Here's a quick recap of the flamenco shows I've been seeing this month. Its been FANTASTIC! November 7th---Compania Rocio Molina: Bosque Ardora. Remarkable talent, exciting show. Really creative. 2 trombones and guitar with cante and percussion did the music. Her final piece was a solea' in which she danced the finest escobilla I've ever witnessed, bar none. Teatro Canal. November 8th---Ines Bacan accompanied by Antonio Moya. Pure and essential flamenco. Fabulous! Fundacion Casa Patas November 12th---Paco de Lucia: la Busqueda. A brand new documentary done by his son, Curro Sanchez. Moving and important. Cinema Renoir. November 13th---Josemi Carmona (guitar) with Javier Colina (bass). Jazz flamenco (something that interests me very much!). Lots of high points, maybe a little too rich in bass-solos. Jorge Pardo (flute) sat in on a couple of themes. Fun night! OffatlaLatina. November 14th---Cafe Central: I'm told it is going to close and this is shameful. Spanish jazz crooner Pedro Ruy-Blas was "regular". November 15th---Compania Manuel Linan: Nomada. Unrelentingly jondo that got a little wearying---3 magnificent singers (Miguel Ortega, Maguel Lavi, David Carpio), 2 excellent guitarists (Victor Marquez "El Tomate," Fran Vinuesa)who REALLY got down. Linan (excuse the missing enyes) danced a caracole in bata de cola with brilliant manton work to end the show and bring the house down. Teatro Canal. November 16th---Juglar in Lavapies has a very good cuadro flamenco performance most every Sunday that is highly recommended. My friend, Jeni Benavides, danced very well, indeed!

This famous dance studio has been offering intimate and intermittent shows, called "Backstage." On Saturday, November 1st, I saw and heard Pablo Ruben Maldonado (piano), with Eva Duran (cantaora), and Joachim Ruiz (dancer). All three are excellent artists. Their show was good not great. Each of them seems to work with-in a quite limited vocabulary: flamenco, of course, but neither deeply soulful nor hiply modern. They did an Argentine tango-fused farruca that wasn't tangoistic because they don't know the tango vocabulary. Ruiz is a dancer whom I like very much, but couldn't he have studied some tango moves? A dancer of his caliber would shred that stuff! Sin duda! Duran sang "Nostalgias," one of my favorite tangos. She injected flamenquismo to the extent that this gorgeous melody was all but lost. And with loads of dramatics. Sorry. Listen to Rocio Durcal on youtube and hear that Madrilenya interpret Nostalgias. Do your homework! I liked Maldonado's piano playing a lot. I really did. But, again, a little knowledge of tango (maybe of jazz, too!) would have lifted everything considerably. Still and all, I had a great time.

So wonderful to be back in Madrid! I'll be here nearly 5 weeks. I'm not staying at my apartment---it is rented to a lovely person whom I can not uproot!---so I'm renting a room very nearby from a friend of a friend. It is very very nice. Despite the economic "crisis" here, Madrid remains an incredibly vital, bustling,stylish,vibrant city. I love it here! Always have. Its become home to an amazing food and wine scene, too. To drink Ribera del Duero tempranillo alongside tapas of jamon serrano, manchego, sepia ala plancha...on a daily basis...love it! love it! Despite all this, I come here for FLAMENCO. And there is flamenco to see and hear most every night of the week. Sometimes, it is grand and theatrical, sometimes it is intimate and modest. Most often the level is very high. I'll try to write brief reviews of at least some of the shows I am seeing.

I'm renting an apartment in Jocotenango, about 45 minutes walk (that's right: walk!) from Antigua. My son, Aaron, and his girlfriend, Jaki, live there, too. Everyday, I sit by the front windows, gazing at the volcanoes and practicing guitar for a few hours. Two of the most magnificent little birds---golden-green with black wings---sit right outside and listen as they perch on a fruit tree. If I'm late starting my practice, they fly up to the window---questioningly(?). They have become dear little friends.

