Miguelito onstage at the DC Feria de Sevilla at Strathmore. May 20, 2007 2:41pm (photo by Ginette Perea)

It's 2:47am on Wednesday. Stayed late at Las Tapas last night (Tuesday) and got home around midnight, went straight to the computer and have been sifting through hundreds of pics, narrowing the choices down to a more manageable number and editing them for publication. Whew! I'm too tired to write much commentary. It's OK. The pics speak for themselves anyway.

Anywayz, to set the scene: as soon as Natalia Monteleón's Arte Flamenco finished their performance, I quickly made my way through the tightly-packed audience arriving at the stage just in time to play for Ana Martinez's dancers. On the way down, I handed my camera over to Ginette and had her take pics of the show. Check them out...

Continue reading "DC Feria de Sevilla: second batch o' pics. May 20, 2007" »

Posted by Miguelito at 2:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Suspiro Andaluz at the DC Feria de Sevilla at Strathmore. May 20, 2007 12:40pm (photo by Stan Peters)

It's noon on Tuesday. Besides the 300 or so pics I have in my own camera, I'm drowning (but enjoying myself) in pics sent in by a few people so far. So be patient with me.

Anywayz, today's gallery is by my longtime friend Stan Peters, a fellow flamenco guitarist and an excellent photographer. As usual, got a busy afternoon ahead of me, so I'll just publish these pics as is and let you enjoy them with minimal commentary...

Continue reading "DC Feria de Sevilla: pics by Stan Peters. May 20, 2007" »

Posted by Miguelito at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Estela Velez and Torcuato Zamora. December 2, 2006 (photo by Heidi Thibodeau)

Estela Velez writes:

Last Saturday, December 2nd, Furia Flamenca performed as part of the Jane Franklin Dance Sampler which took place at the Gunston Hall Theatre One in Arlington, Virginia. The evening performance featured seven dance companies selected by the adjudication panel, Maida Withers, Artistic Director of the Maida Withers Dance Construction Company, and Johanna Seltzer, Project Director at Dance/MetroDC.

The day started with a series of workshops taught by the choreographers selected to perform followed by the evening's performance. Other selected choreographers/performers were: Motion Mania Dance Theater, Laura Schandelmeier & Stephen Clapp, Next Reflex Dance Collective, Jane Franklin Dance, Rob Esposito and danahbella DanceWorks.

Furia Flamenca performed Alegrías del Mantón accompanied to live music and singing by Torcuato Zamora. The performers were: Jennifer Carmichael, Morgan Heyer, Lillian Mattiaccio, Sylvia Melecio, Katherine Page, Karina Valverde, Estela Velez, and Amy Weishampel.

Continue reading "Furia Flamenca at the Jane Franklin Dance Sampler. December 2, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Samantha (left) with a fellow dancer. October 2006 (photo by Julio Suárez)

I first met Samantha this past July at Cafe Citron. She's a dance student that was visiting for a few weeks from Caracas, Venezuela. She sent me some pics from a performance from last week. It took place at the tablao El Jaleo in a town called El Hatillo. She writes:

Hola Miguelito! Al fin tengo las fotos del Jaleo, aquí te envio algunas con los nombres de todo el elenco. Muchos Saludos, nos vemos pronto. -Samantha

Continue reading "Samantha in Venezuela. October 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 1:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

October 13, 2006 (photo courtesy of Nora López)

This past Friday was another case where I was unable to attend a special show here in the DC area. Why? Cuz I was performing that same night--that's one of the disadvantages of being a busy flamenco! Anywayz, Nora López was kind enough to send me some pics. Enjoy!

The Jerez de La Frontera group included singer Rocio Soto, saxophonist/percussionist Alejandro Galdon, singer/guitarist José Galvez, dancers Juan del Valle and Nora López. The performance took place at Tutto Bene restaurant in Arlington.

Continue reading "Tutto Bene show. October 13, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Julia, Vanessa and Jenni. June 16, 2006 (photo courtesy of Karina)

Karina writes:
I just wanted to share two photos with you of our flamenco show in Fairfax. My class, with Estela at the Center for Ballet Arts in Fairfax, was part of the studio's annual dance showcase featuring the students in the ballet, jazz, modern, tap, and yes even flamenco classes.

Continue reading "Furia Flamenca at Center for Ballet Arts. June 16, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In case you've been living under a rock and never heard of this festival until now, here's the ten-second version of the press release:
This year, The National Institute of Flamenco is proud to celebrate two decades of quality flamenco presentations and education! Festival Flamenco Internacional de Albuquerque - the oldest flamenco festival in the Western Hemisphere - will present ten world-class performances with over 50 artists. 32 workshops will be offered in dance, guitar, percussion, cante, and history. The Festival will also present V Concurso Nacional de Flamenco - the National Flamenco competition. All flamenco dancers, guitarists, and singers are invited to compete in this exciting gala! 1st prize is a cash award of $700.

