Musical discoveries

Titles are silly. I feel cool having some "followers" though!

A ton has happened in the last week, and most of it for the better. I'm feeling a lot more settled in the apartment I am in, and am getting used to living alone. This week I had a few couch surfers, one of which was a Polish girl, Ula, who is on a 6 month journey through Latin America. When she arrived here she had already spent a number of weeks in Cuba and Jamaica. She had lots of great stories, and was on her way to Colombia, planning on looping through South America until the end of the year.

There was finally a lot of musical action here this past week, and hopefully continuing, now that school has started and vacations are over.

On Monday I went to my first nucleo (each section of the city here, and in most of the country, has a "musical community center" of sorts where the kids arrive after school daily to orchestra and choir practice), the nucleo of Chapellin, in the neighborhood La Florida. The kids here rehearse in a community center that doubles as a preschool in the morning and a church on the weekend. There was a choir rehearsing in the cafeteria, and small kids playing in orchestra sectionals in the rooms on the second floor. Alexandra, the director, grew up in the neighborhood and founded the nucleo four years ago. Here is the nucleo from the outside:

On Thursday I went to a rehearsal of the Orquesta Filarmonica here (I mentioned them in a previous blog), where they were playing the Brahms Violin Concerto with a 14 year old soloist. She was tiny! And totally amazing. Their concert yesterday was quite good, too. I was introduced to many in the orchestra, including the two oboists, who are professors and teach in various places in the city. One of them wrote his undergraduate thesis on the different oboe reed making schools here, which I am very interested in reading. (Yes, of course, oboists everywhere meet and start talking about reeds within the first 5 minutes).

This weekend I went to a ton of concerts! Friday night Laurent Lefevre, the French Bassoonist, appeared as a soloist with the Simon Bolivar B orchestra, and gave a spectacular concert. He was here giving master classes as well. There are famous foreigners here regularly, it seems, to give classes and play as soloists with the local orchestras. I met some bassoonists who live and work in different Venezuelan cities, and have invited me to come visit-I am planning on traveling some in November, I think. Saturday morning I went hiking with some German friends-it is so exciting to find green spaces outside the chaos of the city!

Saturday night the Simon Bolivar A played with David Ascanio, a Venezuelan pianist, Mozart's 20th piano concert. Ascanio gave a presentation at the beginning of the concert, having the orchestra play a few different sections, and explaining the interaction between the piano and orchestra. Their conductor is a 26 year old rising star in El Sistema, who is already winning international competitions and the like.

Sunday morning I went to a guitar recital (the Simon Bolivar concert was sold out-I guess they often do, with the general musical support here and tickets at $1.75-about the price of an ice cream cone in the street), the Natural History Museum (which preached conservation, and had some nice exhibits on local wildlife), and the Filarmonica Concert. By the end of the weekend, I had met many oboists who play in various different orchestras here in Caracas; last night I went out with a group of them and got to hear all about the oboe gossip here-who gets along with whom, who plays where, who makes reeds how, etc. It was really interesting to learn about all their different experiences as musicians here-the 3 of them currently play in different orchestras and come from very different parts of the country.

This is from last weekend's ultimate tournament:

A few new sights

Hello everyone!

I can't believe I've made it to another weekend here. I had one other meeting with a musician (I was supposed to have more, but next week I can start showing up at rehearsals)-Adela, a pianist who is married to the principal oboist of the Simon Bolivar A orchestra. in the Simon Bolivar there is both an A and B orchestra, the A is the older members who remain in Caracas, and the B is the young orchestra that travels around the world. I brought up my orchestra funding question, and she explained to me that Venezuela's black gold makes it a very very rich country. Despite political change, and even the economic crisis of 1983, the orchestras were a cause worth investing in. The government finances the paying of musicians and the tours. She also said that playing in orchestra is the only time Venezuela feels like a rich country-economically and culturally.

These last few days I have also done some more sightseeing. On Thursday I went with a Venezuelan couchsurfer to the Parque Miraflores, a steep hill in the center of the city, near the governmental buildings, that looks like it may have been an old fort. On the upper plateau there is a church, and a plaza Bolivar, with a statue. Here is a view of the city from the top.

Yesterday I went to the Casa de La Cultura Roman Gallegos, with Ceres, a friend from Frisbee, a cultural center that hosts art exhibits, films and theater.

