Branching Out the Isthmus

Last week I had another adventure. Some guys came in from the United States to do a tour through the interior of Panama, playing and teaching, and they invited me to join them. This meant that when I returned from Taboga, I would be swept away to rehearsals all week. We rehearsed for hours each day and then hung out together in the evenings, having dinner and good times. I didn’t know at the start what an adventure we would have together but I now have three new friends that are going to be friends for life. Thank you for the great week Mario, Josue, Luis, and the best boss ever, Isaac. 

On Wednesday, Isaac and I met with the Ministry of Arts and Culture to talk about funding for the program. The meeting went really well and the Director came to visit the project to see what we were all about. When he arrived, I was teaching a group brass class, and when he left I was teaching a private cello lesson. He was very impressed with what we had so I hope that means the foundation will get funding! My fingers are crossed!

Thursday we left to start our mini-tour. Our first stop was Natá where we taught master classes at the library and then went back to the house we were staying at to get ready for the concert we were going to give later that evening. The concert went really well. The youth orchestra for the town played a couple songs for us first and then we played the concert for them. We played in the old church which was really beautiful. At the front of the church there was a huge hole in the floor because they had just recently discovered a tomb under the church and had decided to excavate it. I did not get the whole story behind it though- some things are still lost in translation. The concert was quite long and we decided to cut some pieces after intermission. It was exceptionally hot in the church. They had all of the doors closed so there was no breeze and, of course, no air conditioning. By the end of the concert, we were all drenched in sweat. Then when we got back to our house, I discovered that the shower did not have running water. We had to fill up a bucket with a hose and use that water to take a shower. Another eye opening experience. Needless to say, I chickened out and decided to wait until the next stop of the tour to take a shower.

Then we went to dinner at a small restaurant. I ate a pan fried fish plate with platanos and a salad. It was delicious. The restaurant was a very interesting place because the owner is a painter and the walls were full of his work. It is actually a great idea-have a restaurant and sell your paintings at the same venue. Free gallery and free decorations. Naturally, I bought a painting that I was staring at all through dinner.

When we left, the entire town was dead. It was a ghost town—no one home. Then we heard some salsa music in the distance and decided to go check it out. Right by the new church, there was a town party going on. The venue was a fenced off area with barbed wire at the top of the fence. There was a bouncer at the entrance charging a $5 entrance fee and right inside the fence, small vendors under tents were selling Balboa beer and Bud Light. There was live salsa music and everyone was on the dance floor. When the song was over, everyone exited the dance floor, drenched in sweat from being in such close proximity to one another, and went to one of the vendors lining the fence to drink a beer. Everyone went, including the musicians which meant that some people outside of the fence turned their fantastic stereos on in their beat up cars and started blasting reggaeton. When the beers were finished, everyone made their way back to the dance floor for the next song. Meanwhile, outside of the fence, street vendors were grilling some kind of meat on makeshift grills made out of cans and the slatted grill tops and stray dogs wandered around looking for scraps of food, hoping to get lucky with all of the drunk dancers. It was an amazing cultural experience.

The next morning we made our way to Santiago. When we arrived, I taught a two hour master class to a group of beginner to intermediate violin students with Josue's help. We played some songs and then I taught them my Spanish version of “Naughty Kitty Cat”—“Gatito malo”. We played games and the kids seemed to have a really great time. After lunch I taught another class to students from a different local area and did pretty much the same master class again. The students loved it! It made my day to see them really enjoying playing music. Later we went to dinner at a Lebanese place that served burgers, pizza, spaghetti, gyros, enchiladas—everything but rice pilaf. Then we played a small concert for the board members of the youth orchestra of Santiago.

The next morning we hit the road again and went to Boquete. This place was a dream land up in the mountains. There were so many beautiful plants and flowers. This is the place where they grow very special and delicious coffee. The hotel we stayed at was beautiful. I was in awe the entire stay. We played at a very nice library as a thank you concert to the owner of the library for donating to the foundation. This was the best concert we played yet. In Boquete, there are many North Americans and so everyone speaks English and Spanish, except for some of the North Americans, sometimes they only speak English. It was nice to hear English in passing though. Besides that, the weather up there is also fantastic. It is only 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and at night you can enjoy sleeping under a light blanket. So nice!

The next morning we had breakfast with the owner of the hotel. She invited me to come visit anytime. Then went to see some coffee shops and a nice house up on the mountain. Please see the pictures of the house. It was absolutely amazing. There are no words to describe what I saw.

Then our tour was over and we headed back to the city. It took us eight hours to get back and when we finally got out of the car in Panama City, we were met with the trademark hot and humid air. I was ready to get back in the car and go back to the mountains. But it is nice to be back to the familiarity of the city and my regular students.  

Everywhere we went, it became more and more evident how important it is for me to be here. I am here to not only help the students here in the city but also to help promote music education throughout the entire country. Everywhere I went, I became a sort of celebrity. Every place wanted me to come work for them. I may even return to Natá to give monthly master classes to the violin students. I really hope to go see Boquete again before I leave.

This was such an amazing experience. I hope to tour again someday. 

To see more pictures of Natá and Santiago, and Boquete please see the pictures pages to the right.