THIS PAGE HAS MOVED TO WWW.ALFREDOFLORESPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

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www.alfredoflores.net honored by photography award

www.alfredoflores.net honored by photography award
Named to Washington Life magazine's Hot List September 2010

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

PHOTO STORY

Thievery Corporation at the 9:30 Club

Photo Credit:Alfredo Flores, Special to Metromix

It all started at Dupont Circle’s famed Eighteenth Street Lounge, where a young Rob Garza met with owner Eric Hilton to discuss musical influences and tastes. Hilton was a veteran DJ of the D.C. nightlife scene, and Garza was a rising star. That chance meeting led to the formation of the world-famous Thievery Corporation that set off a string of hit records, sold-out stadium tours worldwide, collaborations with the likes of rock legends Perry Farrell, David Byrne and the Flaming Lips, and recently five-sold out shows at the venerable 9:30 Club in the DJ-duo’s hometown Washington, D.C. Hilton and Garza have always embraced the international culture and music found in D.C. and their music reflects that, with songs sung by their collaborating artists in English, Spanish, French, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian and Hindi. Their live shows also reflect on the multi-cultural nature of the band, with a diverse set of musicians rotating in-and-out of the 9:30 Club’s stage to perform various musical genres. Among the local musicians on stage were Rootz and Zee from reggae band See-I, guitarist Rob Myers from Fort Knox Five, as well as local salsa performer Verny Varela. Here are images from a wonderful weekend full of great music, electic performances and good vibes.

Friday, January 22, 2010

WASHINGTON POST EXPRESS
WEEKEND PASS COVER STORY


ARTS & EVENTS

No Identity Crisis Here: Jeff Dunham

Written by Washington Post Express contributor Alfredo Flores

JEFF DUNHAM'S STAGE show starts out as most comics' do, with a short stand-up set. That changes when he unloads boxes that surround him, and Dunham's quiet persona transforms into those of his filthy-minded politically incorrect dummies, er, ventriloquial figures. Achmed the Dead Terrorist got his start in D.C. in Dunham's 2007 "Spark of Insanity" TV special filmed at the Warner Theatre. It's the character that became a YouTube sensation with 200 million hits — the fourth-most-watched online video ever — and turned Dunham into the world's first superstar ventriloquist. Achmed — a bearded, furry-eyebrowed character who tries to act tough despite being all bones — gets frustrated when the audience laughs at his vain attempts to terrify, shouting, "Silence! I kill you." Achmed is an incompetent suicide bomber whose explosives suffer "premature detonation." When asked about his skeletal appearance, he replies, "It's just a flesh wound." To get through airport security, Achmed just says he's Lindsey Lohan. Part of the humor arises from how the characters' carefully crafted appearances immediately telegraph their provenance and attitudes — we give you Bubba J, Dunham's resident "redneck." Once the visuals have been established, the performer is free to provoke and intensify that attitude. And it gets pretty intense: "Each character is me, just exaggerated beyond the socially acceptable point for anyone living outside a suitcase." Dunham himself has become a polarizing figure. Ventriloquism has never been fully embraced by the comedy community, and for every laudatory review — Slate says he's "America's favorite comedian," although that may have been a slap at us, not him — there is scathing criticism. The Washington Post called his recently cancelled "The Jeff Dunham Show" "deadeningly unfunny," and the Chicago Sun-Times called for his viewers to "destroy all the puppets in your home." Ouch. While not all of his characters have been well received in the mainstream, they are adored by Dunham's fans. Those attending Dunham's Verizon Center show on Thursday night will hear from Walter, a Vietnam vet curmudgeon with crossed arms. When Dunham mentions that "Girls Gone Wild " was shot in Fort Lauderdale, Walter replies, "That's only during spring break. The rest of the year, it's 'Girls Gone Saggy.' Then it's 'Girls Gone Senile.' Then it's just 'Girls Gone.'" Expect Jose Jalapeno on a Stick, a mustachioed, sombrero-wearing talking pepper that's unhappy about being on stick. He doesn't enjoy skiing with the other puppets because, he laments, "I had to snowboard." Peanut is a hyperactive Muppet-like purple-skinned "woozle" with white fur on most of his fuzzy body. Peanut asks Dunham if he has ever done drugs, which he denies. Peanut then asks, "How the hell did you come up with me?" Nothing here is going to explode the boundaries of performance. Add to these mild, personality-based gags the stigma of ventriloquism as musty, corny children's entertainment and it's hard to fathom that one of America's most popular comics is a ventriloquist. (He's the third-highest-earning comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock.) But Dunham is tapping into something. "I realized early on that the ventriloquism needed to be just a vehicle for the comedy," the Dallas native said. "It couldn't be the focus of the act. In other words, I needed to focus on the material and the jokes and keep people laughing. The ventriloquism just happened to be my instrument." Dunham has come a long way from the days of performing at any place that would have him — churches, banquet halls, a Six Flags amusement park, and heck, even a TV commercial for a local Datsun car dealership. (The name Datsun, now Nissan to you kids, is the only clue that the youthfully handsome and confident performer is 48.) After the completion of his 60-city tour, Dunham is planning on shooting another one-hour Comedy Central special, and his autobiography "All by My Selves Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me," will be published this spring. "To me, hard work which results in success at the end is always fun and exciting. More than half the fun of the race is getting to the finish line." » Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW; Thu. Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m., $46.50; 202-397-7328. (Gallery Place)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

