SIGSIG, ECUADOR

Recently I took a bus to the small community of Sigsig, about an hour and a half from Cuenca, Ecuador. Sigsig is a charming vestige of a colonial era indigenous town, best known for its production of panama hats. Above is a photo of the town's center. Below is a photo of the bus I took from Cuenca to Sigsig, and one of the bus driver too.

Next is a photo of the Bus terminal at Sigsig. And after that are a few scenes from my walk through the center of town on the way to Sunday's Central Market.

Below are photos taken of Sigsig's Central Market:

Next are the 3 delightful children sitting at the same table, sharing their almuerzo. They are somewhat shy of me, which is evident in their photo. They relaxed, however, as they watched their mother,  grandmother and I talking together. Next are photos of the vendors at the market, including one of the beautiful woman who served us all a delicious pork lunch.

Below is a photo of Sigsig taken on my walk around the central market. I enjoyed my day in Sigsig, though I did not see many panama hats, or sombreros de paja toquilla (toquilla straw hats) or buy one. That's OK; I am not in a consumeristic frame of mind these days.

Late in the day I arrived back in Cuenca. Half of the fun of my day in Sigsig was the bus trip there and back. I greatly enjoyed chatting with the passengers who sat next to me. Also the views of the nature surrounding Cuenca are beautiful. I always feel refreshed getting out of town. Thank you for reading my blog update about Sigsig, and viewing these photos. I'll be posting again soon!

PROGRAMA DE ESPAÑOL

The highlight of my month of April has been meeting with an Engineering Post-grad at the University of Cuenca named Carlos. We've been taking turns teaching one another Spanish and English. Carlos has been a great help assisting me with my pronunciation.

Patricia, at the University of Cuenca, set me up with Carlos and we've been meeting 3 times a week. I've recently been assigned another University of Cuenca "tandem" and her name is Erika. We meet 2 afternoons a week. The idea is that we are teaching one another in tandem, so that we have a win win learning relationship. Below is a photo of Erika:

I paid a $30 administrative fee to sign up with the program. One on one Spanish tutoring works much better for me than working in groups, because my Spanish is much more advanced than most expats in Cuenca. Below is a photo of the Languages building at the University of Cuenca:

And next is a photo of the University of Cuenca campus itself. The last photograph was taken leaving the campus and walking up steps to El Centro, the historical part of Cuenca.

That's all for now, and I'll be posting again soon. Thank you for taking the time to view my latest blog update!

EL DENTISTA

Last week I broke a rear molar. I could feel the hole in my tooth and a sharp corner that remained. Another molar in the back of my mouth is broken, but I've ignored it, to no ill effect. I decided to ignore this tooth, too,  until waking up with numbness in my jaw. Oops, this could be serious, I thought. The sharp edge left by the tooth's breaking had really been irritating, and that may have led to the numbness. I feared an infection.

I called Dr. Freddy Contreras, a dentist in Cuenca. Pamela Phoenix, an Ecuadorian woman in my writing group, had recommended him to me several weeks ago. I'd been feeling guilty about my lack of dental care for a few months, well, a few years. Yep, it's been several years since I've seen a dentist. So when Pamela raved about her dentist, I asked for his number.

Luckily, Dr. Contreras answered my call on Thursday. He said he had time in the afternoon that day and we set an appointment for 2 pm. Dr. Contreras doesn't speak English, which was all right by me.  After living in the Dominican Republic for a few years, I knew enough Spanish to understand Dr. Contreras. It was easy to understand him saying to me, "Abre tu boca," (Open your mouth), and, "No cierre la boca," (Don't close your mouth). 

It was harder to keep my mouth opened as he drilled away at the remaining enamel around the decay in the tooth. I nearly jumped out of my chair a couple of times with the pain when the drill came too close to a nerve. "What is the worst thing that could happen, anyway?" I thought, in the midst of my fear and pain. I doubted that I was going to die. "Just breathe," I told myself a few times. The good Doctor gave me another shot of anesthesia. 

While he waited for the shot to take an effect, he cleaned some of the tartar built up on my lower teeth. I was so relieved! I'd been told a number of times by Californian dentists that my lower teeth lacked root due to orthodontia I had as a young person, and that tartar build-up could put these teeth at risk. Dr. Freddy Contreras was giving my lower front teeth the care they needed. "Oh, maybe the broken tooth and the resulting expense isn't so bad," I thought.  "Now my teeth will receive the care they need."

