Fiesta dc mag winter 2015

Washington DC

magazine

This guide offers Many events, nightlife, sights and sounds the Washington DC Metro area to the whole world have to offer.

Have fun!

You Perfect

Holiday

Sc

yo

ur Way to t

he

dc

an

6-

1 20

-washingto n

ISSUE #

The Washington DC New Year’s Eve Party Guide ty - ISSU Par E# xt 5 Ne

56

+ PLUS

Photography by: Peter P ®

+ IN THIS ISSUE

2 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

www.fiestaDCmagazine.com >3

candy party pág.8-9 EVENTS

19.12.15

EVENTS • Dining • CONCERTS • FASHION

cold days pág.14 photo art

PERFORMANCE MUSIC pág.20-21

travel

bacardi puerto rico pág.34-35

56 ISSUE #

4 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

This guide offers Many events, nightlife, sights and sounds the Washington DC Metro area to the whole world have to offer.

Have fun!

Letter From the Editors Greetings and a warm welcome to our fifty-six issue of FIESTA DC Magazine!

We couldn’t be more excited to have made it to this point.

Please take some time to get to know the layout of our magazine. You will notice the five categories of articles: Fashion Travel, Mind, Nest, Connections, and Flight. Within each category, there are four to six articles for you to enjoy.

You can look at one category at a time, or just peruse the articles on the home page to choose which to read first.

Just as with a paper magazine, you may want to sit and read the whole thing at once, or come back to this issue several times to digest the articles more slowly.

When we set out to create an on-line magazine that would promote healthy and deliberate living, one thing we agreed on right away was to steer-away from the glossy images of the too-perfect, product-driven magazines that we all sometimes read.

Photo : Simon Bechara

Enjoy with us the fashion show in the capital of the world, our team will be present to cover this event named “DC Fashion Show”, ...do not miss it!

What you will find in the pages of FIESTA DC Magazine is a collection of inspired and instructive articles written by real, honest, down-to-earth folks who work hard to live deliberately, but who are not afraid to admit the struggles we sometimes face.

We are honored to share the work of so many committed and thoughtful people. Please visit the Our Contributors page to see the wonderful contributors and read their bios. Also, feel free to leave comments on the articles to share your thoughts or ask the author a question.

We appreciate your support and are so happy to have you as a reader of FIESTA DC Magazine.

With warmest thanks,

Frank Mareno Editor & Chief

A special appreciation for all our sponsors who are making us one of the most popular magazine.

Thank you a lot!

WASHINGTON DC • MADRID • BUENOS AIRES • SANTA CRUZ • SAO PAULO www.fiestaDCmagazine.com >5

LOCAL CONCERTS

Andrea Bocelli will be returning to the U.S. for his annual December Holiday Tour, bringing his unmatched repertoire of soaring arias, famed love songs and crossover hits to fans in select cities. Starting on December 2 in Phoenix, AZ, the tour will feature some of the legendary tenor’s favorite stops, including the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and last year’s sold out Madison Square Garden in New York City. Additional tour stops include a return to Washington, D.C.’s Verizon Center for only the fifth time in the 17 year history of the building. Bocelli will be joined by conductor Eugene Kohn, Grammy® and Tony award winner Heather Headley and Sopranos Aida Garifullina and Maria Aleida at each stop on the tour.

American Express® Card Members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets for the Washington, D.C. date prior to the general public beginning on April 6 at 10 a.m.

For more ticket information, please visit www.andreabocelli.com.

Tickets for the general public go on sale April 13 at 10 a.m. for the Verizon Center show via www.ticketmaster. com, the arena box office or via Phonecharge at 1-800745-3000. “Bocelli’s vocal prowess in both sacred rep-

6 < WWW.fiestaDCmagazine.com

ertoire and popular ballads is undeniable. His powerful, heroic timbre, along with his range, profound control and commanding presence, makes for an overwhelming live experience,” raved the Orange County Register.

Thrilling audiences for over 20 years, Andrea Bocelli exploded onto the world’s stage with his hit, “Con te Partiro” (and later it’s arrangement as a duet with Sarah Brightman with the title “Time To Say Goodbye”), and has since sold 80 million records and performed countless worldwide tours. Today, Bocelli is known for being one of the greatest singing talents in the world.

