Monday night at Ozio. August 20, 2007
Cesar Oretea at Ozio. August 20, 2007 11:18pm
It's 8:46am on Tuesday and I'm actually up at this early hour. Truth is that I didn't go to bed last night cuz my body clock is back to "vampire" time. Thankfully I don't have any morning appointments requiring me to be fully awake and mentally alert. 
So I'm just going with it and making myself productive here and recounting last night's events to help you pass the time in your cubicle at work today. Hehe
Got home via taxi sometime after 2:00am. In case you're curious, the fare was $11.45 and I'm estimating the trip was a little more than 5 minutes from the Dupont Circle neighborhood--I'm loving living here in Rosslyn cuz it's so close to Georgetown, Dupont Circle and more! Anywayz, overall it was a typically fun Monday night--nothing over the top but just entertaining enough to make me glad I stayed out late instead of going straight home. Started off with my usual flamenco gig at Cafe Citron. Performing with me were singer/guitarist Gerard Moreno and dancer Mariya. Also joining us were Jason Vera y Aragón on cajón and saxophonist Montreaux (not sure about the spelling).
The saxophone was a spontaneous addition to our group for the rumba. Gerard ran through the song with Montreaux for a few minutes in the rehearsal space downstairs. We had no idea how it would turn out but that's the way it is in flamenco. So we just relaxed and went with the flow. It was refreshing to hear a different instrument in our show and I think that the next time it will just get better and better as Montreaux gets the feel of rumba in general and Gerard's compositional style.
Although the party vibe seemed to picking up as I packed up my sound system, Jason and I decided to head over to Ozio to enjoy the music of Duende Camarón...
José Oretea. August 20, 2007 11:19pm
Along the way, we stopped by Julia's to get an empanada. I wasn't that hungry, but besides the Corona or two I get at Ozio, usually someone offers to buy me a drink or two. It's just better to have some food in my tummy, y'know what I mean?
Didn't see the usual familiar faces sitting and the bar at Ozio. But that's cool. It was a slow night, so there were plenty of comfortable seats to choose from. Jason's sister Roxy stopped by which I was kinda hoping for. She's leaving the DC area to go to grad school in Texas so this turned out to be a chance to say goodbye one last time in a relaxed and festive ambience.
She's a cool friend--one of those friends that I feel comfortable talking with just about anything. And although I gave her a hug and said goodbye like any other night where I'd expect to run into her again soon, the reality will hit me a few days later and I'll realize, wow, I'm not going to be seeing her for at least a couple of months.
So here's to you Roxy! [raises glass in a toast] we all wish you the very best in Texas.
José. August 20, 2007 11:19pm
Roxy and Jason. August 20, 2007 11:19pm
José. August 20, 2007 11:41pm
I just put my camera on slow-sync mode to capture more of the ambience. Slow sync is a feature on the camera where the flash goes off immediately freezing the action and making brighter and clearer whatever is closest to the camera and afterwards the shutter remains open to allow the colors of the background elements to reach the camera. If the camera moves slightly from the natural unsteadiness of the hand, the background gets slightly blurred which is fine in a way, cuz it brings more attention to the main subject which is more in focus.
José. August 20, 2007 11:42pm
"Mystery Girl" dancing. ;-) August 21, 2007 12:20am
This mystery girl noticed I was taking pictures and at the end of the night she approached me and asked if I was publishing them on a website, so I said yeah.
"You know you should ask permission first."
So we looked at the pics and it turned out that her pics were either blurred (artistically) or it just so happened that her hair covered her face enough to make her almost unidentifiable.
I didn't get a straight answer from her but after seeing the pics she seemed more relaxed and I took that as a yes. So I gave her my website address and hopefully she'll learn more about the flamenco scene and the next time I see her, I'll get her name!
Erica dancing. August 21, 2007 12:27am
José. August 21, 2007 12:37am
Roxy. August 21, 2007 12:44am
Roxy. August 21, 2007 12:49am
Roxy and Jos´. August 21, 2007 1:36am
It's a little after 10:00am. And no, I wasn't writing this blog the whole time. I was chatting online with a close friend who just so happens to be a enthusiastic regular reader of my blog. I like to call her Lunch Girl--it's an inside joke. But she's the one who helps me get motivated on those days when I just don't feel like blogging. So thank you Lunch Girl, this blog is for you! 
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