Having said that, I still can't say that I've attended this festival yet. Oh well. But thanks to my fellow DC flamencos such as Cynthia Jacobs, we can take a little peek into what it's like on a typical day. Enjoy!

Cynthia Jacobs in front of the Carlisle Gym where all the action happens. June 10, 2006 (photo courtesy of Cynthia Jacobs)

Continue reading "A day at Festival Flamenco Internacional de Albuquerque. June 10, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 4, 2006 (photo courtesy of Cynthia Jacobs)

Marsha Bonet aka Rosa la Huracana gave a flamenco workshop this past Sunday at the Alliance Dance Institute in Alexandria, Virginia. My friend Cynthia was one of the participants and was kind enough to send me these pics. Thanks Cynthia!

Continue reading "Workshop by Marsha Bonet at Alliance Dance Institute. June 4, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 9:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ginette Perea with Miguelito and Mariya. May 3, 2006

Didn't perform last night (Wednesday) but just for your enjoyment, luckily I have a small sampling pics from the Tapeo gig on May 3, 2006 courtesy of Niko Alexandrou. Featured are dancers Ginette Perea and Mariya with yours truly, Miguelito, on guitar. Thanks Niko. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Tapeo pics from Niko. May 3, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is the second batch of pics from Ginette's first trip to Spain last August 2005. Enjoy!

Ginette and Lisa with Juan de Juan and the guitarist and singer for the workshop. August 2005 (photo courtesy of Ginette Perea)

Continue reading "Juan de Juan and random pics of Jerez--pics from Ginette. August 2005" »

Posted by Miguelito at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pic of stage...mood getting ready...I can feel the flamenco mood build up by hearing the flamencas' footwork exercises as they prepare their costumes and make up. August 15, 2005 (photo courtesy of Ginette Perea)

These pics were taken last year when Ginette Perea went to Spain for the first time.

I know I'm on a photo publishing frenzy here. Enjoy it while it lasts! ;-) This is the first batch of pics. I'll have the second batch ready later today.

Continue reading "An evening at El Lago de Tio Parilla--pics from Ginette" »

Posted by Miguelito at 2:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Several months ago, my photographer friend, Niko Alexandrou, had a collection of his flamenco photos on exhibition in the Boston Public Library. For the exhibition he could only display 10 of his best. Before that step, he narrowed it down to 25 out of thousands. With the photographer's permission, I present to you for the first time those 25 in this mini-exhibition here at DC Flamenco. This is the second batch. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Niko Alexandrou's photo exhibition, part 2" »

Posted by Miguelito at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kathy at a bull ring in Sevilla. May 2006 (photo courtesy of Katherine Vargas)

I amazed at how I'm able to keep up with the many people I meet at my gigs.

For example, I met this one colombiana named Kathy at Cafe Citron in January 2004 (here's the pic--blue top.) and a month or so later I had an extra free ticket to a flamenco concert based on a play by Federico García Lorca and so I was thinking about who amongst my friends would want to go and immediately Kathy came to mind despite having met and chatted with her briefly only once or twice. On the night I first met her, I remembered her telling me how much she loves poetry especially by Lorca. Bear in mind that I meet a LOT of people at my gigs especially at Cafe Citron. Of course it helps my memory if you're pretty. hehe

But there's no gimmick here. I do have a genuine interest in most of the people I meet. My secret to remembering all of the many names and faces is that as soon as I get home, I edit the photos (which helps to jog my visual memory and in the process remember the faces), then I upload the pics to my blog and add commentary making sure to identify all the people (helps to reinforce in my mind all the names) and if possible mentioning something special about them that I personally found interesting. That's all there is and it works!

I ran into Kathy at Lisner Auditorium last February just before the Gala de Andalucía concert after not seeing her for more than a year. We caught up with each other briefly and said goodbye before going into the theater cuz I assumed I wouldn't run into her later. She was going back to Florida in a few days.

Anyway, this evening (Monday) she sent me a random selection of cool pics from her recent trip to Spain. Thanks Kathy!

Continue reading "Kathy en España. May 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mariya, Miguelito and Ginette Perea. May 3, 2006 (photo courtesy of Alena)

I just met Alena at last night's gig in Pentagon City. She's a loyal reader of my blog and a now a personal friend who just sent me these pics taken by her sister-in-law at our debut here, a few weeks ago, at Tapeo. Thanks Alena!