This past October, Bocelli released simultaneous recordings, Opera: The Ultimate Collection featuring beloved opera aria favorites and Puccini’s Manon Lescaut in October 2014. Also this year, Bocelli was nominated for two Billboard Latin Music Awards, including Latin Pop Album of the Year and Latin Pop Album Artist of the Year (Solo).

In 2013, Bocelli earned his Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from The Conservatory of Music, Giacomo Puccini in La Spezia, Italy.

Janet Jackson brings Unbreakable World Tour to DC Social Media Publishing Frank Mareno Editor & Chief www.Inteli-Marketing.com MARKETING & RESEARCH Gedalia Vera Event Producer Advertising Specialist Marco Díaz Estela Ruiz Blanca Rodas DISTRIBUTION Gedalia Vera Yolanda Vaccaro Andre Claros Cinthia Zarzar Shirley Ramos Angela Rivas CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Any Alvarenga GASTRONOMIC WRITER CONTACT US magazinefiesta@gmail.com

Follow us on:

© 2011 Fiesta logo design Magazineandwhatareyou doingtonight?tmprotectedby copyright under U.S. copyrightandotherlaws, isapublishedoftheTwelve timesaYearbyFMAdvertising, LLC.allrightsreserved,use or reproduction of any materialscontainedherein isstrictlyprohibitedwith outexpresspriorofwriten. consentofthepublisher.

Janet Jackson has announced additional dates for her Unbreakable World Tour including a March 1st show at Verizon Center at 8 p.m. Jackson’s World Tour is in support of her 11th studio album and is her first tour in four years.

TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets for Janet Jackson on Tuesday, March 1 at 8 p.m. are $135, $99.50, $69.50 and $49.50 (plus applicable service charges) and go on sale July 20 at 10 a.m. There is an eight ticket limit. Tickets will be available through all Ticketmaster outlets including the Verizon Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com and via Phonecharge at 1-800-7453000. Accessible seating is available for patrons with disabilities by calling 202-661-5065. Please visit www.janetjackson.com for more information.

www.fiestaDCmagazine.com >7

LOCAL EVENT

CLARENDON CANDY CANE CRAWL

DECEMBER 19, 2015 8 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

ARLINGTON, VA. Bust out your best holiday cheer and get ready to jingle some bells for the biggest holiday celebration this city has ever seen on Saturday, December 19th! Gather your favorite elves and reindeer and get ready to bar-hop through the winter wonderlands of Clarendon with the first ever Clarendon Candy Cane Crawl! - http://candycanecrawl.com/

Get events updated. Visit us on the web at www.fiesta dc magazine/events/washington-dc-events www.fiestaDCmagazine.com >9

10 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

www.fiestaDCmagazine.com > 11

12 < WWW.fiestaDCmagazine.com

By Asl覺 G繹nen

FASHION EVENT

Get events updated. Visit us on the web at www.fiestadcmagazine/washington-dc-events

â&#x20AC;&#x153; Dozens of designers, mostly from the international community, supported by a cast of over 100 of theâ&#x20AC;Żhottest models from throughout the region and around world.

WWW.fiestaDCmagazine.com >13

Photography by: Peter P 速

16 < WWW.fullpartytonight.com

Washington, DC, played host to a celebration of high style, glamour for the Winter 2015 DC Fashion Week, which ended Sunday. In its 16th season of showcasing local and international style, DC Fashion Week 2015 is being heralded as multi-talented and multi-faceted.

With its unique position in Washington, home to the world’s political, business, and diplomatic elite, DC Fashion Week has earned a reputation of being the “united nations” of the fashion world says DC Fashion Week Executive Producer, Ean Williams. The week-long showcase was also well-timed, commencing right after a similar series in New York. While final figures from the fashion week are still being tabulated, it’s estimated that past week of events drew crowds of more than 5000.

Dozens of designers, mostly from the international community, supported by a cast of over 100 of the hottest models from throughout the region and around world, spent the week shaking up the normally stiff and stoic image of Washington.

While Congress was out of town, fashion took center stage with daily activities including fashion shows, networking sessions, and, of course, after-parties.

