This is part of my "backyard". It's usually a huge lake, but it dried up recently so that patch of sand back there is now a soccer field. It's been raining a lot more lately so by December, it should be completely filled and those houses down there will be floating on water instead of stuck in the mud.
Fun Fact No. 11: Stamps in under an hour. It´s true - whatever stamp you want, it can be made in about 45 minutes. I love it!
So last night, I played my flute in front of about 50 people. Yep, after not playing solo in front of people for years, I´m starting up again with a bunch of strangers in another country. Who woulda thunk? I played with a pianist named Karim. We played "Danny Boy", a traditional Irish tune and "Alfonsina y el mar" a really pretty Chilean number. It was for a presentation by a local weekly magazine that releases a book on one particular theme every 50 issues. The theme for this book is the water of the Amazon and how vital it is for the whole world and how it needs to be protected. There was a short video of images and quotes from the book, and then a talk by Father Joaquin, the head of the CETA, or center for teological studies of the Amazon. Then there was a short dramatic presentation about the importance of the Amazon and its tributaries followed by a scientific talk about how the Amazon was formed and how exactly it works. Then there was a short concert of two pieces by a little known gringa and her friend. Nervous? A little bit. The good thing is I think they have really low standards, so it wasn't like some of my music friends were in the room. That combined with fabulous acoustics of the space (it's in the very high-ceilinged room of the Parish Center of the Cathedral) made it not too bad of a concert. Regardless, I can't believe I'm playing again. Karim the pianist, Fernando (a local cellist) and I are going to start practicing together this week to get ready for a recital we're going to put on in November. Who knew???
Mario Jr. and I have a pact to eat at a different cevicheria every week. I'll be here for 40 weeks, so we have to hit up 40 cevicherias. Ceviche is perhaps the yummiest food EVER. It's raw fish that is marinaded in lemon juice and other yummy stuff to basically "cook" it with out actually cooking it. It's spicy and delicious, and I just LOVE it. At any rate, we hit up the second cevicheria yesterday and it was DELICIOUS. I'm still salivating...
Meera's coming the 19th of December. I can't wait! We're going to have a ball!
5 comments:
I'm so glad you are playing music! This is great news. It should give me incentive to play more too! Love and miss you tons!!!!!!!!!!!
oooh la laaa!
You have the strongest intestines of any honky I have ever known.
Wow, it is beautiful there. It is even better-looking than Ohio. Really.
It is always a joy to hear Anne and her flute...I know you must get a rush from playing yours too. Keep having fun with it!
Kathryn,
Rino Pizzi says hi by the way. I showed him the post of Fitzcaraldo and he was telling me all about that film and how initially Mick Jagger was supposed to be the protaganist but after a couple of days filming in Iquitos he said I am getting the hell out of here. Funny right? He was also telling me how Herzog exploited a lot of the native population in creating the movie, crazy guy. I miss my neigbor but am so glad I get to follow your adventures here. They are fab.
your blog is awesome, sparky! i'm glad you're writing.
but (I can't resist, I must have gone native):
ALFONSINA Y EL MAR ES ARGENTINO CARAJO!!!
(it's by ariel ramirez, the same guy who did the misa criolla which is also not chilean)
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