Fearful of the expense for the dental work, I told Dr. Contreras that I was an American, but that I wasn't a rich American. He laughed, as if to comfort me, telling me that the cost for restoring the tooth would be $150 and that we would meet four sessions. He took a mold of the broken tooth and sealed it with a silicone substance. I'm glad that he was able to see me before the Easter weekend so that the tooth is no longer at risk for infection. We made an appointment after Easter to proceed with the restoration of the tooth. Yay! No costly crown is needed at this time!

I finally took a few photos of Dr. Contreras and his office. The first visit, I was in a state of high anxiety, if you know what I mean. Since then I visited for a dental cleaning, and took a few photos. I also have a link to a site in Cuenca that describes his services. He is actually an orthodontist, yet he is skilled as a dentist as well. I am very fortunate to have been introduced to such a capable dentist and recommend him to anyone seeking dental services. The link to Dr. Freddy Contreras is http://www.cuencanos.com/profesionales/detallesprofesionalporid.php?Id_Miembro=11989

I liked that his office is so simple. Dr. Contreras doesn't have any office staff. He answers his own phone, sets his appointments and manages his own finances. It was  a relief for me to meet with a dentist that knows how to get the job done. I am a much happier person this weekend than I might have been without the care of Dr. Freddy Contreras.

CUENTOS

March 21, a group of us met at Frannie's farm outside of Cuenca for a day of Cuentos (tales or stories) and Paella. Daniela Altieri, the exquisite story teller above, co-organized the event. Below are other photos of our day together, starting with the farm. Frannie, the owner of the farm is shown, too.

 Below is the beautiful Daniela, with a child.

Next are the chefs, who prepared a feast of paella.

Children are having their faces painted in front of the house:

Dimitri emerges from his face painting session as a pirate.

Everyone is hanging out together in front of the house, enjoying the day's sun:

Below are several rooms in Frannie's rustic yet beautiful farmhouse, and the front gate:

Below are photos of Daniela telling stories, and of children listening. Daniela Altieri was born and raised in Italy. She has lived in Spain, Germany, the United States, and Ecuador. She speaks fluent Italian, English and Spanish. The tales or cuentos she tells are in Spanish, as most of the children who participate in the gatherings she hosts are Ecuadorian and their native language is Spanish.

Our day's event at the farm, planned and executed by Daniela and Frannie, was a huge success. We were very lucky for the sunshine, for one thing. It had been raining throughout the week. The children really enjoyed being on the farm, and they had fun getting their faces painted. The paella was excellent. Above all,  Daniela's stories were a huge success. I look forward to more story-telling events in the future. Thank you for reading this update, and viewing these photos. Tomorrow I will post again!

BORN IN GUADELAJARA

Learning the lyrics to songs by Latin performers is one of the best and most enjoyable ways I know of to learn Spanish. And most of the popular songs have been translated to English. I feel like a sleuth divining a mystery when I am able to learn the meaning of the words to the songs all of my Latino neighbors are singing.  Although I spent much of my time in the weeks previous to the Alejandro Fernández concert watching his performances on youtube videos and attempting to commit his song lyrics to memory, my efforts were no match for the aptitude of Latin American fans. I did not even come close to the virtuosity of Alejandro Fernández devotees in terms of talent for singing along with every verse. In fact, he frequently holds his microphone to the audience when he wants fans to carry the song. It is the interaction with the audience that he seems to thrive on, and led to his becoming more and more fluid and rhapsodic as the evening progressed. 

Having lived in the Dominican Republic for two years prior to living in Ecuador, I grew fond of Dominican entertainers. My neighbors all knew the words to every popular Dominican song blasted from speakers at neighborhood stores, known as colmados. Partly due to the financial  poverty of the Dominican Republic (most of my neighbors did not have cars, and they stayed close to home on the weekends),  Dominicans paid attention to music.  Barrio residents sat in plastic chairs sipping beer in front of the colmado many evenings, and most of the day Sundays. They entertained themselves singing every word to every song played by Dominican Singers Prince Royce, Romeo Santos and Juan Luis Guerra, all whom have performed at Chile’s famous Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar or Viña de Mar Song Festival. Since coming to South America, I’ve realized the importance of Dominican music throughout Latin America. Dominican musicians are played frequently on Ecuadorian buses and streets.

My first concert at Santo Domingo’s Estadio Olympico remains memorable.  The well-known Mexican Singer Marco Antonio Solis, performed, as did Puerto Rican singers Chayenne and Marc Anthony. The 3 singers were billed as Tres Gigantes, or “Three Giants” of Latin American Music. I will always remember the devotion with which the audience participated that night. I imagined that Ecuadorians, like Dominicans, would know every word to every song performed by the artist on the stage, and I was right.

