DCFLAMENCO - Flamenco in Washington DC

Miguelito's Photo Diary and Blog

January 5, 2006 - January 13, 2006

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About the author/photographer: My name is Michael Perez, but everyone calls me Miguelito. I'm a full-time flamenco guitarist based in Washington DC, USA. This is a self-published account of my day-to-day life. It's meant to be educational and inspirational for my readers and therapeutic for myself--a way of reflecting on each day and recounting the good and not-so-good parts and how I can learn from them and grow. Happy reading!

Andalucia restaurant January 5, 2006
Cabanas January 6, 2006
Tenth Anniversary Party January 8, 2006
Citron January 9, 2006
Tuesday with Miguelito January 10, 2006
Wednesday with Miguelito January 11, 2006
Cabanas January 13, 2006

Cabanas January 13, 2006

Dancers were Ginette Perea and Shahram Tehranian. My thanks to Ginette's friend, James, for taking pics!

January 13, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

Everywhere, business typically slows down for the winter months but, believe it or not, the restaurant was packed--just about every table was filled. The bar was packed too--well, there was a private party. Let's hope this trend continues.

January 13, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

I love the red-illuminated fountain behind us. It adds so much to the ambience! During the warmer months, they open up the doors behind us.

January 13, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

After the show, I made a point of greeting at least one table--part of one of my New Year's resolutions to get my business act together and get out there and market myself. You know, basically walking up and saying, "Excuse me...I just want to thank you for coming and hope you enjoyed our show." Usually that's enough to get the conversation started, giving me the opportunity to promote my website.

Wednesday with Miguelito January 11, 2006

I met several cool people last night at Las Tapas including a new professional flamenco dancer who just moved to the DC area. Sorry no pics. Anyway, I spent most of the day in bed catching up on sleep. I stayed out pretty late last night celebrating the 10th anniversary, again. Why not? It only comes every, um, ten years! :-)

It's 1:51pm on Wedesday as I type these words. A dancer friend who was just in the neighborhood stopped by for a visit for a few minutes. But timing was a bit off cuz I had to rush off to meet another friend for coffee at Juan Valdez in half-an-hour! TIP: Celebrate 10th anniversaries more often--it'll do wonders for your social life. :-) I should've at least given her a bottle of wine from my new collection, hehe. Gotta go. Tonight I'm at Cafe Bonaparte. Ciao for now!

Tuesday with Miguelito January 10, 2006

It's 1:48pm on Tuesday as I type these words. Yeah, today my website turned 10, yay! Although I did have a party to celebrate two days ago, today is really the official day.

Earlier this morning, I had a school show with yet another up-and-coming student dancer. She arrived on time (in other words, early) and was dressed in costume in time for the show, yay! Muy profesional! I like her already! The show went well and I feel like I'm going to have another good dancer to call upon for more professional gigs in the future as she improves.

I had my camera with me and I could've asked someone to take pics for me, but I didn't. Last night at Citron I had my camera too, but didn't bother either. Taking pics or having someone take pics and editing them later takes a lot of work which I enjoy. Not to mention my commentary which I seem to be doing less of these days. Something inside of me is compelling me to cut back on my photo blog.

I've been in a contemplative kind of mood the past few days. Obviously people love my photo diary--it's the most visited part of my website according to my statistics.

Ten is just an arbitrary number. We Americans tend to make a big deal about tenth this or tenth that. It may be arbitrary, but ten years relentlessly doing one thing, and doing it well, still deserves a celebration. But it also spurs me step back and look at the big picture and think about where I've been and where I'm going with this website.

Part of me thinks that I shouldn't change a thing. "If it ain't broken, don't fix it," as the saying goes. But this flamenco webmaster gig is pretty lonely. Not too many people do this sort of thing, so I don't have that many colleagues to consult for advice. So, now must I turn to YOU, my loyal readers.

I've done my celebrating already and received tons of well-deserved praise. But now it's time for me (speaking for the website) to grow. Give me some constructive criticism and DON'T HOLD BACK! DCFLAMENCO is already a great website, but I need your help to take it to the next level.

