Flamenco at Cabanas and Tapeo. September 7-8, 2007
Pictured: Ginette Perea dancing alegrías at Cabanas on September 7, 2007 at 8:53pm--photo by Van
It's 4-something in the morning on Sunday as I type these words. I did get home a couple of hours ago, but I haven't been to bed yet which probably doesn't come as surprise if you know me by now.
Anywayz, since I'm up, I might as well bring you up to date on my weekend so far.
Friday night, I performed at Cabanas in Georgetown with dancers Ginette Perea and Emily Mazzotti. Despite the heat and humidity, the crowds fillled-up the outdoor bars and some of those very same crowds spilled over into the restaurant throughout the evening. By the time we did our third set, the bar at Cabanas was full! OK so it meant that us performers had to compete for the attention of our bartender since there were so many customers. But the good thing about it was that business was good, yay!
While we did perform inside the restaurant, all the patio doors were open so we had to deal with the humidity from outside. Unfortunately, I was running late that day and arrived at the venue with barely enough time to setup my sound system and immediately start the show. So I had to deal with a bit of the stress left over from running late and rushing to setup. And by the time the first set started, I was already drenched in sweat. 
Oh well... maybe I'm whining a bit, but I can't really complain. When I think about it, a not-so-good day in a flamenco gig still beats a good day at a boring day job!
After the second show (we do three sets at Cabanas), a charming young lady approached me, complimented me on the show and said something that made my night: "I read your blog all the time." Nice! It's so cool when I meet my readers. It's like coming around full circle. How's that? Well, while I may not directly reveal all my personal details in my blog, if you read it regularly, eventually you start to notice patterns in things I like to write about. Through my words you pick up on how I speak--since I try to keep an informal conversational tone. The point is that a lot of readers who I have not met in person yet know a lot about me. And it's just cool for me to get to know them too even if it's for a moment when they compliment me on my blog.
Ginette. September 7, 2007 8:55pm (photo by Van)
But I'm not trying to be a writer. I put in some effort to write clearly, but I don't strive for textbook perfect English. What I'm trying to do here with this blog is give you a glimpse into the life a full-time flamenco guitarist. It takes enough time as it is just to come up with stuff to write about and being the busy performer I am, I don't have time to be perfect everyday. In fact, I believe that the charming little imperfections of my prose does give my blog an air of sincerity. It's the real me: the good , the bad, my strengths, my weaknesses, imperfections and all. Take it or leave it!
Miguelito. September 7, 2007 8:56pm (photo by Van)
Whoops...I digressed. Getting back to Cabanas...Ginette's friend Van came to the show and agreed to take pictures for me--thanks Van! Emily's husband Chris came of course. And later in the evening dancer Jason Vera y Aragón and his friend arrived in time for the last show. So we got them onstage to join us for Sevillanas. Afterwards, we joined our friends at their table in front of the stage and relaxed for awhile before heading out into the night our separate ways.
Fast forward nearly 24 hours later: I was at my Saturday night gig at Tapeo with dancers Ginette Perea and Claudia with my guitar student, Matteo, sitting in with us onstage. Matteo has been a good sport so far. We don't do things the same from week to week. The singer/dancer Claudia will try out different letras sometimes without warning and it's up to me as the lead accompanist to appropriately harmonize the cante melody. As for Matteo, he just has to memorize the basic cante chords and listen carefully and figure out what chord variations I'm playing and keep up while watching the dancer! Just to be safe, I do turn down the volume, just a little, on his channel in the mixer. He's already comfortable onstage since he also works on and off as a jazz guitarist in Southern Maryland.
Miguelito, Ginette, Matteo and Claudia at Tapeo. September 8, 2007 9:12pm (photo by Abdon)
One of waiters, Abdon, gladly took pictures of our show using my camera. Interestingly, he chose to take closeup pics of us musicians...
Miguelito. September 8, 2007 9:17pm (photo by Abdon)
It was humid again and although you can't tell in these pics, my shirt was drenched in sweat again. Ugh. But I soon forgot about all that as I drifted "into the zone." Yeah it was a good show overall. We were artistically communicating quite well with each other and we fed off the energy of a very responsive and friendly crowd. Afterwards, we got an unusually large number of requests for our business card. Nice!
Miguelito. September 8, 2007 9:21pm (photo by Abdon)
Hehe...Matteo has the right idea: on a hot and humid evening like this, he opens his shirt a few extra buttons. I'd do the same, but I don't have a cool tattoo to show off...yet! 
Matteo. September 8, 2007 9:22pm (photo by Abdon)
Miguelito and Matteo. September 8, 2007 9:45pm (photo by Abdon)
Miguelito and Matteo. September 8, 2007 9:46pm (photo by Abdon)
These last few pics are a bit blurry or grainy, but they give you some idea of the energy of the show...
Miguelito, Ginette, Matteo and Claudia in bulerías. September 8, 2007 9:50pm (photo by Abdon)
Ginette and Matteo. September 8, 2007 9:50pm (photo by Abdon)
Miguelito and Matteo. September 8, 2007 9:41pm (photo by Abdon)
OK, it's almost 6am now and this vampire has to go to bed before sunrise. Hehe. Besides, I'm meeting up with dancer for a rehearsal at noon then I'm hoping to make it to the Adams Morgan Day Festival to take pics of Furia Flamenca's performance at around 3:30pm. See you there!
In other news...remember dancer Richard Chavez? He came to DC last year and performed at Taberna. I knew him when he got started at Blanca Luz Academy in California, where I got my first start accompanying dancers. Another dancer that got her first start at the same school, Arleen Hurtado, has also come a long way since then and will be in DC in November touring with Benise. She also got a gig dancing in a car commercial for Dodge Avenger that I think you'll enjoy watching. Check it out in Arleen's myspace profile.
Also...I just read in today's Washington Post that Gala Hispanic Theatre is hosting the Third Annual Flamenco Fest: Fuego Flamenco III, featuring Madrid's Casa Patas. Check it out!
« Estela Velez and members of Furia Flamenca at Taste of Jerusalem. September 6, 2007 | Main | Furia Flamenca at the Adams Morgan Day Festival. September 9, 2007 »
Comments
It's been a really long time since I stopped by your site. One thing doesn't change, your looks! :) I admire your busy schedule AND being able to stay up all night! I wish I could still do that! Take care. -P
Posted by: latejana | September 10, 2007 11:21 AM
Hi, Miguelito: Bear in mind that 80% of people with a tattoo come to regret it. (I recently read that in some publication.) Also, thanks for playing for Anna's class Saturday!
Posted by: Marisol | September 10, 2007 12:59 PM