I am SO reminded right now---this very minute---of the importance of stepping back a bit, chilling out, big smile, light heart, have a huge laugh. NOTHING is that damn important. Pass it on. If I see you tomorrow on the streets of Antigua: we'll know. We'll share a moment.

1. Tonight, Tuesday, August 26th, I'm playing solo flamenco at the Riverview Wine Bar (42 Ave S and 38 St, Mpls) from 7 30pm. 2. Playing jazz, with John devine (sax) at the Wine Pavilion, MN State Fair: Wednesday, Aug 27th from 6 30 till 9 30p. 3. Solo flamenco guitar at Rincon 38 Tapas (38 and Grand Ave, Mpls)on Thursday, Aug 28th, from 6 30 till 9 30p. 4. Solo guitar at Ingredients in White Bear Lake, MN, Friday, Aug 29 from 6 30 till 9 30p. 5. Cafe Latte, in St Paul, on Grand and Victoria, hosts my solo guitar on Saturday, Aug 30th from 7 till 10p. 6. A final show with Rogue Tango on Sunday, Aug 31, at the Loring Pasta Bar (327 14 Ave SE, Mpls), 6 till 10p. Then: its back to Antigua Guatemala and Restaurant Angeline. Hasta cuando? No se....

I am in Minneapolis. I've been here most of August; heading back to Antigua Guatemala---and Angeline---in a week. Its been wonderful to play with Rogue Tango. I've done a lot of gigs, a lot of teaching, a lot of research, planning, and meetings. The restaurant has climbed to #2 on TripAdvisor and this generates business. Six months into the project, it is time to reflect back, see the positives as well as the negatives, re-examine goals and priorities, perhaps make some adjustments. Its been quite a ride! Where do we go from here? My friend, Timo Lozano, passed away a few days ago. He was an incredible flamenco dancer with flawless rhythm and great groove, played great cajon, too. Very sad. Another close friend, Ken Turner, passed earlier this summer, and I just came to know of it. Very sad, indeed. My eight year relationship with Rachel "la Mala" Milloy ended right after our show in March. This has been a tough loss for me, too. But life is so sweet, so precious. We must continue moving forward. Lots of great friends here. Lots of music; it is bittersweet being in Minneapolis at summer's end.

As 1/3 owner of a new restaurant: Angeline, segunda calle poniente #3, Antigua Guatemala---one can get lost in the day-to-day struggle to build a successful business. I often walk for an hour in the early morning. It's a great time to think, reflect, get priorities straight. Sometimes I don't leave the premises of Angeline for the rest of the day. So the walk is super important to me. I was thinking about the many things I love about this city, this country, this business. 1. Antigua Guatemala is a beautiful place to live. The climate is perfect, its a healthy lifestyle, great fresh, local produce. An ancient and fascinating culture that one is surrounded by on a daily basis. 2. Everyday brings new and unexpected adventures! It is never boring or staid. 3. I am learning the restaurant business--it is an addiction. I am learning how (and how not!) to run a restaurant. 4. Not to be cheezy: it is an opportunity to do some positive good by employing local folks, paying a decent wage, inputting the local economy. I'm not a big supporter of NGOs---I like this much better. 5. I'm learning how to manage people, to be tough when I need to be, to be decisive and strong and fair. 6. I love the opportunity to speak Spanish all-day, everyday. I love living in a Spanish speaking country. 7. As the music director at Angeline, I play guitar (flamenco, tango, classical, jazz) for many hours each day. This is really what my life is about. 8. I have the opportunity to share all this with my youngest child, Aaron. He is living here, with his girl friend, Jaki. They are studying Spanish 4 hours a day, working at Angeline, playing soccer, dancing, living in a foreign country. It's an amazing experience for them (he's 21, she's 19) and I'm happy to be able to help them.