Today I went to the Parque del Este, a huge park here in the middle of the city. There is a little lake with paddleboats, a zoo, and various different gardens, as well as open green and spaces for picnicking and barbeque. I'm really thankful to find some beautiful green places in a city that sometimes is so hostile and ugly.

I made it home just to miss the (almost daily) afternoon rainstorm, which at least I can always see coming in the distance. Tomorrow, my ultimate frisbee women's team here is playing a tournament in Maracay, which is a city 100km (60 miles) outside Caracas. Hopefully I will get to see a little of the city as well, as it's supposed to be beautiful. I will look forward to that, as well as hoping for a musical week, as that's really what I came here for (I think by now I've had quite enough time to adjust...!)

Coconuts, the Filarmónica and some musings

Hello everyone!

I spent last weekend with Mariana and her family, she insisted on accompanying me everywhere I went, and invited me to go out with her friends a few times. They were all very nice people. Also, she showed me how to open a coconut-driving a nail into it to get out the milk, then, for lack of a machete, open it with a hammer, and burn the outside skin so the meat comes off nicely. That was really amusing. Also, there are so many tropical fruits here that I buy a different one every time I go to the grocery store, although I may not know how to go about eating it-today I bought something that is in the family of the papaya. Mariana also taught me how to make arepas, a Venezuelan staple of corn pita, which is filled with cheese (or meat). She had a special arepa press/mold/maker, just like some places have waffle makers and other tortilla presses.

Beyond gastronomy, I had a very interesting and long lunch meeting yesterday with a boisterous and animated violinist who played in Abreu's first orchestra in 1975 (his family gave up everything they had in Valencia to move to Caracas for him to play-he was 12 at the time!) and now plays in the Orquesta Filarmónica here. Caracas has five, yes five, professional orchestras, all of which are financed differently, which determines the musicians' wages and therefore, competitiveness and musical level. I will hopefully hear many of them, rehearsals start next week. The Filarmónica is the government-funded orchestra. The musicians, as state employees, received government materials (propaganda) during rehearsals, and are required by law to attend all pro-government rallies and marches. This is a point of conflict, clearly, for the musicians who are either anti-Chavista or apolitical. I think it will be very interesting to keep learning about how political rhetoric and influence (or opposition) are part of classical music here.

One point that keeps returning in my discussions with people here, regardless of ideology, is government funding for music programs. These funds make El Sistema possible here (although I need to learn more about how this became so-but I know the first orchestras received government grants and also some foriegn support-instruments from Japan, etc!), and it was increasing government interest in Peña's work in Chile that allowed his orchestra work to develop. In contrast, the contemporary replication of El Sistema in the US (and maybe, elsewhere) has occurred in a local, decentralized context. This leads me to ask: (how) is government support (financial, verbal, ideological) necessary for the development of such an orchestra program? The US is so far from having a powerful, centralized government (and is a much, much larger country)-crazed Obama socialist accusations aside-that national support of such an orchestra program seems really unrealistic in our context. I may fall into the chicken-and-egg dilemma here, so maybe I should stop while I'm still ahead. I am sure I will keep learning more about this in the contexts of the presidencies of Carlos Andres Perez (1974-79) and Herrera Campins (1980-84). I have so much to learn here!!

The rest of this week I will look forward to some more meetings with different musicians, and perhaps some hiking and a frisbee tournament. I'd love to hear from all of you!

Reflections on first week

Hello!

I can't believe it's already and only been a week here-so much has happened since I left Chicago! I feel like I could have been here months!

The rest of this week has been consumed by changing living situations, being social and being touristy, although I have made some productive phone calls. On Tuesday I moved to stay with another couch surfer, who in turn brought me to his half-constructed hostel in El Hatillo, which was really the other extreme of the city. Up in the hills of Caracas, and almost an hour by bus to the metro (which runs along the center), El Hatillo looks like a little colonial village. It was beautiful, but too far away to stay for more than one night. These were typical buildings:

On Wednedsay I moved to a neighborhood called Bellomonte, with a girl named Marianela and her family, and their little black lap dog, "Bloody Mary." They are super sweet and wonderful, the apartment is relatively close to the metro and center. Marianela has been a fabulous host, taking me to parks and for walks and even to the doctor (my skin had a terrible allergic reaction, now I'm on creams and medications and stuff, it still looks horrendous but feels much better). All of the people I have talked to here have been accomodating and caring and incredible, going out of their way to help me and make sure I'm safe and don't feel lonely. They're very open and warm. Almost everyone knows someone who is somehow related to the music world, too. I already have to choose between social dates! On Sunday I'll move to where I'll stay for a few weeks while I figure out my research/travel plan.