Starting off the week was DC Fashion Week’s Kickoff Reception and Eco Fashion Show followed by an exhibition at the DC Textile Museum, and then the Corjor International Fashion show. Next off was the Fashion Industry Networking Party and then an Eastern European designer showcase hosted at the Ukraine Embassy. New designers were featured at the Emerging Designer Showcase & Concert. French style and hospitality were on display for the International Couture Show, the DC Fashion Week Spring 2015’s grand finale, at the elegant Embassy of France.

The designer corps of this season’s DC Fashion Week traveled

from as far away as Morroco, Germany, and Korea. And it was a worthwhile investment according to Joanna de’Shay, CEO of the Black Russian label.

“I would rank DC Fashion week among the top 10 in the Nation,” said de’Shay who came to Washington from Arizona just for DC Fashion Week. The model-turned designer of Russian and African origin, says “DC Fashion week is the epitome of what a world-class Fashion week should be…international designers, models and media outlets…this Fashion week does an amazing job of creating an environment where Fashionistas and Fashion professionals can network, mingle and ultimately do business.”

A tasteful twist was the creativity of the jewelry, art, and other vendors on display throughout the week of fashion shows.

Seizing this opportunity, Bernice Morgan, with Designerberg, affirmed that Fashion Week attendees enjoyed shopping and purchasing on the spot designs they saw featured in the fashion shows. Fashion Week models, who ranged in ethnicity and age, applaud the genius of Williams and the diversity of his designers. “All of us [models] enjoyed the show and the clothing of designers who were creative in their own unique way,” said TribBey, a model, mother, and producer of “A Model Life” reality TV show.

“Now that we’ve captured the international limelight, DC Fashion Week is set to become the fashion version of the Olympics where countries send designers to compete”, said Williams. All in all, DC Fashion Week continues to astound and is poised to even get better from here.

About DC Fashion Week: DCFASHIONWEEK is considered one of the fastest growing international fashion week exhibits in the world and is held twice a year in February and September.

32 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

www.fiestaDCmagazine.com >33

Come explore the new Casa Bacardí Visitor Center. Learn about the past, present and future of the world’s most awarded rum and Spirit.

Facundo Bacardí Massó, a Spanish wine merchant, was born in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain, in 1814, and emigrated to Cuba in 1830. During this period, rum was cheaply made and not considered a refined drink, and rarely sold in upmarket taverns. Facundo began attempting to “tame” rum by isolating a proprietary strain of yeast still used in Bacardi production. This yeast gives Bacardi rum its flavour profile. After experimenting with several techniques he hit upon filtering the rum through charcoal, which removed impurities. In addition to this, Facundo aged the rum in white oak barrels, which had the effect of mellowing the drink. The final product was the first clear, or “white” rum in the world.

Moving from the experimental stage to a more commercial endeavour, he and his brother José set up a Santiago de Cuba distillery they bought in 1862, which housed a still made of copper and cast iron.

In the rafters of this building lived fruit bats – the inspiration for the Bacardi bat logo.

The 1880s and 90s were turbulent times for Cuba and the company. Emilio Bacardi, Don Facundo’s eldest son, was repeatedly imprisoned and was exiled from Cuba for having fought in the rebel army against Spain in the Cuban

War of Independence.

Emilio’s brothers, Facundo and José, and his brotherin-law Henri (Don Enrique) Schueg, remained in Cuba with the difficult task of sustaining the company during a period of war. The women in the family were exiled in Kingston, Jamaica. After the Cuban War of Independence and the US occupation of Cuba, “The Original Cuba Libre” and the Daiquiri were both created, using Bacardi rum.[9] In 1899 US General Leonard Wood appointed Emilio Bacardi Mayor of Santiago de Cuba.

The Bacardi Building in Havana, Cuba In 1912, Emilio Bacardi travelled to Egypt, where he purchased a mummy (still on display) for the future Emilio Bacardi Moreau Municipal Museum in Santiago de Cuba.

[10] In Santiago, his brother Facundo M. Bacardí continued to manage the company along with Schueg, who began the company’s international expansion by opening bottling plants in Barcelona (1910) and New York City (1915).[11] The New York plant was soon shut down due to Prohibition, yet during this time Cuba became a hotspot for US tourists.

