José Oretea, Richard, Edwin Aparicio and Anna Menendez. March 20, 2008 8:59pm

Richard and Edwin. March 20, 2008 8:59pm

Anna begins her soleá. March 20, 2008 9:00pm

Anna. March 20, 2008 9:00pm

End of first llamada. March 20, 2008 9:01pm

José singing the first letra. March 20, 2008 9:02pm

March 20, 2008 9:04pm

March 20, 2008 9:09pm

Edwin begins his alegrías. March 20, 2008 9:14pm

March 20, 2008 9:15pm

March 20, 2008 9:16pm

March 20, 2008 9:23pm

View of the stage through the "foliage." :-) March 20, 2008 9:26pm

José singing the first letra of bulerías palo seco. March 20, 2008 9:27pm

Anna and Edwin dance their usual fin de fiesta bulerías. March 20, 2008 9:30pm

Final pose. March 20, 2008 9:30pm

Richard with fellow flamenco guitarist Tom Cotton and Regis Ferruzza, artist director of the John E. Marlow Guitar Series. March 20, 2008

It just so happened that guitarists Tom Cotton and Regis Ferruzza decided to stop by too. Tom is a flamenco guitarist from the previous generation of DC flamencos. He could tell you many interesting stories of the artists that paved the way for the younger generation of DC flamencos...oh wait a second, that's us!!! :-) Richard, Tom and I used to play for Ena Camargo's dance classes and shows in the late 90's. Tom knew Thomas de la Cruz (a guitarist from DC's El Bodegón) who is the father of Todd Kreuzberg who is the recording engineer and owner of the studio where Richard recorded his latest CD Madera Sonora. Regis is an accomplished classical guitarist who studied with Andrés Segovia and has been the artistic director of the well-known guitar concert series setup in honor of Richard's father, John Marlow. I know Regis from when I used to play in the classical guitar ensemble at George Washington University in the early 90's. The guitar program there was headed by Myrna Sislen, one of my first classical guitar teachers from the 80's. Myrna and Regis are colleagues in the DC classical guitar community. Small world, huh?

That's enough history for today. As for tonight, I'll be performing at Cabanas with dancers Ginette Perea and Isabelita. We'd love to see you there, but if you decide to go to Bambule and catch the rumba show there instead, you might catch Richard Marlow playing. When you buy his CD (and promise me you will!), don't forget to ask him to autograph it, OK? Ciao for now!