Continue reading "Tapeo pics from Alena. May 3, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sara Candela, Edwin Aparicio, Miguelito and Gerard Moreno at Cafe Citron

Several months ago, my photographer friend, Niko Alexandrou, had a collection of his flamenco photos on exhibition in the Boston Public Library. For the exhibition he could only display 10 of his best. Before that step, he narrowed it down to 25 out of thousands. With the photographer's permission, I present to you for the first time those 25 in this mini-exhibition here at DC Flamenco. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Niko Alexandrou's photo exhibition, part 1" »

Posted by Miguelito at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Baltimore-based dancer Tamara Sol in soleá por bulerías. May 21, 2006 (photo by Ginette Perea)

OK it's 1:34am on Thursday and I'm still going strong. This is the last of feria pics from Ginette for now. Thank you Ginette. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Arte Flamenco at the DC Feria de Sevilla--pics by Ginette. May 21, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 1:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anna last week at North by Northwest performing with Elba Hevia y Vaca's group. (photo by Carol Basilio)

Carol Basilio writes:
Hi Miguelito. We were graced with the presence of Ms. Anna Menendez - twice in the course of a week. What a treat it is to see her do her thang...here are some pics. Unfortunately, the restaurant is very dark and I didn't want to take pictures with the flash, so I really didn't get many good action shots.

It was nice to see you at the Feria and as always, thanks for the extremely generous service you provide to flamencos everywhere. Ole, Miguelito!
Un abrazo,
Carol

Continue reading "Anna Menendez in Philly--pics from Carol. May 24, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 12:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Amy, Bala and Morgan. May 21, 2006 (photo by Tim)

Can you believe this is my fifth photo diary entry today (Wednesday)? Yup, I'm on a roll. It's a little bit after midnight now but I'm going to keep workin' on da blog until I doze off at da keyboard. But I'm a night person which means I'll go on all night as long as I feel inspired.

Yeah I know. I keep you all distracted and unproductive at your day jobs. You can thank me later. hehe

Anyhoo, Katherine Page sent me this collection of photos featuring Furia Flamenca. She was also kind enough to identify all zee wonderful people in the pics plus the respective photographers. You make my "job" so easy: thank you Katherine!

Continue reading "Furia Flamenca at DC Feria part deux--from Katherine. May 21, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 11:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Da boyz of Furia. May 21, 2006 (photo courtesy of Karina Valverde)

It's 11:19pm on Wednesday. Yup I'm still at home working on feria pics. I did step out for an hour or so to visit Fronteras U (aka Borders) to read up on art history--next week, I'm supposed to give a mini-lecture on Spanish art for high school students in addition to a demonstration on flamenco. I'm focusing on Picasso's Guernica and I'm banking on the current fascination with symbolism thanks to the recent popularity of some book titled The Da Vinci Code. Heard of it? :-)

Anywayz, my friend Karina sent me a bunch of nice pics of Furia Flamenca from the feria. It took me a while to select the best ones. So here you are. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Furia Flamenca at DC Feria--pics from Karina. May 21, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Miguelito and Lori at Paco de Málaga's caseta. May 21, 2006 (photo by Ayhan Ozdag)

Ayhan writes:

Hi Miguelito,
How are you? Feria was really great. Also I see lots of photos on your web site. But there is no picture of Miguelito dancing. Here they are. Hope you enjoy it. See you.
Ayhan

Continue reading "Miguelito dancin' at the Feria--pics by Ayhan. May 21, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 6:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Miguelito checkin' out da boots for sale at Torcuato's table. May 21, 2006 (photo by Ginette Perea)

OK, now people have sent me tons of feria photos to select from, edit and publish. Thank you all for your contributions! Anyway, I'll try to publish at least one set of photos a day until I get through them all.

Today's entry features a selection courtesy of Ginette Perea. Enjoy!

Continue reading "People at the DC Feria--pics by Ginette. May 21, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

May 21, 2006 (photo courtesy of Sonia Small)

Sonia also sent me some pics from the Arte Flamenco student recital. I'll get those later. I hope you enjoy these. Thank you Sonia!