34 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

In 1922 Emilio opened a new distillery in Santiago. In 1930 Schueg opened the Art Deco Bacardi building in Havana and the third generation of the Bacardí family entered the business. Facundito Bacardí was known to have invited Americans (still subject to Prohibition) to “Come to Cuba and bathe in Bacardi rum.”

A new product was introduced: Hatuey beer.

The “Cathedral of Rum” at the Bacardi distillery in Cataño, Puerto Rico, near San Juan Bacardi’s transition into an international brand was due mostly to Schueg’s “business genius”; Schueg “branded Cuba as the home of rum, and Bacardi as the king of rums” and expanded overseas, first to Mexico (1931), then to Puerto Rico (1936), under the brand name Ron Bacardi. (Ron is the Spanish word for rum).

Post-Prohibition production in Puerto Rico enabled rum to be sold tariff-free in the US.[12] He then expanded to the United States (1944).[ During World War II, the company was led by Schueg’s sonin-law, José “Pepin” Bosch. Pepin founded Bacardi Imports in New York City, and became Cuba’s Minister of the Treasury in 1949.

Visit Casa Bacardí | Bacardí Visitor Center, Puerto Rico www.visitcasabacardi.com

www.fullpartytonight.com >23

advertisers

Spanish Translation Services USA

Professional translation services of high quality

540.220.7066 like us on facebook! fulldesignservices

call for free estimate 571.263.5827

36 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

www.fiestaDCmagazine.com >37

Thirty years after defeating the Galactic Empire, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his allies face a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and his army of Stormtroopers.

Movie

LOS ANGELES | By Lisa Richwine

‘Star Wars’ director faces hype, history 40 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

The new installment in the “Star Wars” movie saga opens in theaters this month against a formidable force: the galactic hopes of devoted fans who have waited a decade to revisit their beloved universe of Jedi, droids and lightsabers.

Can “The Force Awakens,” the seventh episode in the celebrated sci-fi series, meet those expectations when it debuts on December 18? “No,” said director J.J. Abrams. “How can anything live up to any expectation like that?”

What the movie will offer, Abrams told Reuters, is great performances and visual effects, music “that breaks your heart and soars,” plus a story, characters and creatures that are new, but feel like they fit in the universe created by George Lucas in the original 1977 film.

“George was creating a world that we wanted to go back to in order to tell a story we’d never seen yet,” Abrams said. “In a way, we were going backward to go forward.”

For example, he said, the filmmakers created droids “to feel completely new and different and at the same time something that was so of ‘Star Wars.’ That was always the challenge.”

Lucas bowed out of “Star Wars” after he sold his film studio to Walt Disney Co in 2012 for $4 billion. “Force Awakens” is the first in a new film trilogy.

“There’s no way that I can imagine anything touching the magic of what he did,” Abrams said, “and yet we all did the best we could to make that happen.”

Set 30 years after “Return of the Jedi,” the new movie brings characters Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) back to their galaxy far, far away. Newcomers Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) lead a younger generation that grapples with the conflicts that haunted the past.

in ‘Force Awakens’

Disney is guarding details about the plot of “Force Awakens.” The secrecy has stirred rampant online speculation, particularly about the fate of Skywalker, who is absent from trailers and posters promoting the new film. www.fiestaDCmagazine.com >41

DID YOU KNOW...

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set over 30 years after Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope was released in 1977.

The Series has three trilogies: The Original Trilogy, which are movies four to six in the story but were the first to be released, The Prequel Trilogy, movies one to three were the second group released twenty years later, and finally the Sequel Trilogy 42 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

that will be released over the next four years.

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope earned triple its budget on its opening weekend.

Harrison Ford who plays Han Solo, Carrie Fisher who plays Princess Leia and Mark Hamill who plays Luke Skywalker reprise their roles in The Force Awakens.

James Earl Jones and David Prowse, who play the voice and body of Darth Vader respectively, have never met.

Simon Pegg was confirmed to star in The Force Awakens, making him the first actor to appear in both a Star Wars and a Star Trek film. Pegg plays Scotty in the Star Trek films. www.fiestaDCmagazine.com >43

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD. The biggest party in town features tons of open bars, 15 themed dance party areas, 10 dance floors, first-class cuisine, party favors and discounted hotel rooms. Some of the hottest party bands and DJs will be performing, including Go Go Gadget, The Rockets, Biz Markie, DJ Chris Styles and many more. Tickets start at $99 and will sell out. Doors open at 9 p.m., party ends at 3 a.m.