Being with Alejandro Fernández concert participants, I was deeply impressed that everyone in the audience knew every word to every one of his songs, and sang along. Loyalty to Latin American music is fierce. It is as though each Alejandro Fernández patron is also a poet. I feel a tremendous gratitude for the power of Latin American verse.  I’m in awe of every poet in his audience, and the ardor with which they sing his songs. Devotees don’t just sing the words, or letras, as lyrics are called in Spanish. They dance his songs, moving with the rhythm and punching their arms into the air with each line of the chorus.

Cuenca’s Estadio Alejandro Serrano Aguilar is a venue far preferable to that of the Estadio Olympico in Santo Domingo. I walked to the stadium in Cuenca before the show started, and immediately befriended an Ecuadorian family with whom I sang and danced throughout the evening.  Surrounded by other concert-goers, I walked home in well-lit Cuenca after the show was over, at 1 am. I would never have walked at night in Santo Domingo.  Crossing the Puente Mariano Moreno over the Rio Tomebamba, I climbed La Escalinata from the river to El Centro. For the first time,  I witnessed the youthful nightlife of Cuenca, and it was an exhilarating experience.  I too felt young! 

The music of Alejandro Fernández (and his father, Vincente Fernández), not only makes people in the last third of their lives feel young, it brings people of different cultures together. Just the other night I arrived at local coffee house early for an event. An Ecuadorian man in his 60’s named René sat with me. We chatted awhile, and then I asked him about Alejandro Fernández. He was familiar (of course) with many of the words to his songs, and he sang these lyrics to me. He especially loves the verse and music of Vincente Fernández. 

Alejandro Fernández carries the legacy of his famous father, Vincente Fernández, admirably. Trained in the tradition of Mexican equestrian culture,  he exemplifies the tradition of the charro, or horseman brought from Salamanca, Spain to Mexico. As a presenter at Chile’s famous Viña del Mar Song Festival in February, just before coming to Cuenca, he carried himself with great dignity. He presented the flag of Mexico alongside the flag of Chile at this performance, proclaiming the unity of all Latin American people. His presentation of his father’s songs was the most riveting portion of his Cuenca Concert. Alejandro Fernández wholly succeeds as cultural ambassador of Guadalajara’s splendid charro and musical traditions.

Participating with the thousands of fans at a Alejandro Fernández concert, or the concert of other famous Latin American singers, I am struck that a whole world exists apart from the world that I’ve lived in much of my life, that of the United States and North America. In so many ways the rhythms, feeling and passion feel altogether exotic, as though the music of Latin America is that of an unexplored dark stranger. I’ve imagined that Latin America is seen by North America as carrying what Carl Jung would call the Shadow function. Indeed, Latin American music seems to hold much of the feeling and expression lacking in (Caucasian) North American culture. Alejandro Fernández embodies the feeling and romance a of Latin America as well or better than any singer alive today.

ALEJANDRO FERNÁNDEZ PERFORMS IN CUENCA

Flanked by six musicians, including a man on a trombone, another on a trumpet, a saxophonist, several guitarists and three back up singers/dancers, Alejandro Fernández commenced his show March 14 amidst a great blaze of lights and musicianship.  The excitement accelerated throughout the 2 ½ hours of his presentation. Alejandro Fernández is a handsome man in his early forties, and sports a fine physique. Skilled as a horseback rider, he is at the top of his form. He has recently grown out his always longish hair, so that now he wears it in a pony tail. Fernández spoke several times between numbers to introduce various songs and acknowledge his Cuenca admirers. He enticed his women listeners with songs specifically intended for them. A highly charismatic performer, he addressed his audience with great presence. He paid homage to the lead saxophonist and guitarist on stage by interacting with them closely. His smile was effervescent throughout the evening. Indeed, his happiness and ease grew with every song, and by the evening’s end, he was rapturous, as was his audience.

The first hour of the Alejandro Fernández Cuenca performance included some of the artist’s more recent popular songs. Notable were hits Se Me Va la Voz, which means “My Voice Left Me,” translated to English; and Hoy Tengo Ganas de Ti, (“Today I am Desiring You”). Alejandro Fernández sang the beautiful Miguel Bosé ballad, Te Amaré, (“I Will Love You”). Canta Corazon, (“Sing my Heart”) was a huge hit during 2004, and was performed in the middle of the set. Fernández sang the evocative Me Dediqué de Pederte, (“I’ve Devoted my Time to Losing You”), close to the end of the first hour.  The set ended with the exquisite Si tu Supieres, (“If You Had Known”)

