Paco de Málaga, Ambassador Jorge Dezcallar de Mazarredo and Ana Martínez. (photo courtesy of Natasha)

When I first arrived in the Washington DC area in June 1991, I used whatever resources that I could (there was no Internet for civilians back then!) to find out where to see some tablao-style flamenco. And I was pointed in the direction of a Spanish restaurant called El Bódegon where a couple of highly-respected local flamenco artists performed several nights a week. It was guitarist Paco de Málaga and his wife dancer Ana Martínez.

I was already playing and performing at the time (got my start in flamenco in Los Angeles in 1990 with the Blanca Luz Dance Academy in Buena Park) and as an eager student of flamenco, I took it upon myself to visit El Bódegon as often as I could to learn from the masters.

Fast forward almost 18 years later, I've come a long way and learned a lot about flamenco from Paco in particular as I attended his many many performances, took a few guitar lessons and hung out at his store the Guitar Gallery and "talked shop" and occasionally gossiped about flamencos—hey who doesn't? :-)

Just this morning, I received an email from my dancer friend Natasha alerting me that Paco and Ana were presented with La Cruz de Oficial de la Orden de Isabel la Católica by the Ambassador of Spain Jorge Dezcallar de Mazarredo this past Monday. From what I've read on the Internet, receiving La Cruz is one of Spain's highest honors, recognizes outstanding achievement in promoting Spanish culture and is the equivalent of being knighted! Please join me in congratulating Paco and Ana!

Ana Martínez and Paco de Málaga. (photo courtesy of Natasha)

Posted by Miguelito at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Flashback from Miguelito's trip to Madrid a few years ago. This is a view of the Rastro flea market held on Sunday mornings. June 12, 2005 9:49am

It's 9:54am on Saturday morning as I type these words. It's been a pretty normal but enjoyable week of flamenco for me so far. Did my shows at Cafe Citron on Monday, at Las Tapas on Tuesday, subbed for Torcuato at Cubano's on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday I chilled out at home (last night's show at Cabanas was canceled). I don't have any other plans for today (Saturday) except for the DC Dance Collective fundraiser at 8:00pm tonight.

I've been in vampire mode the past few days which means I've been literally staying up all night and having to catch up on sleep through short naps throughout the following day. Been thinking about lots of stuff personal and professional—I'm pretty much a night person which among other things means I'm more mentally focused late at night. I should've been born a vampire. :-)

Having been involved in the DC flamenco scene for the past 17 years I've seen a lot of changes. What's cool for me is having seen quite a few beginner flamenco dance students grow artistically into experienced knowledgeable performers. Sometimes my colleagues and I have these conversations, very much like sports fans do, trying to predict who amongst the latest crop of beginner students of today will blossom into the inspiring performers of tomorrow.

I won't go through a list of names, for fear of inadvertently leaving someone out, but many talented and inspiring flamenco dancers have taught or still currently teach at the DC Dance Collective. We have many very respectable dance studios in the DC area, but most of the time when I overhear dance students talking (and as you know, I hang out with dancers a LOT!) the DC Dance Collective comes up again and again as the place to go.

View of Plaza Mayor in Madrid. June 12, 2005 10:36am

Being in my position as a guitarist who has played for just about every dance company in the area, I try not to promote one artist or studio more than the other. But then again, I've been writing about the DC flamenco scene for a long time, so my personal biases will come through whether I want it to or not, in subtle and not so subtle ways, as you've read my hundreds (yes hundreds!) of blog entries and articles over the years.

Having said that, I know I'm going to get in a little trouble for saying this, but here goes. A lot of people write me (or ask me in person at one of my gigs or when I randomly meet people on the street) to recommend a dance teacher or a dance studio. The first studio that comes to my mind is the DC Dance Collective aka DCDC. They have some of the best flamenco teachers in the DC area most of whom are very active as performers. The atmosphere is very friendly. Let's face it though: backstabbing and politics in the performing arts will never completely go away, but at least at DCDC my perception is that it's kept to a minimum. I like that. The art of flamenco is hard enough as it is, so why make it harder for yourself by getting involved in the local politics? I'm going shut up now before I worked up and turn this blog in to a rant.