Continue reading "Arte Flamenco at the DC Feria de Sevilla--photos from Sonia. May 21, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

That's Milagros Soler in the orange dress with white lunares. May 21, 2006 (photo by Ginette Perea)

This the first batch of pics that Ginette took using her camera. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Sol y Triana/Mirada Flamenca at the DC Feria de Sevilla--photos by Ginette. May 21, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With DCFLAMENCO.COM being down this weekend, I spent a LOT of time on the computer all day and night Sunday doing some remedial work on my website and didn't take any pics. Who wants to see a pic of me sitting in front of the computer, anyway? :-)

Actually I did venture out of the house for about an hour to meetup with a friend for some coffee. He had come back from Mexico and brought back a little gift (nice!): one of those white gauzy cotton pirate shirts with the lace-up front. Looks pretty cool. I might even wear it tonight at my Citron gig. :-)

Anyway, my guitarist friend Ayhan Ozdag came through for me and sent me some pics from Sevilla. This'll make up for me missing a day of blogging. Thanks Ayhan! He writes:

Hi Miguelito,
How are you? As you know, Bedriye and I were at Sevilla for the feria. As usual, I am sending you some pictures. I hope you find them interesting. See you.
Ayhan

From opening night of Feria de Abril. May 7, 2006 (photo courtesy of Ayhan)

Continue reading "Ayhan and Bedriye in Sevilla. May 7, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was just about to head out the door when I got this email from Julia Cristina. You might remember Julia. I performed with her a few times last summer. She provided a pic plus some text so it only took me five minutes to publish this. She writes:

I am currently staying in Jerez de la Frontera and plan to stay here until the beginning of June. Then I'll be in Madrid for about a week (studying at Amor de Dios a little and partying too).

Jerez is beautiful--tiny and overflowing with flamenco. I am studying with Manuela Carpio and Ana Maria Lopez, both teaching me Bulerias de Jerez. The format of the classes is nice (but a little nervewracking for me at first): there are 2-4 guitarists who usually come, and the teacher acts as the singer. Each student gets about 3 turns to get up and dance a short Bulerias. Its a Fin de Fiesta every time...except the teachers can correct you if you screw up.

I am staying in a little apartment with a woman named Estela Zatania, an american journalist who has lived in Spain for about 30 years. She's a true flamenco by now--some mistake her for gitana.

This pic of me (by me) was taken on the street where Estela lives. I'll try sending another a flamenco pic or two later--I'm going to the Feria de Sevilla on Saturday which might provide me with interesting things to get on camera.

Hope all is well in DC!

Posted by Miguelito at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 31, 2006 (photo courtesy of Karina Valverde)

The group Furia Flamenca performed at the Tidal Basin (in front of the Jefferson Memorial) on Friday March 31, 2006. Although I promised my friend Karina I'd attend, time was really tight between preparing for the Sala Rociera party and getting ready for my gig at Cabanas the same night. She found someone else to take some pics and here they are...

Continue reading "Furia Flamenca at Cherry Blossom Festival March 30-31, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, OK, for a paparazzi pic, it's not exactly compromising but it was taken on the street as the photographer was driving by last Friday as I headed to Cabanas for my weekly gig there. You can't miss me: I got that distinctive look with the ponytail plus I have a guitar case hanging off my shoulder not to mention that I'm lugging a 100 pounds of sound equipment.

March 17, 2006 7:00pm-ish (photo by Jill Hatzai)

Photographer Jill Hatzai is obviously a pro. She was able to experty frame the subject (me) perfectly within seconds. More pics of me on her website.

Posted by Miguelito at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I manage to make it to almost every local flamenco event, but for those times when two things are going on at the same time, fortunately I have friends who take pics when I can't make it. Last Friday, the Baltimore flamenco community hosted a Sevillanas party at Tapas Teatro in Baltimore. Tamara Sol Flys writes:

"Here are pics from the Sevillanas party in Baltimore. It was a huge success! Big crowd! We mainly danced Sevillanas (there aren't that many pics of the Sevillanas, because I was dancing the whole time, and then my battery died), but we also danced alegrias and bulerias. I think people had a great time! I know I did!"

Sevillanas line. March 3, 2006 (photo courtesy of Tamara Sol Flys)

Continue reading "Sevillanas Party in Baltimore March 3, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yeah, I amaze myself sometimes on how I can keep up with all the flamenco happenings in DC let alone type it all in and upload photos and come up with sharp and witty commentary. :-) But one thing I can't do is be in two places at once--I'm working on that though. :-) In the meantime, I'm very grateful to have friends who take pics of events I cannot attend and send them to me. Thanks Ayhan!

Anna Menendez, Carmela Greco, Bedriye Ozdag and Gloria Monge. February 23, 2006 (photo courtesy of Ayhan Ozdag)

I'm sure it was a great show but I wouldn't know cuz I wasn't there. But if you want say something about it, feel free to click on the "Comments" link at the end of this blog entry.

Continue reading "Tutto Bene show February 23, 2006" »

Posted by Miguelito at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)