Everything changed in the second hour and a half of the Alejandro Fernández concert.  Twelve dexterous Mariachis playing strings and horns appeared on stage. Each was dashing in his classic Mariachi sombrero, bolero jacket, 3-buttoned vest and pants trimmed with silver buttons.  The performance shifted entirely to a presentation of the earlier, earthier forms of music Fernández was known for in the 1980’s and 1990’s. All at Cuenca’s Estadio Alejandro Serrano Aguilar stadium were on their feet, dancing and singing. The Mariachi Musicians opened with a spectacularly sumptuous rendition of El Cascabel, (“The Bell”), a song known throughout Latin America. Several other songs followed, and Alejandro Fernández appeared. He stood central stage while the Mariachis parted into two lines,  saluting him by removing their sombreros. The audience erupted into a fervor. Fernández stood still, the huge screen behind him projecting his outsized image. He lifted his sombrero, which until that moment, had covered his face. Together, the musicians and Fernández a rousing rendition of Donde Vas Tan Sola, (“Where are You Going So Alone”). Fernández dedicated the very romantic song, Mátalas, or “Kill Them,” to the women in the audience. One of the phrases of this song goes like this,

Mátalas
 

con una sobredosis de ternura
asfixialas con besos y dulzuras
contagialas de todas tus locuras

Or translated into English:

Kill them
with an overdose of tenderness
suffocate them with kisses and sweetness
infect them with all of your craziness

Other songs performed during the second half of the show were Que Lastima, “What a Shame,” about the demise of a great love. Cascos Ligeros, (Light Helmets) about a pony that won’t be broken featured a film of horses on a large screen behind the musicians. Fernández also performed  Tantina Pina, (“Hint of Sorrow”), a fast paced Bolero. Como Quien Pierda Una Estrella, (“Like Someone Who Has Lost a Star”) was among the songs of the second set. Once again, Fernandez sang a song specifically addressed to the women in the audience, Es la Mujer, (It’s the Woman) Alejandro Fernández completed the evening by singing a potpourri of his father’s most famous songs. These songs included Las Llaves de mi Alma, (“The Keys to my Soul”), Malditio Amor, (“Damned Love”), Mujeres Divinas (“Divine Women”),  and La Mentira, (“The Lie”).

Fernández tantalized the audience throughout his Cuenca performance simply with the tilt of his sombrero or a shift in his shoulder. The holographic images projected on large screens showed his body, as well as those of the dancers and musicians, quite clearly. There is nothing more rewarding than a live performance of an artist at the pinnacle of his career, and Alejandro Fernández is at his peak. Originally known for the traditional forms of mariachi and ranchera, Alejandro Fernández then successfully branched out into popular music. His father, Vincente Fernández, was famous for the rancheras he penned and performed. Alejandro Fernández, nick-named El Potrillo, or “The Pony,” is the youngest son of  the iconic Vincente Fernández. In 2003 Vincente Fernandez and his son Alejandro Fernández played together in front of a crowd of 60,000 in Mexico City in the final event of their tour, En Vivo: Juntos Por Ultima Vez, or, “Live: Together for the Final Time.”

The Estadio Alejandro Serrano Aguilar in Cuenca has a capacity for about 22,000 people. The night of the show, the stadium was several thousand people below capacity. It was chilly, and rained some during the several hours fans waited for the show to start. And of course, the show did start an hour and a half late. Yet all of that really didn’t matter when Alejandro Fernandez burst on the stage. Ecuadorians and Expats alike may have been deterred from going to the Alejandro Fernandez concert due to the cost of the tickets, which started at $35 for general seating.  However, the quality of staging, the lighting, and the number of musicians in the Alejandro Fernández production far surpassed that of well known artists whom I’ve seen in other Latin American venues for a ticket cost approximating $20. I'll remember the Alejandro Fernández performance in Cuenca my whole life! 

I'm seen in the photograph above with the beautiful Ecuadorian family that I adopted that night (or did they adopt me?). We sat on a cold hard cement bench in the rain for over 3 hours waiting for the show to start. We look happy though, don't we? We each knew, in our heart of hearts, that our wait would be rewarded with a terrific show, and it was.

This blog update is shorter than my previous blog postings. That's because I am going to post several days together early in the month. How perfect that I am starting with  Alejandro Fernández, as lately I've been have been watching him on youtube every chance I get. I'm completely absorbed in learning the lyrics to his songs. I have his tunes going around in my head all of the time. 

Tomorrow I'll write more about Alejandro Fernández. I will write about the birthplace of this great artist. After all, Alejandro Fernández is cultural ambassador for the mariachi and ranchera traditions of his birthplace, Guadalajara, Mexico. In the meantime, thank you for taking the time to review my latest blog update, and I hope you'll check in again tomorrow to read some more!

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