Category: Music

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Primary School Band Practice

I’m guessing that only 6th & 7th Graders are in the band and maybe 5th Graders. And it must count as PE or Physical Education because those green & blue uniforms are their PE uniforms, while the two boys in white shirts and black pants are in their school or classroom uniform.

It is almost all drums in all the bands here, this one with cymbals and some kind of scrappy rhythm instrument on the back row. I’m guessing again that is because of lack of money for instruments and music teachers or a priorities thing. The high school bands usually have a few girls playing xylophone with some bigger cities adding brass and reed instruments, but not many.

The group above is practicing in the city sports park across the street from the Primary School, Escuela Central. And I suspect they are getting ready for the September 15 Independence Day Parade and subsequently the December Christmas Parade. I admire the few girls who play drums which the boys tend to dominate here (and maybe everywhere).

Life in a small farming town in Costa Rica!    ¡Pura Vida!

See also my PEOPLE & FIESTAS Photo Gallery for the bands marching in the parades.

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SEP7IMO DIA – NO DESCANSARÉ – “I WON’T REST”

Cirque du Soleil
It is impossible for a cell phone on the back row to capture all the mind-blowing visuals, acrobatics, music
Just a hint here!

One outside sign seen as we were leaving.

Cirque du Soleil took a week or more to install the huge theater tent, with Porta-Potties outside.

Of course we entered through a smaller tent with plenty for sale to eat, drink, or remember your experience!

SEP7IMO DIA – NO DESCANSARÉ

SEP7IMO DIA – NO DESCANSARÉ

SEP7IMO DIA – NO DESCANSARÉ

SEP7IMO DIA – NO DESCANSARÉ

SEP7IMO DIA – NO DESCANSARÉ

SEP7IMO DIA – NO DESCANSARÉ

Like Cirque du Soleil has done in the states with Elvis, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson, they have here developed a documentary/remembrance music/acrobat show about the greatest of Latin American Rock Bands in the 80’s and 90’s, Soda Stereo in Argentina. Since most Americans and other foreigners cannot possibly understand the significance to Latin Americans, an excellent description in English is provided by Cirque du Soleil in their FASCINATION NEWSLETTER.  In short, it is about a young man who thirsts for meaning and social justice and dreams of a better world, feels trapped. When he plugs into the music of Soda Stereo, he is whisked away to an inner world and is set free. Most adult Ticos here know the significance and know the songs, singing along with the performances. Moving and powerful!

For official photos and great videos of the performance see the Cirque du Soleil Website. 
And of course I have a TRIP Photo Gallery: SEP7IMO DIA – NO DESCANSARÉ
¡Pura Vida!

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Pre-parade Dancing is Most Colorful!

In some ways this was my favorite part of the parade today because it was so colorful and new! We did not have this during the last two years’ parades. I love latin music and dance and the color! Nice!
Music is the best cure for a sorrowing mind.
Latin Proverb
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Primary School Band Practice Marching

The other day I caught the public primary school (grades K-6)
older kids band practicing on the move in the recreation park across the street.
The masks are usually used for a Catholic religious ceremony, but don’t know here.
Getting ready for one of the many parades we have here, I guess.

 

Escuela Central (Grades K-6) building built in 1886
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Motown Fundraiser for Su Espacio

Tonight (Saturday) I helped Gail & Susan who planned a Motown Music Fundraiser Dinner at Etnia Pub here in Atenas with DJ playing Motown Music by a dance floor and we raised a good amount of money for the community center while having fun! Here’s a few pix:
Thanks to Gail & Susan for all the hard work to make it happen!
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Nashville Costa Rican Maestro Starts with Rock Here

Giancarlo Guerrero
Nashville Symphony
Music Director

Giancarlo Guerrero helped me to love classical music more than anyone as the conductor of the Nashville Symphony and his pre-concert “Conversations” I attended every time with my season ticket! Well, if you did not know, he is from Costa Rica! And his love of music started here as a fan with his brother of the Canadian Rock Band Rush. Read this interesting article in the 21 January edition of The Tennessean, my first day of a renewed subscription to digital.

Ticos love music of all kinds as indicated in this interesting article on the wide variety of Costa Rica Music.

It is fun to keep learning about Costa Rica and what it means to me.  🙂   Pura Vida!





Where words fail, music speaks.
~Hans Christian Andersen
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15th of September Post 2: BANDS!

