Tupperware #2 and Cafe Citron on Monday December 18, 2006
My favorite Peruvian dish: Papa a la Huancaina. December 19, 2006 12:56pm
It's 1:00pm on Tuesday as I type these words. Got up a short while ago and was feeling hungry so I raided the fridge for Tupperware #2 that my dancer friend gave me Sunday night. The contents: homemade Papa a la Huancaina, a traditional Peruvian dish made with potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, spicy cheese sauce and lettuce, yum! The Huancaina sauce was smooth, the way it's supposed to be, when I received it, but my fridge, which is on the colder side, made the sauce, um, less smooth. Regardless, it was so delicious! I'm resisting every temptation to finish it all in one sitting and hoping to enjoy this wonderful culinary gift at least for another two or three days.
I gotta get out of the house pretty soon and enjoy this beautiful day, so I'll make this a quick blog...
OK, so about last night at Citron, I've got some good news and not-so-good-news. The good news is that it was unbelivably crowded for a Monday last night. I'm guessing that all the local college students had just finished finals and were out blowing off steam, or maybe there were a couple of holiday parties going on at the same time--they even opened up the basement bar which they almost never do on a Monday night! (There was one group right next to the stage that sang "Happy Birthday" in the middle of our show. Tsk, tsk. No class. Unbelievable.)
We had a number of friends in the audience including Angélica, Karine, Aseel, Jason Vera y Aragón, Ronaldo (from Brazil), Keith, Jill Hatzai, Sarah, Eric and Antoine (from France), Giovanni (from Italy), Luciano (from Brazil), Ashok (from India) and Isabel (from Ecuador), Davide (from Italy) and a few new ones including Neran, who took the pics during the show. Thanks Neran!
Mariya in soleá. December 18, 2006 9:55pm (photo by Neran)
December 18, 2006 9:56pm (photo by Neran)
December 18, 2006 9:56pm (photo by Neran)
December 18, 2006 9:56pm (photo by Neran)
December 18, 2006 9:57pm (photo by Neran)
As you can see in the timestamps of the pictures above, we started the second show quite late. The DJ Helio arrived a little late last week and he doesn't seem to mind when we run over into his showtime. Thing is I just like it better when the moment comes that the flamenco show finished, the DJ's music kicks in immediately and keeps the party momentum going without losing a beat, you know what I mean? So my strategy Monday was to start late to ensure that the DJ had arrived and was all set and could press the "play" button on his system the exact moment we finished. And it worked, yay!
It's pretty typical on the weekends at Citron for customers to dance on the bar, but on Monday, it only happens every now and then. This was one of those nights. It's one of the Cafe Citron traditions and seriously there's even a sign posted that encourages it.
There a sign that says: "Dancing on the bar is not only allowed, it's encouraged!" December 18, 2006 11:01pm
And yeah, even yours truly danced on the bar at Citron a few times over the years. Hehe.
Anywayz, the not-so-good-news is that the next two Mondays fall on holidays: Christmas and New Year's Day--which means there will be no flamenco at Citron until Monday January 8, 2007. In addition, there will be a couple of other show cancellations at other flamenco venues which I will announce when confirmed. Ugh. Of course, I'll enjoy the time off over the next few weeks but I'll be going into flamenco withdrawal and will need a serious fix after the holidays. :-)
So why don't we all make plans to come to Cafe Citron for flamenco night on Monday January 8th and start off 2007 with a bang? Email me if you're interested and let's talk about ideas to make it special. So...if I don't see some of you over the next two weeks, I just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
OK, I'm outta here. Tonight I'll be performing at Las Tapas with María Roncal, making her DC tablao debut. The other dancer will be some dude named Edwin Aparicio. Heard of him? :-) Ciao for now.
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