GAYLORD NATIONAL HOTEL & RESORT: 201 Waterfront St., Oxon Hill, MD; www.bignightdc.com DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA NYE AT 51ST STATE NW, DC. 51st State Tavern will have a DJ, party favors, champagne toast, and $4.50 Yuengling all night long. There will also be complimentary hors d’oeuvres. No cover. 51ST STATE TAVERN: 2512 L St., NW; www.51ststatetavern.com NEW YEAR’S EVE WITH DALE AND THE ZDUBS NW, DC. Are you ready for New Year’s? Acre 121 is! Party like it’s 2016 with an amazing live show from rock/reggae powerhouse band Dale and the ZDubs starting at 10 p.m.!

The $10 cover gets you access to the night-long dance party with complimentary champagne toasts at midnight and all night drinks specials, including $6 champagne cocktails and $5 holiday drafts. Reservations are available so book today.

ACRE 121: 1400 Irving St. NW, DC; www.acre121.com YEAR’S EVE CELEBRATION NW, DC. Celebrate NYE at Beacon Bar & Grill with a fourcourse dinner featuring multiple entree choices, a DJ, champagne and festive cocktails available as well. Book your space at www.BBGwdc.com. Tickets are $65 a person.

BEACON BAR & GRILL: 17th And Rhode Island Ave. NW, DC; www.BBGwdc.com PROFESSIONALS IN THE CITY’S NEW YEAR’S EVE PASSPORT TO THE WORLD GALA NW, DC. Each year, more than 3,000 people attend this event sponsored by Pros In The City. Bring your friends, or come alone and meet new friends! There will be different color bracelets for singles and couples, so it is easy to see who is single and who is not. Event features live entertainment, delicious food and beverages, a great crowd of people with a wide variety of interests, and so much more. Tickets start at $149, doors open at 9 p.m. CAPITAL HILTON: 1001 16th St. NW, DC; www.prosinthecity.com WILLY WONKA’S NYE CHOCOLATE FACTORY NW, DC. DC9 has NYE covered with Willy Wonka’s NYE Chocolate Factory. Enjoy four hours of premium open bar, Times Square viewing on the big screen, champagne toasts and hats and noisemakers. There will also be two floors of DJs and a raffle to win prizes including free tickets to every show at DC9 in 2016. Tickets start at $55, doors open at 44 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

10 p.m. DC9 NIGHTCLUB: 1940 9th St. NW, DC; www. dcnine.com NEW YEAR’S BASH NW, DC. At Fado this New Year’s Eve you are Irish, everywhere else you are just drunk.

Ring in the New Year with live music, champagne toasts and more.

Tickets start at $10, event starts at 9pm. FADO IRISH PUB: 808 7th St. NW, DC; www.fadoirishpub. com/washington #RIVERBASH2016 NW, DC. Nick’s Riverside Grill and Tony and Joe’s have the best New Year’s Party in Washington DC. They offer live music, DJs, appetizers, top shelf open bars and a heated outdoor tent with outside bars. There is plenty of room for everyone. The best part is that it’s all-inclusive starting at just $90 per ticket.

Groups of 10 or more get $10 off per ticket. Doors open at 9 p.m. GEORGETOWN WATERFRONT: 3000/3050 K St. NW, DC; www.tonyandjoes.com PIMPS OF JOYTIME 2-NIGHT NYE RUN NW, DC. Anyone familiar with the Pimps of Joytime live experience knows the feeling when a deep bluesy groove morphs into a full-on EDM dance beat, or the sensation when the wide-eyed audience collectively elevates in sync with the band’s tangible energy. Don’t miss out on this twonight run for NYE. Tickets start at $30, show starts at 9 p.m.

GYPSY SALLY’S: 3401 K St. NW, DC; www.gypsysallys. com NYE VELVET ROPE 2016 NW, DC. Velvet Rope is your chance to be a celebrity and walk the Red Carpet at “the Embassy of Rock.” Event fea-

tures premium open bar till midnight, unlimited party favors, a champagne toast at midnight, VIP balcony options with a personal waitress. Tickets start at $40 a person, event starts at 9:30 p.m.