http://www.facebook.com/angelineantiguaWe are open! We survived all the little hassles and beaurocratic snarls that delay opening on time, and....we're almost there! Doors are open although there is still some paperwork not finalized. We're looking at a Grand Opening in late June, I think the 27th. This place is exquisite! It is comfortable---we don't like to leave. Its a place to hang out, have a drink, have a tapa (gratis with first drink), have a craft cocktail, eat a gourmet dinner, listen to live music... you get the idea. After playing music in nightclubs and bars for so many years, I knew just the kind of place I wanted to be a part of! I hosted my first open jam session last Thursday. I need to meet the local musicians (I've a mind to create a tango band, jazz combo, flamenco group...) and this was a good start. Friday, we had our first flamenco show, featuring a dancer and a singer from Guatemala City. We had a nice crowd, enthusiastic and very diverse. Angeline is notable for 4 things: the food. Contemporary fusion fine dining with specials everyday. Tasting menus with wine parings are soon to be. We have a wonderful Guatemalan chef, Gustavo, who will team with Jes Werkmeister (from the Harriet Brasserie in Minneapolis, MN) who arrives on June 14th. Delicious tapas, too. Secondly: the wine program. My partner, Alberto Blanco, really knows wine and has his sommolier certification. By the glass or the bottle, we have wines to please the connaisseur (French, Spanish) and very affordable South American offerings, as well. It is difficult to find really good wines in Antigua---here they are! Thirdly: craft cocktails and mixology. Virtually unknown here until now, partner Chi Ngo makes her own vermouths and tinctures in-house mostly using what we grow on the patio. I love Negronis and hers are the best I've had. Enough said. (We do have beer, btw). Lastly is the music program which is my baby. The acoustics are great in this classic Romanesque building and I'm delighted to be doing virtually all music with-out amplification (I do have a sound system, so far just for the i-pod and youtube). Nothing like it! This post is long enough---more updates to come.

The Tango Society of Minnesota (TSOM) as well as the greater MN scene of tango dancers is (are) a remarkable group. It has been an extreme pleasure to perform live tango music for their dances (milongas) over the past 8 years, first with Mandragora Tango and lately with my own ensemble: Rogue Tango. Thank you all for your tremendous support, your enthusiasm, and your friendship. This note is to set the record straight as I've noticed lots of rumors flying about, saying I'm relocating and that Rogue Tango may be ending. I am a one-third partner in opening a new restaurant in Antigua, Guatemala. It is called Restaurant Angeline (we have a Facebook page) and the address is: segunda calle poniente #3, Antigua, Guatemala, Centro America. We are opening on May 16th, 2014. I'll be departing Minneapolis on May 14. I do plan on being there for a few months, initially, to really get the business up and running smoothly. My partners, Alberto Blanco and Chi Ngo, are there and tirelessly working towards our opening. I'll be running the music at Angeline. We will have tango, flamenco, and Latin jazz: music every night! Dancing too! Lots of Argentines and tango aficion in Antigua, Guatemala! Rogue Tango will continue pretty much as they are now. Our masterful pianist, Jarrod Wendland, will be directing the ensemble. He'll be using various lineups but the basic roster of artists includes: Jarrod, violinists Wendy Tangen Foster, Laura Harada, Sara Pajunen; bassists Rahn Yanes, Peter Susag, Greg Byers; guitarist Nick Haas, bandoneonist Bob Barnes. Greg may also play cello with Rogue. We may well use saxophone and other instruments from time to time. I fully intend to play with Rogue every chance I get. Rogue will continue playing Sundays at the Loring Pasta Bar (327 14th Ave SE, Minneapolis MN). As things stand now, I'm looking to return to Minneapolis sometime in August for 2-3 weeks. Again, please know how I cherish the friendships in the tango community and that I'm only looking to expand my outreach, not burn any bridges. My final shows with Rogue Tango (for now!) are May 4th and 11th. Mother's Day we will start at 5 pm and finish at 7 45pm so please plan on coming a little earlier than usual. Thank you, everyone! Now, start thinking about a vacation get-away in Antigua! Scott Mateo Davies