Posted on 18 June 2013. Tags: Borderstan Reader Photos, elicenter, flickr
DOPE is by elicenter from the Borderstan Flickr pool.
Photos of the Day are pulled from the Borderstan Reader Photos pool on Flickr.
Today’s photo, DOPE is by elicenter. The photo was taken June 12.
If you don’t already have a Flickr account, you will need to sign up for one, and then join the Borderstan Reader Photos group. Already a Flickr member? Join the group! You can submit up to five photos per day in the Borderstan reader pool. We are looking for photos from DC’s Dupont, Logan and U Street neighborhoods.
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Posted in Arts & Entertainment
Posted on 14 June 2013. Tags: Bang Salon, Borderstan People, Quency Valencia
Quency Valencia at Bang Salon U Street. (Luis Gomez Photos)
Quency Valencia is an outspoken young man. He still remembers when he was getting paid $8 for a haircut and the problems he had speaking English. Those days are far from forgotten but he has since become a well-known hair stylist at Bang Salon U Street, where he’s been working for the last three years.
His clients have become his friends, from the local neighborhood customers to those that come from The White House for his services.
This Sunday, Valencia will be in Las Vegas providing his professional hair styling expertise and his specialized makeup services to the current Miss DC, Allyn Rose as she competes in the 62nd Miss USA Pageant.
“In my profession,” Valencia said. “You see and deal with many important people, much more in a city like DC. I have learned to be even more discreet than what I was.”
The Long Road to Becoming A Stylist
Like many in the city, Valencia is not from DC . He has lived here for 10 years and he’s been a stylist for over 13 years, but he hails from San Cristobal, a border town in Venezuela. He began working in San Cristobal, then lived in Punto Fijo, Venezuela. Next Valencia worked in Aruba training make up artists and hair stylists. With a will to grow and the drive to look for better opportunities, Valencia ended up in Virginia, where his brother and sister live.
Valencia began working as a barber at a salon on Glebe Road trying to perfect his skills – at the time he did not regularly cut men’s hair. Valencia used that time and work as an opportunity to learn and after four years there, he found a job at VLS Hair Design on Connecticut Avenue. He eventually moved on to Bang Salon where he currently works and is recognized as a professional hair stylist.
“At Bang Salon, we are always updating ourselves with styles and fashions a season ahead,” Valencia said.
Quency Valencia and Allyn Rose. (Courtesy Quency Valencia)
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Posted in Lifestyle
Posted on 13 June 2013. Tags: DC theater, Howard Theatre, Keegan Theatre, Lincoln Theatre, Source Theater, Spooky Action Theater, Studio Theatre, Theater J
Borderstan Theaters (Luis Gomez Photos)
From Luis Gomez. Catch his photos at One Photograph A Day. Follow him on Twitter @LuisGomezPhotos.
Check the listings below for full details on performances at six neighborhood theaters.
Howard Theatre, 620 T Street NW
Keegan Theatre at Church Street, 1742 Church Street NW
- “The Rabbit Hole” opens June 28. “A story of loss, heartbreak, and forgiveness—told through daily moments and emotional hurdles—as a family moves on after the accidental death of their four-year-old.  David Lindsay Abaire’s critically acclaimed winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Rabbit Hole explores the human fallout that comes after tragedy.” (Keegan Theater)
Lincoln Theatre at 1215 U Street NW
Source at 1835 14th Street NW
- 2013 Source Festival: “Join CulturalDC for our 6th Annual Source Festival, June 7 – June 30 as 25 original works are debuted for the stage. The Festival line-up includes three Full-Length Plays, 18 10-Minute Plays and three Artistic Blind Dates. This year’s 10-Minute Plays themes: In the Midst, On the Cusp and Afterward.” (Source)
- Harold Night! every Tuesday night at 10 pm.
Spooky Action Theater at 1810 16th Street NW
Studio Theatre at 1501 14th Street NW
- The Real Thing opened May 22. “Full of wit and heart, â€The Real Thing’ explores the tensions between marriage and writing, emotional fidelity and intellectual integrity, high art and pop culture.” (Studio Theater)
- Baby Universe opens June 26.
Theater JÂ at 1529 16th Street NW
- “The Hampton Years” runs through June 30. “It explores the development of great African-American artists, John Biggers and Samella Lewis under the tutelage of Austrian Jewish refugee painter and educator, Viktor Lowenfeld. Focusing on the pivotal years at Hampton Institute, Virginia during WWII, this richly researched tapestry of African American luminaries like Elizabeth Catlett reveals the dreams and travails of young artists in a still segregated society while examining the impact of World War II on a Jewish immigrant and his wife finding shelter in the US and his controversial influence in shaping the careers of African American students.” (Theater J)
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Posted in Arts & Entertainment
Posted on 13 June 2013. Tags: food truck, Nationals Stadium, Truckeroo
Start your weekend early and get ready to enjoy all of your favorite food trucks. Truckeroo is this Friday at the corner of Half and M Streets SE — one block north of Nationals Stadium. There will be plenty of shade and picnic tables to listen to the live music, play games and enjoy the Bullpen Bar from 11 am to 11 pm.
The monthly festival is organized April through October, and there will be more than 20 tasty food trucks. Navy Yard is the Metro stop will get you closest to the action.
Truckeroo is this Friday. (Courtesy Turckeroo)
The Food Truck List
BBQ Bus, Bon Mi, Borinquen Lunch Box, Cap Mac, Curbside Cupcakes, DC Empanadas, DC Slices, Doug the Food Dude, El Faralito, El Floridano, Feelin Crabby, Goodies Frozen Custard, Halal Grille, Mojo, Pleasant Pops, Popped! Republic, Red Hook Lobster Pound -DC, Rocklands, Sang, Sinplicity Ice Cream, Surfside, TaKorean, Tapas, The Randy Radish, Neat Meat and Mighty Dog and Acai.
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Posted in Food & Drink
Posted on 12 June 2013. Tags: Borderstan food, Food & Drink, pizza, U Street NW
&pizza at 1250 U Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
The guys from &pizza have been working on this space since the end of last year and &pizza is opening today. The new location at 1250 U Street NW is their second shop and they are working on a third one for Brookland in Northeast DC.
The new pizza place will be opening in the old Quiznos location, just a few steps away from the U Street Metro stop. A couple of weeks ago &pizza conducted a poster campaign in the neighborhood to spread the word out about the impending opening.
The pizza place will keep the same concept as the original store. Some of the pies include the Moonstruck (mushroom truffle, goat cheese, mushrooms, fig marsala, red pepper chili oil and crushed black pepper) and the Grecian Market (red chickpea, mushrooms, broccolini, artichoke, kalamata olives, pickled red onion and feta cheese). Check their menu.
&pizza’s hours are 11 am to 11 pm Sunday through Wednesday, Thursday 11 am to 2:30 am, and Friday and Saturday 11 am to 3:30 am.
&pizza joins a number of Italian and pizza places that have recently opened along 14th Street. Matchbox, Piola, Ghibellina and Etto are just a few of the newest restaurants (we can’t forget about longtime standbys such as Manny & Olga’s).
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Posted in Food & Drink
