on the evening... It was a good night at Andalucía. Business could've been better, but the show went well. Artistically speaking, it was very satisifying. My guitar playing was really on and I had the pleasure of working again with Julia Cristina (sorry no pics). For her main solo, Julia performed a seguiriyas--more or less the same choreography as last night at El Manantial. With just one guitarist and one dancer, there's quite a bit more freedom for improvisation. But what makes this "magic" possible is compás. We both were locked into the same "groove" so I felt comfortable to try out different musical ideas knowing that it wouldn't throw Julia off. For those of you just getting started in flamenco, be warned that it's always a difficult transition to go from dancing with CD's to live guitar. Uh-oh, I feel a lecture coming on. :-) The problem with CD's is that the dancer associates a specific melody or harmonic progression with certain steps. And if that specific melody or harmonic progression is not played by the live guitarist, the inexperienced dancer feels "lost." The best thing for the inexperienced dancer to do is to just practice and perform as much as possible with live guitar and learn to hear the underlying compás. The melody and chords might be different each time but the compás is always the same. For example, last night Julia performed seguiriyas accompanied by two guitars, cajón, cante and palmas. She and I did rehearse one-on-one last week but she had not rehearsed with the whole group. It wasn't really necessary, because she knew she could hear the compás regardless of what letras Carlton sang, what falsetas and rasgueados that RJ and yours truly played, and what rhythm patterns that Jason played on cajón. I know that there are some dance teachers who live in towns where there are absolutely no flamenco guitarists available so they end up using CD's or just palmas. That's understandable. What I'm really trying to say here is that you shouldn't expect going from dancing with CD's to dancing with live guitar to be a smooth transition. So when you get together with a guitarist for the first time, be patient, it takes time to get used to it. Later on with more experience, you'll find that live music is better than a recording. Flamenco is about interaction. As a dancer, if you feel inspired to elongate an escobilla section or shorten it or if you feel like speeding up a certain section or slowing it down, a competent guitarist will support you and improvise music that complements your dance and inspires you to take it to the next level. With a CD, the music is always the same. Yeah I got a pay raise at the Andalucía having worked here for 8 years as of last month. That's longer than any other flamenco show in DC currently running! But I got also got a new responsibility: I have to book the dancers. In the coming months, I'll be bringing various student dancers to perform here. Stay tuned.  August 18, 2005 10:11pm Flamenco in Baghdad August 18, 2005 My guitarist friend Gil Mendez writes:  Gil playing his Washburn guitar. August 18, 2005 (photo courtesy of Gil Mendez, Lt. Commander, US Navy) A month had passed for me in Baghdad, before I was able to get my hands on a Washburn classical with worn and dirty strings – and by this time I was able to re-grow some of the length on my fingernails. Picking up a guitar and playing again was like reuniting with a soul mate (after spending many weeks and 8,000 miles apart). To musicians, the guitar is probably the warmest and most inviting instrument around. Also, the shapely curves of the Spanish guitar clearly indicate a feminine quality. And although this Washburn isn’t the apex of the Luthier’s art, it still has all the ability needed to fill an aspiring guitarist’s empty soul. 
August 18, 2005 (photo courtesy of Gil Mendez, Lt. Commander, US Navy) When Iraqi friends saw me, they started in with requests from Jimmy Buffet to Ozzy. I explained that what I cradled carefully in my arms was not “that kind” of guitar (not really). After playing a few passages of Flamenco, and Classical music by Bach, I was pleased to see them remain to listen. Most were interested in the distinct sound made by fingernails on nylon strings. All recognized the music, especially Malagueña. El Manantial August 17, 2005 Seems like a long time since I last played here. The last show was in July but I was away in Maine that weekend, so Ramin covered for me. Anyway, it was good to be back again. There were a couple of changes to the show since the last time I was here: we added singer Carlton Ashton, we had cajon player Jason Vera y Aragón join us and we tried out a new dancer: Julia Cristina. 
Julia Cristina and Jason Vera y Aragón. August 17, 2005 
Jason warming up. August 17, 2005 
RJ and Julia rehearsing in the back of the restaurant. August 17, 2005 I was trying to take as many pics as I could before the show...assuming that I wouldn't find anyone to take pics for me during the performance. Turned out that a large group of flamenco friends showed up: Gloria Monges' students and friends from the Reston Conservatory where she teaches flamenco. Among this group was my friend Ayhan who brought his own digicam and took pics while we were onstage. 
RJ, Miguelito, Jason and Carlton performing the opening number without the dancers: a tangos. August 17, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag)  August 17, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) 
Jason and Julia dancing Sevillanas. August 17, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) Julia performed a seguiriyas (sorry no pics). 
Shahram performing soleá por bulerías. August 17, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) 
Fin de fiesta bulerías. August 17, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) Considering that we had a few major changes to the show, not to mention very little rehearsal, we made a few little mistakes but since we were having so much fun, we quickly recovered (as good performers should) and kept the momentum going. There was a lot of very positive energy onstage and the audience picked up on it and loved us! Congrats to Julia Cristina on a job well done--she's on her way to becoming a very good performer. It's too bad for us that she's going back to school in California very soon. 