NYESocial.com BOWLS, BEERS & BUBBLY NW, DC. Join Lou’s City Bar on New Year’s for a day and night of Bowls, Beers & Bubbly! They’ll have ALL the games on NYE including the College Football Playoffs in the Orange and Cotton Bowl, plus coverage of the Times Square 2015 countdown. Enjoy 22 ounce pints for $5 and champagne cocktails for $6 all day and night, plus a game day special on brats & tots for $10. Reserve your table now! No cover. LOU’S CITY BAR: 1400 Irving St. NW, DC; www.louscitybar.com NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY @ MAD FOX TAPROOM

HARDROCK CAFE: 999 E St. NW, DC; www.nyevelvetrope.com NEW YEAR’S EVE 2016: MASQUERADE BALL AT HOWARD THEATRE NW, DC. Join DC’s chic celebrants at Howard Theatre this New Year’s Eve. Couples tickets start at $80 and Include two tickets, a complimentary masquerade mask and early entry. Regular rickets start at $60 all of the above for one person. VIP bottle service table packages are available as well. The full dinner menu will be available as well. Doors open at 8 p.m. THE HOWARD THEATRE: 620 T St. NW, DC; www.thehowardtheatre.com

NW, DC. Join Mad Fox on NYE to celebrate another year of survival on this crazy planet! The first annual Mad Fox Taproom New Year’s Eve Party will be held at the brand new Glover Park location that features two floors, two bars, a dance floor and bar seating. Tickets start at $85 and include a gourmet appetizer buffet and a full premium open bar until 1 a.m. featuring timeless Mad Fox craft beers. There will be a DJ, party favors, champagne toast at midnight and a complimentary coat check. Doors open at 9 p.m. MAD FOX TAPROOM: 2218 Wisconsin Ave. NW, DC; www.eventbrite. com search Mad Fox NYE 11TH ANNUAL MASQUERADE BALL NW, DC. The 11th Annual NYE Masquerade Ball will include a one hour open bar, MXDC catered appetizers, Miami’s own DJ Damion Daniel and a champagne toast at midnight. Masquerade masks will be provided but patrons are encouraged to bring their own as well. The Times Square ball drop will be broadcasted on all screens and music will play all night long.

Tickets start at $35 and tables start at $200. Doors open at 9 p.m. MXDC: 600 14th St. NW, DC; www.dcnewyears.net

NEW YEAR’S EVE 2016 BASH!

NEW YEAR’S EVE INTERNATIONAL GALA: A CIRQUE DU 2016 INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATION OF MANY NATIONS

NW, DC. Ring in 2016 at Irish Whiskey Public House. Tickets start at $75 Premium and include a five hour open bar, passed hors d’oeuvres, party favors, a champagne toast at midnight and dancing all night long. Purchase your advanced tickets at Irish Whiskey or online. Doors open at 9 p.m. IRISH WHISKEY PUBLIC HOUSE: 1207 19th St. NW, DC; www.irishwhiskeydc.com

NW, DC. Celebrate New Year’s Eve with top shelf open bar and food stations, ten international themed celebrations, all five of the Nationals racing presidents, multiple DJs and bands including Gonzo’s Nose. The event will also feature DC’s largest balloon drop and other surprises. Tickets start at $112 and doors open at 8 p.m. OMNI SHOREHAM HOTEL: 2500 Calvert St. NW, DC; www.thingstodoDC.com

NYE SOCIAL “SPEAKEASY STYLE”

BACK IN THE DAY: 90’S NEW YEAR’S EVE BASH

NW, DC. Join Kelly’s as they transform a casual DC bar into a Prohibition style New Year’s Eve speakeasy complete with open bar until 1 a.m., beautiful event lighting, live music featuring 7Deadlies, a house DJ, hearty era-style starters such as Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers, Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip and much more. Tickets start at $69, party starts at 9 p.m. KELLY’S IRISH TIMES: 14 F St. NW, DC; www.

NW, DC. Try something different this New Year’s Eve with the Back in the Day ‘90s themed celebration at Panache.