Here's the pitch: due to the current not-so-good economy amongst other things, the DC Dance Collective is not doing so well financially and needs help from YOU! They need to raise money to cover the rent and other expenses to keep the studio afloat. You can either make direct monetary contributions (visit the studio in person or checkout their website for contact info) or come to tonight's fundraiser at 8:00pm at the DC Dance Collective studio itself! I'll be there and I'll be taking attendance! :-)

Breakfast in Plaza Mayor. June 12, 2005 10:36am

Please don't get on my case for not publishing pics lately. I've been busy with personal stuff and every now and then it's nice to just focus and enjoy my flamenco performances without having to constantly worry about documenting everything for the blog.

These pics you see are from my trip to Madrid back in June 2005. What can I say? I'm in a reminiscing kind of mood. At this very moment, it's wet and cloudy in my neighborhood and these pics transport me back to that beautiful sunny Sunday in Spain. Ahh the memories! Have a nice day and a wonderful flamenco-filled weekend. Ciao for now!

One more thing....I want do a little promo for some California flamenco friends who have flamenco-themed t-shirt designs for sale. Go to www.flamencoapparel.com. In case you didn't know this already, I did my get first start in flamenco in the Los Angeles-area scene. It's where my flamenco "roots" are—never forget your roots!

Posted by Miguelito at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sara, Marcela, Marylin, Natalia, Ayhan and Laura at Bodega. October 18, 2008 12:15am

It's 4-something on Friday morning as I type these words. Got home a while ago after hanging out at Bodega with a couple of flamenco friends. My favorite bartender Sachi was working and of course she kept our glasses constantly filled with sangría. Good times! :-)

It's been at least a few weeks (probably close to a month) since my last blog post. I've been busy, what can I say? Oh well...better late than never, right? Anywayz, here are some random pics from the most recent juerga at Bodega.

Natalia with one of the Spaniards. October 18, 2008 12:16am

Daniela, Fernando and Tara. October 18, 2008 12:18am

Steve Svoboda. October 18, 2008 12:42am

Laura, Daniela and Tara. October 18, 2008 12:43am

Turned out that a group of Spaniards from Málaga were having dinner and when they passed by the patio and noticed me and my flamenco friends having a little juerga they decided to crash our party...

Laura, Daniela, Debbie, Marylin, Denise and Hector with the Spaniards. October 18, 2008 1:13am

Natalia with my beautiful guitar Yahaira. :-) October 18, 2008 1:13am

Daniela, Denise and Hector look on as Marylin dances. October 18, 2008 1:17am

Daniela. October 18, 2008 1:19am

As usual, Hector and Naíto aka Los Jovenes Flamencos kept the party energy going with almost non-stop cante.

Marylin and Naíto look on as Hector sings a fandango for the Malagueña. October 18, 2008 1:21am

Yours truly, Miguelito with Daniela and Laura. October 18, 2008 1:24am

Marylin with her gorgeous friends Sara, Marcela and Natalia. October 18, 2008 1:24am

Miguelito. October 18, 2008 1:28am

Debbie, Daniela, Miguelito and Laura. October 18, 2008 1:59am

Naíto. October 18, 2008 2:02am

Marylin, Marcela, Sara and Natalia. October 18, 2008 2:30am

It has become a tradition for a few friends and I to head over to Johnny Rockets for some late night nourishment—mostly to soak up the numerous pitchers of sangría from a few hours earlier. :-)

Late night dinner at Johnny Rockets with two beautiful ladies: Daniela and Debbie! October 18, 2008 3:09am

By popular demand, I'll keep on hosting juergas at Bodega but obviously as it gets colder we'll have to make some adjustments: either moving the party indoors or dropping a hint with the management to purchase some industrial strength outdoor space heaters. Stay tuned for updates!

In other news: this Saturday November 8th, I'll be performing with dancer Flor Pérez Taboada and singer Naíto in a fundraiser concert to benefit Red House Tanzania. It's for a good cause. Please come if you can!

The same evening, dancer/teacher/choreographer Ulrika Frank and guitarist/singer Marija Temo will be giving a workshop titled Flamenco Completo.

Hopefully I'll publish another blog entry in a couple of days, stay tuned!

Posted by Miguelito at 4:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)