Cafe Bonaparte June 14, 2006
Last night I performed at Cafe Bonaparte with guitarist/percussionist Behzad Habibzai and singer Carlton Ashton. It was a ton of fun thanks to the attendance of a LOT of our flamenco friends. Pictured below is local teacher Gloria Monge with students and friends. From the left: Juliana, Elena, Gloria, Christina, Ayhan, Bedriye, Monica and Miguelito. I think the last time I saw all these people at one time was at El Manantial last August (here are the pics).
June 14, 2006 11:21pm (photo by ?)
Normally, they'd be in Reston taking Gloria's class on a Wednesday night, but the semester just ended and they happened to be free this particular evening. Ayhan suggested they go to Bonaparte and little by little they trickled in eventually taking up the tables nearest our little stage by the window. To end the show we had practically everyone dancing Sevillanas--probably the most dancers we've had here ever!
We also had a contingent of flamenco friends that I see more often including Jennifer, Anna Menendez, Edwin Aparicio, Roxana Vera y Aragon and her brother Jason.
Unfortunately, as the energy picks up later in the evening, Bonaparte closes up at 11:00pm mostly because there are people that live and sleep at a "decent" hour just above the cafe. So we all stood around discussing possibilities to continue the party afterwards but couldn't agree on a place and eventually just dispersed and went our separate ways. Oh well. If you have some ideas for late night places to hang out on Wednesdays let me know. Ciao!
Update (June 16, 2006): Ayhan just sent me a few nice pics...check 'em out:
Sherry, Christina, Monica and Juliana. June 14, 2006 (photo courtesy of Ayhan)
Behzad Habibzai, Carlton Ashton and Miguelito. June 14, 2006 (photo courtesy of Ayhan)
Ayhan, Gloria, Elena, Bedriye and Kathy. June 14, 2006 (photo courtesy of Ayhan)
Gloria danced a few letras of tangos. June 14, 2006 (photo courtesy of Ayhan)
Bedriye and Kathy. June 14, 2006 (photo courtesy of Ayhan)
Jason and Gloria. June 14, 2006 (photo courtesy of Ayhan)
Miguelito, Christina, Kathy and Ayhan. June 14, 2006 (photo courtesy of Ayhan)
Thanks to Ayhan as usual for the pics!
For those of you who have never been to the flamenco night at Cafe Bonaparte, the format is typically two sets of rumba guitar duets by Behzad and Miguelito (or flamenco solos if just one guitarist) and the last set is with singer Carlton Ashton doing such palos as bulerías, tangos, alegrías, soleá and soleá por bulerías. The place is very tiny, but don't be too surprised if one of our flamenco friends gets inspired to dance a few compases of bulerías. If we recognize a group of dance students in the audience, we almost always play some Sevillanas. Shows every other Wednesday. For more info, visit the Cafe Bonaparte website or call 202-333-8830.
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