Party like it’s 1999 as a DJ spins your favorite ‘90s jams like Jay-Z, Biggie and a little Britney. Tickets start at $30 and include an hour open bar and catered appetizers from 9 - 10 p.m., tables start at $500. Doors open at 9 p.m. PANACHE: 1725 Desales St. NW, DC; www.newyearsevedc90s.com www.fiestaDCmagazine.com >45

2016 46 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

www.fiestaDCmagazine.com >47

FINGER ON THE PULSE: A DECADE OF DANCE IN WASHINGTON DC

MUSIC 48 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

For much of the late ‘90s - early 2000s Nation, the influential Buzz party, and DJs such as Charles Feelgood and Scott Henry were cornerstones of DC dance and music. As were tech house legends Thievery Corporation and the Eighteenth Street Lounge -- the Northwest DC club they founded. Discussing the now 20-year old space and the formative days of DC’s ascent to representing the finest of dance culture to the world, Thievery member and ESL owner Eric Hilton states, “DC had small bars or giant discotheque-type places. We just wanted an informal club that felt like home. Eighteenth Street Lounge is where we tested our records. We had a really good resource there to branch out from.”

Smaller in scope to what was happening at Eighteenth Street Lounge was U Street Music Hall owner Will Eastman’s Bliss party, a recently ended monthly event that for 15 years did everything from playing a key role in breaking indie electro in the area in the early 2000s to spawning the careers of countless local DJs and well-regarded international producers. Eastman’s desire to throw a non top-40, retro or rap-focused party led him to creating Bliss, which he aptly describes as an event “without an attitude or velvet-rope, blending punk rock and house music.” The idea that Eastman would, alongside fellow area spinner Tittsworth have a hand in opening U Street Music Hall in 2010 feels apropos. Even further, the idea that Eastman and Tittsworth’s U Hall would give fellow DC area DJ/producer Dave Nada’s reggaeton/house hybrid moombahton subgenre a home for 40-plus “Moombahton Massive” events seems fitting as well.

Another pillar of the scene is Antonis Karagounis, Pete Kalamoutsos and the team at Panorama Productions.

A decade ago, Karagounis and Kalamoutsos were promoters pushing trance via their Glow events, introducing and bringing names like Tiesto, Kaskade and more to the DC area. Ten years later, Panorama has expanded into venue ownership, too. Northeast DC’s massive Echostage space and new K Street Northwest underground house and techno venue Soundcheck are theirs, and Glow still has a significant local and national presence.

Regarding the importance of spaces like Echostage and Soundcheck, Karagounis states, “as a promoter, you can promote events, but if a venue is not quality, it makes things difficult. DC has had amazing nightclubs in the past, but showcasing the visual aspects and providing a truly quality experience at a show was difficult. These venues are the perfect storm of everything coming together. We have 100 percent potential. We can book artists to come here, but having great sound and a great experience are important.”

“On any given weekend night, there are dozens of DJs playing,” says Will Eastman about DC’s 14th Street corridor at-present. In that area alone, local spinners including Eau Claire, Brad Piff, Thee Clown Prince and Mathias play at venues like U Hall, Flash, Policy and more. As well, on the national and global level, venues like 9:30 Club, Echostage, Howard Theatre and more are booking pop-dance acts like Skrillex, Flosstradamus, Disclosure and others for multiple sold out shows, demonstrating the rise in the dance and DJ scene. As we stare into an intriguing future in which dance music defines both mainstream and underground pop music tastes, Washington -- moreso than the traditional music strongholds of Los Angeles and New York City -- has its finger on the pulse of the best of what’s to come.

www.fiestaDCmagazine.com >49

Cinthia

Make U

Model 1

Andre Azuluza Photographer

Fiesta DC Magazine - “Read us each month as we bring you life’s entertaining moments” Build your business revenueby connecting to our global platform. Find the coolest in nightlife, entertainment, parties and new destinations.

a Zarzar

Up Artist

Amanda Rascon Model 2

Cuong NGuyen Marketing Director

Jose B.

Photographer

Frank Mareo Art Director

Model 3

54 < www.fiestaDCmagazine.com

call for free estimate 571.263.5827 www.fiestaDCmagazine.com >55