July 28, 2006 11:08pm

First of all, thank you to everyone who came to the party, called me, sent me birthday cards, ecards, text messages, commented in my blog, commented in myspace. Too many people to acknowledge. You know who you are. Just know that I appreciate all of you for taking a moment on my birthday to show that you care.

The cake pictured above was lovingly created by my friend Cindy with the help of Raquel and Isabel. Aside from the fact that they made it into the shape of a guitar, I'm very flattered that they spent a huge chunk of their afternoon slaving away in the kitchen creating something in honor of me. Thank you ladies!

It was also a special treat to have dancer Sara Candela perform with us here at Cabanas. She's visiting for a few days from Chile, so I took the liberty of booking her for a few of my tablao gigs. Checkout the pics....

Sara Candela in soleá. July 28, 2006 9:06pm (photo by Keith)

July 28, 2006 9:08pm (photo by Keith)

July 28, 2006 9:08pm (photo by Keith)

Normally, I'd have many more pics to publish but my usual volunteer photographer Keith (thank you Keith!) was getting used to my new camera and anyone who knows about photography knows how difficult it is to get a decent shot of flamenco dancers in low light with no flash.

Mariya in soleá. July 28, 2006 10:27pm (photo by Keith)

July 28, 2006 10:29pm (photo by Keith)

July 28, 2006 10:30pm (photo by Keith)

But never mind, I had a several other friends taking pics throughout the evening including quite a few of my many friends who showed up. I was a little too busy circulating around the restaurant saying hello to friends and forgot to take pics.

If you can, please email any photos you have to my gmail address at dcflamenco@gmail.com--right now, my yahoo mailbox is almost maxed out.

UPDATE: just received a few from my friend Ayhan...

Cindy, Nora and Isabel presenting da cake as the whole restaurant sings the birthday song led by Raquel. July 28, 2006 10:53pm (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag)

Cindy, Nora, Raquel, Miguelito and Isabel with the birthday card, painted by Cindy and signed by everyone! July 28, 2006 10:55pm (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag)

Bedriye, Jossie, Miguelito, Karina and Ayhan. July 28, 2006 10:57pm (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag)

Raquel, Cindy, Isabel and Karina. July 28, 2006 11:09pm

Miguelito's style of cuttin' the cake. :-) July 28, 2006 11:13pm

In this next pic, I realize I look kinda goofy. Don't really care cuz I was having such a good time, but bear in mind, all I had to eat was some fried calamari and cake and my friends were buying me tequila shots, margaritas and daquiris throughout the evening. :-)

Bedriye, Raquel, Ayhan, Cindy and Isabel. July 28, 2006 11:52pm (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag)

Miguelito and Raquel. July 29, 2006 12:26am

Our plan was to migrate the party outside to the waterfront, but by 1:30am only two hardcore party people remained...

Raquel and Cindy. July 29, 2006 1:25am

And it's not everyday that two gorgeous young ladies volunteer to carry my guitar and gifts for me so I couldn't say no. :-) They led me to the concrete benches facing the Potomac---coincidentally this is my favorite spot to practice on sunny days here in Georgetown (checkout this pic from april 2004).

This was a good time to unwrap some of my gifts.

July 29, 2006 1:29am (photo by Raquel)

The fabulous birthday card painted by Cindy. July 29, 2006 1:30am

Here are a couple of close-up shots...

I taught Raquel and Cindy a basic bulerías step that I learned years ago when I took a dance workshop with Susana di Palma here in DC. After a little while of making noise with palmas and footwork in this otherwise by-now quiet Georgetown waterfont, we toned things down and played some guitar...

Late night guitar lesson. July 29, 2006 1:34am

July 29, 2006 1:36am (photo by Raquel)

I walked Raquel and Cindy to their car and they dropped me off at the metro in time for me to catch the last train home.

Going home. Good night! July 29, 2006 2:19am

These pics are just the tip of the iceberg. I know a lot of you were taking pics last night so if you some good ones, please email them to my gmail acount: dcflamenco@gmail.com. Thanks!

Anywayz, today I have to go to Guitar Center buy a speaker stand--last night I borrowed the one they had at Cabanas. Then I have a 3:30pm rehearsal at the Pink Flamenco before heading to Tapeo for my Saturday night gig. The dancers will be Sara Candela and Sarah Hart. See you there!

Posted by Miguelito at 11:57 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Alfonso Cid and Behzad Habibzai. July 13, 2006 6:48pm

It's 10:38am on Friday as I type these words. Yesterday (Thursday) was pretty cool. We got a lot done in rehearsal with singer Alfonso Cid, Anna Menendez and the Pastora dancers. It was a long but enjoyable day where we basically practiced from 1:00pm until 7:00pm with lots of breaks, but we survived. Today we'll be rehearsing just a lil' bit putting the final touches, and getting a good night's rest so we can put on great performance in Peña Flamenca on Saturday night. You've bought your tickets already, haven't you?

July 13, 2006 6:48pm

Anna Menendez, Alfonso Cid and Behzad Habibzai. July 13, 2006 7:10pm

From the program notes:
Pastora, a flamenco dance ensemble
"Pastora" is a project that aims to provide an opportunity for dedicated emerging artists to collaborate with flamenco professionals. My first inspiration to form an ensemble came from the desire to give an opportunity to certain individuals so that they could acquire more performance experience. It has become evident that they have given the opportunity back to me as I take on the challenge of director and choreographer. Together, we are making steps towards refining and honing our flamenco skills. It is an exciting project for all of us. I look forward to many future projects involving Pastora and to continued mutual growth. I would like to thank the American Dance Institute for their tremendous support and making us a part of their Arts Incubator program. Please join me in this celebration of the hard work and dedication shown by these individuals.

Peña Flamenca: first project

A Peña Flamenca is a venue where aficionados and professionals alike gather to exchange and showcase their talents. In this aspect this first project of "Pastora" hopes to reflect this ideal. Tonight, the ensemble has been joined by other dancers from the DC community, and locally-based guitarists Michael Perez and Behzad Habibzai. We are very fortunate to have Alfonso Cid, the wonderful flamenco singer, singing for us tonight. He has generously agreed to be a part of this evening and without his collaboration, the experience for us would not be complete.

Alfonso's new CD. To preview some tracks, click here.

Posted by Miguelito at 10:26 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)