If you prefer to email your constructive criticism anonymously, use my comment form and leave the name and email fields blank.

NOTE: I have received my fair share of hate mail over the years (they say that anyone doing something worthwhile is going to upset at least a few people). So please do not use this anonymous method of email as a way of personally attacking me. But, if you are going to attack me anyway, fine, but have the guts to sign your own real name. Still, there still is an ounce of truth behind attacks, so it'll be useful to me.

Citron January 9, 2006

Didn't bring my camera, but luckily my friend Greg Mantell had his. Thanks Greg!

Miguelito setting up the lights. Notice the newly-refinished floor. January 9, 2006 (photo by Greg Mantell)

Miguelito and Gerard. January 9, 2006 (photo by Greg Mantell)

Notice the newly scuffed and scratched-up floor! :-) January 9, 2006 (photo by Greg Mantell)

Sara Jerez. January 9, 2006 (photo by Greg Mantell)

January 9, 2006 (photo by Greg Mantell)

Here are some of the audience.

Miguelito, Idi and Rachel. January 9, 2006 9:56pm

Idi is a semi-regular at Citron who also plays guitar. His friend Rachel lived in Sevilla.

Krish, Miguelito, Crystal and Raj. January 9, 2006 9:59pm

I met Krish and Raj outside Citron when they recognized me, "You are Miguelito, right?"

They were in Spain visiting the Valeriano Bernal shop. The owner of the shop instantly recognized my name when Krish and Raj mentioned they were friends of Miguelito. Small world--the power of the Internet!

Tenth Anniversary Party January 8, 2006

It's 8:30am on Monday as I type these words. Yesterday I had a gathering at my house to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the DC Flamenco website.

It was an important event of course and I was emotionally touched by the presence of so many friends and supporters, but I didn't want to miss out on the fun by taking pics all the time, so I only have these few to offer.

Fortunately, some of my friends (including my brother Kevin) came through with more pics!

This is a festively wrapped round of cheese from my guitarist friend Torcuato Zamora.

January 8, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

Miguelito and Torcuato. January 8, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

My multi-talented friend John Boulet (playing the guitar) brought with him three cajons that he built himself. It seemed especially appropriate that dancer Ginette Perea, who is of Peruvian descent, was very eager to play the cajon, which is originally a Peruvian instrument. Those "tenth birthday" balloons in the back are from her mom. Thanks Gina!

From left: John Boulet, Ginette Perea, James Huffstetler, Ramona Jackson, Karina Valverde and Bedriye Ozdag. January 8, 2006 7:22pm (photo by Kevin Perez)

From left: Lenore Boulet, Jason Vera y Aragon, John Boulet and Ginette Perea. January 8, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

One of several wine stations. January 8, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

Another wine station. January 8, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

Lenore is also multi-talented. Besides being a dancer, she plays flamenco guitar and flamenco piano. January 8, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

Ginette and Lisa. January 8, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

(Incidentally, have you seen Ginette and Lisa's pics from their August 2005 trip to Spain?)

Maryam, Miguelito and Nina Tavakoli. January 8, 2006 9:00pm

My speech. January 8, 2006 9:21pm (photo by Jill Hatzai)

January 8, 2006 9:24pm (photo by Kevin Perez)

January 8, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

January 8, 2006 9:22pm (photo by Ayhan Ozdag)

January 8, 2006 9:25pm (photo by Ayhan Ozdag)

Marsha approaching the mic after I introduce her. January 8, 2006 9:34pm (photo by Jill Hatzai)

Marsha's speech. January 8, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

January 8, 2006 9:35pm (photo by Ayhan Ozdag)

January 8, 2006 (photo by James Huffstetler)

Too bad this next pic is blurry. It's kinda cool though cuz it depicts two generations of DC flamencos: Miguelito and Marsha, Torcuato Zamora and Natalia Monteleon.

