Flamenco Night at Cafe Citron. April 9, 2007
Sonia, Miguelito and Jonathan. April 9, 2007 9:08pm (photo by Ronaldo)
It's 12:30pm on Tuesday now. Grrr...I was supposed to be out the door half an hour ago. So this is the last quick blog entry for the day. Enjoy it!
Last night I did my usual show at Cafe Citron. Joining me onstage were singer guitarist Gerard Moreno and dancer Sara Jerez. Guest artists included percussionist Jason Vera y Aragón, singer José Oretea with palmas by Richard Marlow--wow, an all-star (for Washington DC) cast! 
Anywayz, in the pic above I'm with my longtime friend (three years is a long time in DC) Sonia Sheikh and her friend from New York, Jonathan. Sonia was explaining to Jonathan, "Miguelito is the reason why I moved to DC." Aw, how sweet of you to say that Sonia. Well, actually it was my website that factored heavily in her decision to move to the Nation's capital. Why you ask? Of all the cities she could have moved to (for graduate school, I assume) she chose DC because it had an active flamenco scene and flamenco is something that Sonia absolutely loves!!!
Just yesterday I read a brief article about GMU economics professor Richard Florida who wrote The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life
Did the presence of an active local flamenco scene heavily influence your decision to move to the DC area?
Here are the rest of the pics from last night at Citron...
Ronaldo, Danielle, Richard Marlow, José Oretea and Eddie (kneeling). April 9, 2007 9:21pm
Sara Jerez and Shahram Tehranian. April 9, 2007 9:30pm
Sara and her guitarist husband Richard. April 9, 2007 9:31pm
Sara and Jason Vera y Aragón in Sevillanas. April 9, 2007 9:47pm (photo by Ronaldo)
Sara dancing soleá. April 9, 2007 9:54pm (photo by Ronaldo)
It was a good night, mostly because we had a lot of our friends in the audience. There was that certain special energy in the air that pushed our performance to the next level. Although, I didn't get to really warm-up my hands on account of my arriving late. Ugh. I'm a pro though--I make the best of the situation and go on with the show.
I forgot to mention: last week I sort of injured myself lifting the stage at the end of the evening which I didn't realize until the following morning. Apparently I strained some muscles in my left arm such that I could barely make a fist without feeling some pain. Been taking it easy last week and avoided doing any heavy lifting and cutting down on intense practicing. It's going well: my left arm and hand is gradually building up muscle tissue and gaining back its normal strength.
In any case, its a good reminder for me to first of all take care of my hands since they are my means of making a living. I mean, I can still carry normal everyday stuff--but just to be safe no more stages or heavy furniture.
The crowd enjoying our flamenco show. April 9, 2007 9:56pm (photo by Ronaldo)
April 9, 2007 9:56pm (photo by Ronaldo)
After the show, the DJ put on some Sevillanas. He's good about that: he "reads" the crowd and figures out what we need to keep the party going."
Danielle and Jason dancing Sevillanas. April 9, 2007 10:27pm
Danielle and Ronaldo dancing samba. April 9, 2007 10:38pm
After the show, there was a second wave of people filling up the club as DJ Helio got his show started. There was a definitely a party vibe going and he knew it cuz when he announced, "Let's get four ladies on the bar," it didn't take very long before four lovely customers complied with his request.
It was a rough winter business-wise but we survived. Little by little, Monday nights are getting back to normal, yay!
Dancing on the bar--on a Monday night! April 10, 2007 12:23am
Allright, it's 1:00pm now and I'm outta here. Time to get some fresh air and eat some lunch. Tonight I'll be at Las Tapas performing with Tamara Sol Flys and another dancer TBA. Should be fun. See you there!
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