Though the volume made you think there were more, there were only 4 full-size bands in the parade and they were mostly drums, since there are few teachers or classes for other instruments. They were scattered throughout the parade with several small ensembles in-between, like 3 to 8 persons with multiple instruments.  There were more flag bearers than band members. Bands are bandas in Spanish.

Banda Escuela de Musica is a community band for all ages (child-adult) that meets, learns and practices after school.
It includes my Spanish teacher, his son and son’s nanny, and another friend. I help raise money for their Panama trip.
Notice, like others, they are now all drums except for 2 saxophones and 3 xylophones called marimbas here.

I like their spiffy uniform shirts
which they are wanting to replace with “real” uniforms sometime.
It is a community activity requiring donated money not easily obtained.

It is an after-school, community music school that teaches how to read music,
how to play other instruments when they can be obtained, and the band will
add more instruments over time as they can. It could become big in Atenas. 

Banda de Colegio San Rafael is a suburban high school smaller than Liceo
but sharper looking uniforms. All drums because of lack of music teachers.

Ticos teens like to dress sharp and appreciate cool hats!

Banda de Colegio Liceo is the largest from the largest school with golf shirts
as uniforms and again mostly drums because of few music teachers. 
All drummers are cool and since nearly all of the band are drummers . . .
Boy! My band director would never have allowed sunglasses!  🙂
So maybe this is why Ticos are the happiest people on earth!?
They are followed by and overshadowed by the largest troop of flag bearers in the parade, also a part of Colegio Liceo.
More flag photos tomorrow! 

By now you may have learned that high schools are called “Colegio” in Spanish in Costa Rica. If not, that is your new Spanish word for today!   🙂

Unknown school with 8 boys on drums – what I was calling an “ensemble.”

Escuela Central Elementary School
As with the others, mostly drums with a few marimbas (xylophones);
smaller and less organized than high school bands.

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Evangelical Dancing in the Park

Youth doing expressive movements to Christian music in Parque Central.

I walked through the central park (never called a plaza here like in colonial Latin America) on my way to the Super Mercado. At first I thought it was one of the many dance classes performing, but they were dancing to Christian music, so I assume it was one of the evangelical churches in town. As I passed back through on my way home this Saturday morning, a preacher concluded a prayer and began speaking. So it was definitely a church. Churches here are involving their youth in many different ways and this “expressive movements” to music is just one. The Iglesia Biblica I have attended some does this in some services kind of like First Baptist Nashville did when there. I have mixed feelings about it in worship or for outreach. It doesn’t appear to be natural or “real” praise of God, but something artificial that is taught or staged (to me). Many youth have natural rhythm and need a way to express it, so maybe this is a good way. Secular dancing of all kinds is very popular here with many public dances and many places to take dancing lessons.

I will continue to put Spanish words in bold red in this blog. I may also reference something in my new Spanish language blog, which is just about my efforts to learn Spanish. Today’s post in Aprendo Espanol en Atenas simply acknowledges Su Espacio and David Salas Costillo as my primary source of learning Spanish. In the future I will share my experiences trying to speak Spanish. 

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New Blog in Español Added: Aprender Español en Atenas

No blog here yesterday. I am setting up another blog in Español because as my September 2 blog said, I really need to be using what I am learning with multiple Spanish learning efforts. Since I live alone and write a lot, it makes sense to write more in Spanish since I am not talking with people all day every day. It will be difficult and short for awhile, but hopefully will help my language learning! The title is Aprender Español en Atenas, linked here for your language experience. At least I won’t be so long-winded in a language I’m learning!  🙂

In my second post there I refers to a local book some university students put together on culture and language as the first in a series. This one on music, Dances of the Sun and Moon. I just reviewed it for Goodreads and basically a good idea for teens and young adults, but I will not be continuing the series. See my review for why.

My “Target Audience” for this English blog has been and will continue to be mainly friends and family in the United States, though stats show it is being read all over the world by about 150-200 persons a post!  🙂  It is about my retirement in Costa Rica and the other main audience is people who are thinking about retiring here which is a growing audience and by people already retired here!  🙂

The new Spanish blog is for Spanish-speakers, particularly in Costa Rica, whom I hope will help me in my journey to learn the language. It will NOT be a translation of this blog or visa-verso!

This English blog will continue to be what used to be my “Adventures” blog and “Nature” blog all in one. I’m including some “Spiritual” in this blog but may still restart or continue my old Spiritual Blog, “His Spirit Blog” since it is a more targeted subject and thus maybe audience. Not sure yet.

Pura Vida!