After the show: Jason, Julia and Shahram. August 17, 2005 Gloria Monges' group: 
Top row: Ursula, Julien, Dorette, Kathy, Lisa, Carlton and Ayhan. Table row: Yong, Helena, Bedriye and Gloria. August 17, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) 
Salmon. It's good for you and delicious! August 17, 2005 One of the perks of working here is the free dinner and bottle of wine (well not really free cuz we earned it). As we were enjoying our food (we all ordered the salmon--healthy choice), we noticed some dancing going on outside... 
Gloria, Bedriye, Elena Kathy, Julien and RJ. August 17, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) 
Elena, Julien, Gloria, Julia, Kathy, RJ and Bedriye. August 17, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag) 
Bedriye, Gloria and Kathy. August 17, 2005 It was Gloria Monges' group dancing Sevillanas. RJ quickly grabbed his guitar and accompanied them. 
Gloria, Kathy, Elena and Julie Ann. August 17, 2005 
RJ, Kathy, Gloria, Bedriye and Julia. August 17, 2005 After our little fiesta outside, we quickly went back in to finish dinner and get some dessert. 
Jason teaching Julia some bulerías patterns for cajón. August 17, 2005 Yeah she got a cajón for Christmas and wants to play it in shows. Question is what is an appropriate way for a female dancer to sit on a cajon when she wears a skirt? 
RJ's always the first to pull-out the guitar at parties. August 17, 2005 
My choice for dessert: crème brûlée. August 17, 2005 
Everyone else got a banana tart. Yum! August 17, 2005 BTW, Julia Cristina will be performing at 8:00pm tonight (Thursday August 18) at the Andalucía Restaurant with yours truly. Call 301-770-1880 to make your reservation. How time flies! It's 4:37am on Thursday as I type these words. Time for me to get some sleep. I'll continue this entry when I wake up. Good night! The next flamenco night at El Manantial is on Wednesday September 21, 2005. Call 703-742-6466 to make your reservation. Las Tapas August 16, 2005 Just like last night at Cafe Citron, my Mackie mixer wasn't "cooperating." I've been using (and abusing) it for about four years now and it's about time for me to buy a new one. Some of the local flamencos use the UB1222FX-PRO by Behringer. Cool thing is that it has built in effects, so I won't have to carry a separate piece of equipment for reverb. Plus the UB1222FX-PRO fits perfectly in the case I already use for my Mackie. So instead of using the mixer, I plugged my microphone directly into my reverb and route it directly into my powered JBL speaker. It sounded decent except I couldn't do any EQ to beef up the sound with a little more of the bass frequencies. But when I asked a fellow musician in the audience about the sound quality, he said it sounded great. Yay! My friend Carla Pacheco (a local flamenco dance student) was in the audience with her mom, sister and grandmother--a girls' night out. :-) She managed to get the best table for viewing the show--assuming you like sitting right in front of the stage. 
Carla Pacheco and Miguelito. August 16, 2005 As you might have expected, I asked her to take pics of the show. Thanks Carla! 
I'm playing an F dominant seventh with an added ninth with for my intro to soleá. August 16, 2005 (photo by Carla Pacheco) 
Anna Menendez, Edwin Aparicio and Miguelito. August 16, 2005 (photo by Carla Pacheco)  August 16, 2005 (photo by Carla Pacheco)  August 16, 2005 (photo by Carla Pacheco) 
Another major chord with an added ninth. It's for my improvised to an alegrías. August 16, 2005 (photo by Carla Pacheco)  August 16, 2005 (photo by Carla Pacheco)  August 16, 2005 (photo by Carla Pacheco)  August 16, 2005 (photo by Carla Pacheco) Other friends in the audience included Richmond area guitarist Barry Carter and dancers Julie Cristina and Francisca. Las Tapas has flamenco shows every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. (Rumba shows on Fridays and Saturdays) Call 703-836-4000 to make your reservation. Cafe Citron August 15, 2005
August 15, 2005 (photo by Steffi Jacob with Miguelito's camera) 
Miguelito accompanying Sara Jerez in a soleá. August 15, 2005 (photo courtesy of Steffi Jacob) 
Sara, Miguelito and Gerard. August 15, 2005 (photo courtesy of Steffi Jacob) 
August 15, 2005 (photo courtesy of Steffi Jacob) 
August 15, 2005 (photo courtesy of Steffi Jacob) In the audience, there was a turkish girl named Rana who knew how to dance Sevillanas so we invited her onstage. She's not bad at all! :-) After the show, I learned that she's a trained dancer who started with ballet as a child and later picked up flamenco while in Seattle where she was active in the flamenco scene there. She has worked with Seattle-based Carmona Flamenco. 
Rana and Sara. August 15, 2005 (photo by Carlos Jones) 
August 15, 2005 (photo by Carlos Jones) Don't worry, I got her contact info. She's in the DC area for an internship for awhile, and if she decides to stay, I'll definitely call her and try to incorporate her into one of my upcoming gigs. Welcome to DC Rana! 