PHOTO STORY

Stars of Jersey Shore host McFadden's Tuesday College Night

Photo Credit: Alfredo Flores, On Tap Magazine

Two reality stars from the MTV series, "Jersey Shore" Jenni "JWow" and Pauly D, made a red carpet appearance at McFadden's on January 19. The duo was there to host the sold-out crowd, award a spring break giveaway and, oh yeah, do some fist pumping.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

PHOTO STORY

Timbaland at the 9:30 Club

Photo Credit:Alfredo Flores, Special to Metromix

Many people at the 9:30 Club probably couldn’t predict what kind of show the man who made his living producing some of the most memorable pop music since the mid-1990s would put out. Would he bring in any of the A-list pop stars he’s worked with (Nelly Furtado, Missy Elliot, Justin Timberlake)? Would he rely on his deep throaty rap vocals to fill-in for the guests? And it turns out it was a bit of both, at least virtually. Timbaland was quite the show man, often flexing his giant muscles, smiling and preening for the audience, and making the crowd at the 9:30 Club wave their hands in the air and get down to hit after club banging hit. Sitting in on the jam fest was his house band: Timbaland’s brother Sebastian, rapper Petey Pablo (who rose to fame off of the Timbaland-produced “Raise Up”), and a special preview performance of the newly signed Dr. Dre prodige Haze. For the tracks that didn’t feature those artists, Timbaland looked on to a video screen just to his left where images of his chart-topping co-stars appeared and sang along to Timbaland’s raps—many of the videos coming from last year’s “Shock Value II” including the hit “Say Something.”

Friday, January 15, 2010

PHOTO STORY

Modus Union 2010

Photo Credit:Alfredo Flores, Special to Metromix

The Modus Union 2010 fashion show was held at the beautiful Mayflower Renaissance Hotel. The runway show was presented by Mary Amons, founder of Labels for Love and featured Lela Rose’s Spring 2010 Collection. The event was a benefit for the Center for Heart, Lung and Kidney Disease at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC. Guests included a who’s who of fashionable Washingtonians including Paul Wharton, Ebong Eka, and Blonde Charity Mafia’s Krista Johnson. The official VIP after-party was held at Recess.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

PHOTO STORY

Wale DC Concert

Photo Credit:Alfredo Flores, Special to Metromix

Already building off of the buzz from the release of his major-label debut “Attention Deficit” and its hit singles, as well as a surprise guest appearance at The Roots concert at the 9:30 Club recently, D.C.-native Wale thrilled the New Year’s Day sold-out crowd. Just like he did when he hosted the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Wale had the terrific UCB (Uncalled 4 Band), one of Washington's leading go-go troupes, backing him up with a mix of heavy percussion and funky grooves that kept the party going until the wee hours of the night. The D.C. go-go inspired themes ruled as the biggest reaction of the night came when Wale did a stirring rendition of his hit “Pretty Girls,” which samples go-go legends Back Yard Band. Wale also gave shout outs to his hometown and Prince George’s County in “Chillin.” Opening for Wale were D.C. hip hoppers Fly Gypsy, a comedic performance by Remy (he of "Arlington: The Rap" YouTube fame), and a stand out performance from Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa who performed with tremendous energy and swagger. He ignited the crowd with his catchy tracks “Pittsburgh Sound” and “Say Yeah.”

Monday, January 04, 2010


PHOTO STORY

Metromix's "Real World D.C." Viewing Party with the RWDC Cast

Photo Credit:Alfredo Flores, Special to Metromix

The night many Washingtonians have been anticipating for months finally took place December 30 -- the debut of "The Real World D.C." on MTV. And to commemorate the occasion Metromix held a special Viewing Party at the new Black Finn in D.C., complete with the RWDC cast members Emily, Ashley, Ty, and Callie! Also making it to the party were Chris Wiggins of @RealWorldDCNewz and Metromix's "Real World D.C." blogger Elizabethany. A horde of media from various print, online, and broadcast outlets came to cover the event, which was way over capacity, but didn't stop anybody from having a good time. Once the pre-partying ended, the cast members hushed down the audience, the room darkend and the series premier began with, "This is the true story of..." The party didn't stop at the BlackFinn, as the cast members dispersed to various RWDC-themed "after parties" including one at Halo. Check out our exclusive photos and the cast members' smiles to see why this was a night they'll never forget!