I have been eating a lot of exciting tropical things, mangos, papayas, pinapples, coconuts, and bananas (the little ones, the normal ones and plaintains) are cheap and easy to find, and delicious! (vegetables are not as exciting, unfortunately, and are not nearly as local). Today I tried a cocoada, which is coconut meat and milk and sugar all blended into refreshing perfection. I have also eaten many arepas, a favorite food, which is like a fried corn-meal pita filled with many different options, my favorite being fresh cheese.

Besides that, I went to the U.S. embassy for a "security briefing" and met very nice people in the Cultural Affairs office. I also went to play Ultimate Frisbee with a women's team, which I think I will participate in, this should be a lot of fun.

Here are some pictures from an old hacienda-turned-park in the city (I am starting to find some beautiful places here, too!):

Some meetings and some pictures

A few pictures:
This is downtown with the mountains in back

This is the Contemporary Art Museum's garden sculptures, with mosque in background

And this says: Each day 50,000 children die of hunger due to capitalism. Who said that capitalism is pretty?

These last two days have included even more adventures here. Two brief observances-Venezuela, in case you didn't know, is on its own time zone. Chavez standard time is halfway between New York and Chicago time, or one half hour off. There is no daylight savings time, so it will be the same time all year. Also, I thought it was silly how the houses I have seen had huge extra water tanks in case "the water shut off." Apparently, though, it does that rather frequently, as the city has a water shortage. (At first I assumed it was just our apartment building). So those extra tanks came in handy.

Today I ventured to the offices of the FESNOJIV (the orchestra foundation) because I wanted to get started right away on meeting people. They have offices in a huge and modern tower in downtown's Parque Central, which of course is not a park of green, but of concrete and shopping centers. Upon arriving, I was shuffled between the first and 18th floor a few times before waiting for a woman to show up for an hour to be rudely told that I was actually in the wrong office. I have also realized that many of the contacts I have here are people from different FESNOJIV branches who do not know each other. I guess I didn't expect getting everyone to help to be easy, so I planned for getting told to go elsewhere a lot and bring books for waiting. However, I think I finally made an appointment with the right person. I guess I'll find out when I go back. I also have some other good contacts of musicians and professors, most of whom are just returning from vacation.

First day in Caracas

Hello everyone!

I have safely arrived in Caracas, and not without adventure. After my two hour delay, my host and friend Roy found me at the airport, where we took a shared transport van to to the city. However, it breaks down on the precipitous mountain road between the airport and Caracas. Just on the other side of a bridge over a ravine. The State Dept's travel webpage has told me that this road is very dangerous, and there are roadside huts and bands of robbers roaming the hills. When the men get behind the van to push it forwards into a shoulder, it starts to slide back down the incline at first. There are cars and trucks and buses whizzing by, and some smaller buses stop to offer us rides, but not for free. The driver has called another van to come pick us up, but then reconizes a micro driver and we go with him to the metro. Although this bus was also old and rickety, and I was worried it also wouldn't make it up the incline. But it did, and I arrived safely to Roy's. The metro here is quite nice and efficient, sometimes quite crowded, and full of publicity of how the socialist revolution is financing the future. (There are generally a lot of Chavez and revolution-related billboards.)

Today he accompanied me on an exploration of parts of the center of the city, which included some pretty buildings (the first ones I had seen, much of the other architecture seems to be 1950s utility apartment blocks and shantytowns rising into the hills to the south), likeSimon Bolivar's birthplace and museum. The buildings are lovely and well maintained, and contain artifacts from his life, even a pair of dirty socks (no offense intended, but I found this a little silly). We also saw the Teresa Carreno Cultural Complex and Bellas Artes, from the outside.

Also, I happened to run into 2 protests today (that I knew were happening from the local papers, but didn't know the routes-I guess even if I had, I wouldn't have known the streets, especially because the houses don't have numbers here, just intersections and landmarks!)-the anti-Chavista march and pro-Chavista counter-march. I saw them in different neighborhoods (which reflect where he's supported) and did not see them clash together. I did see a lot of police in more serious riot gear than I had ever seen, which is saying something.

I am hoping this week to get started on meeting the people I would like to meet and see some orchestras in action, as that is really what I'm here for. (Although I'm sure I'll do some more touristy/cultural things too.) Hopefully the music I discover will offset the ugliness of the city (although the weather is perfect, the air quality and garbage are awful).