Rana, Sara and Miguelito. August 15, 2005 (photo courtesy of Steffi Jacob) Big thank you to Steffi for sending me the pics!  Steffi. August 15, 2005 (photo courtesy of Steffi Jacob) Cafe Citron has flamenco shows every Monday at around 8:00pm and 9:00pm. Call 202-530-8844 to make your reservation (assuming you want a table near the stage). Otherwise just show up and sit at the bar. Catching up August 14, 2005 Yeah, I know it's been a couple of days since my last blog update. It's not that there wasn't anything going on. Just wasn't in a picture-taking mood. But I can still write--that's what blogs are really for anyway. (I wish there were other flamenco-related blogs for the DC area though.) After my Andalucía gig Thursday I met up with a dancer friend and went to the movies. It was like 10:00pm when we arrived at the theater so our choices were limited so we saw "Dukes of H." It was a fun movie (in a cheesy kind of way), but for $9.25 a ticket, I felt cheated. Oh well. Ended up doing an informal 10:00am practice session with this dancer the next morning. It was perfect timing cuz I had a rehearsal with another dancer scheduled at noon nearby at Joy of Motion in Friendship Heights. This is where I do the hardest (but nevertheless fun) part of my job: anticipating potential problems in working with each dancer and coming up with solutions. Usually this involves just running through the dance and stopping to fix choreographic and musical things along the way. I was scheduled to play at Casablanca on Friday, but I needed a night off so I could go out with my non-flamenco friends on a Friday like normal people for a change. :-) Turned out that my colleague Richard Marlow was available so I got him to replace me at the last minute. Thanks Richard! As I was getting dressed to go out, no matter where I put my camera bag on my belt, it created an unsightly bulge in my untucked shirt. Screw it. As much as I love to share pics of day-to-day life, it's not going to be the end-of-the-world if I skip a day. So I left it at home! As I walked to the metro, I passed that arbitrary point where if I forgot something, I wouldn't turn around and go back home to get it. So I kept going and thought to myself, OK the night that I leave it at home, a photo op will come up and I'll be sans camera. Having my Olympus Stylus 300 within reach puts me in that frame of mind where I'm constantly scanning my periphery for cool shots. Usually I try to tell a story so I try to get pics that follow each step of a logical sequence. e.g. I'll take a shot of the entrance to a club, the view as I first enter the door, the people I run into etc...and I try to I take pics that will illustrate things that I might write about. Anyway, as the night wore on, I had a few photo ops and instinctively reached for my camera bag, but nothing there. Eventually, I got out of photoblogger mode and I just enjoyed myself. Hence no pics. This mode carried over to the next day. Saturday, I got up early (8:30am-ish) and practiced guitar all day. Yeah I'm still in that inspired mode that started almost two weeks ago. Then I squeezed in few errands before meeting up with RJ around 7:30pm to get ready for our rumba gig at Turcuisine in Herndon (571-323-3330) which started at 9:00pm. During our last set, a dancer friend showed up and did some Sevillanas which the customers (as expected) really loved. Maybe we can get a flamenco show going here sometime in the future. We'll see. Had some cheesecake for dessert and caffeinated-up with some turkish coffee. After the gig, RJ dropped me off at the metro around 12:30am and I made it home sometime after 1:00am. Dropped off my guitar and sound equipment and walked across the Key Bridge to checkout what was left of the nightlife in Georgetown. Left my camera home again...uh-oh I hope this doesn't become a habit! :-) It's 10:42am on Sunday as I type these words. I gotta get some food, I'm starving. OK so here's one pic so I you can't say I totally slacked off. :-) 
August 14, 2005 9:32am According to my palm OK...I'm back home at the computer. It's 10:47am on Monday as I type these words. Didn't take pics during class--one of those days where I was so into playing guitar and watching the dancers that photoblogging duties escaped my mind. Oh well. I had fun of course despite not having any amplification--the smallness of the studio at DC Dance Collective allows the sound of my guitar to project well enough for the dancers in the back to hear me. Afterwards, spent a half hour after class catching up with Anna enjoying some Tecates at the Salvadorean place next door. Later, I headed over to Georgetown harbour for a few hours to enjoy the view. ;-) Then grabbed a late-night bite at the original Booeymongers near Georgetown U before walking home. The weather was beautiful! 
Georgetown harbour. August 14, 2005 8:47pm
Photos taken with the Olympus Stylus 300 Digital Camera
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OK, computer's still sick, but I found a workaround to get photos from my digicam to my desktop. In addition to the pics that Steffi sent me, there are a few by my friend Carlos Jones taken with my camera.
, it's dance class marathon day. Yay! From 1:30pm to 3:00pm, I'll be at Joy of Motion playing for Estela Velez's class. From 3:00pm to 4:00pm, I'll get a leisurely lunch somewhere and arrive at DC Dance Collective in time for Anna Menendez's class and play until 7:00pm. Will I have pics from this day? You'll have to check back later to find out. Ciao for now!