January 8, 2006 9:40pm (photo by Kevin Perez)

Lisa, James and Ginette. January 8, 2006 9:38pm (photo by Jill Hatzai)

January 8, 2006 10:00pm (photo by Ayhan Ozdag)

Isabel Otero. January 8, 2006 10:09pm (photo by Jill Hatzai)

Isabel and Pam de Ocampo. January 8, 2006 10:11pm (photo by Jill Hatzai)

Isabel and Ginette. January 8, 2006 10:12pm(photo by Jill Hatzai)

Erika Olander and Sarah McKenney. January 8, 2006 10:12pm

Torcuato Zamora, Javier Bustamante, Jason Vera y Aragón and Tom Cotton. January 8, 2006 10:17pm

Pam de Ocampo. January 8, 2006 10:18pm

January 8, 2006 10:18pm

Chris Kobar, Bedriye, Miguelito and Ayhan. January 8, 2006 10:41pm (photo by Ayhan Ozdag)

January 8, 2006 11:00pm

Erika and Omar. January 8, 2006 11:03pm (photo by Jill Hatzai)

Dmitry Savchenko, Marsha and Miguelito. January 8, 2006 11:36pm

Omar, Jill and Miguelito in the backseat on the way to Chi-Cha. January 8, 2006 11:59pm (photo by Jill Hatzai)

Late night pic at another house party. January 9, 2006 2:01am

View from my room: the party aftermath the next morning...not too bad! January 9, 2006 8:26am

It's 4:47pm on Monday as I type these words. I slept in until noon and got up to clean the house. I feel pretty good about last night. Lots of people showed up to express their appreciation and support. I still can't believe it's been ten years.

I'm still very disappointed in the number of testimonials I received. I get between 150 to 200 hits a day to my website, and I only received about 15 testimonials. A friend of mine wrote:

"Don't be too upset. Even though they haven't responded like you had hoped, you know how much you have helped them and so do they. As long as you know, that's all that really matters. Your doing a great service for the flamencos in your part of the country."

On the other hand, since last night, I've received several emails thanking me for the party and reiterating their appreciation for all that I've done and continue to do.

I'll add more commentary when I get home from Cafe Citron tonight. See you there!

Cabanas January 6, 2006

It's 5:31pm on Saturday as I type these words. After Cabanas last night (Friday) I ended up at a house party that went on until the sun came up, literally!

These are my friends Rollie and Susan who came especially to Cabanas for the show. Susan was kind enough to take pics for me!

January 6, 2006 9:31pm (photo by Susan)

The dancers were Shahram Tehranian and Ginette Perea.

January 6, 2006 9:38pm (photo by Susan)

Contratiempo palmas. January 6, 2006 9:42pm (photo by Susan)

January 6, 2006 9:47pm (photo by Susan)

January 6, 2006 9:52pm (photo by Susan)

I didn't get any decent pics of my friends at the house party, sorry. But here's an artsy shot of the little bull that comes with a bottle of Sangre y Toro wine that I took as the party started winding down.

January 7, 2006 4:58am

Tonight, I'm going to clean the house. I'm expecting some visitors tomorrow (Sunday). Ciao for now!

Andalucia restaurant January 5, 2006

It's 10:24am on Friday as I type these words. Got up a short while ago. Anyway, last night (Thursday) I had the pleasure of accompanying Isabel Otero in her tablao debut at the Andalucía restaurant.

Her mom and younger sister Marcela (both also studied and danced flamenco) were there to support her. She'll be performing here again on January 19th. Congrats Isabel!

January 5, 2006 8:30pm (photo by Marcela)

January 5, 2006 8:38pm (photo by Marcela)

January 5, 2006 8:40pm (photo by Marcela)

January 5, 2006 8:41pm (photo by Marcela)

Later I met up with some friends at Guarapo to support my friends Jose and Cesar of the rumba group Duende Camaron. Sorry no pics.

Tonight, I'll be back at Cabanas in Georgetown performing with Ginette Perea and Shahram Tehranian. See you there!

Photos taken with the Olympus Stylus 300 Digital Camera

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