Last night was our first concert here in Argentina. We performed at a local Baptist church for members of their congregation. They treated us to tea and churros before the concert. Then we went and performed. The Sheltons had previously briefed us on an important rule of etiquette here in South America; being on time is not expected. We started ten minutes late to a healthy half-filled congregation, but we finished the concert with a full house and standing room in the back. In Argentina, Lauren Shelton informs us, rules aren’t as important as relationships. So it’s expected that you finish whatever you’re doing and show up for a get-together, concert, or other function when you’ve politely finished with the business at hand. And our audience was certainly relational! A few sang along with one of the Argentine songs we sang. Many thanked us (in English and in Spanish) for our presence.
This morning we debriefed on the previous day’s adventures, and then embarked on our own. Several groups went out to brave the downtown shops of Mendoza. One group joined Amanda, a Baylor graduate involved with Baylor in Mendoza, for a tour of the Weinert winery on the outskirts of town. We enjoyed lunch on our own followed by a tradition well-loved by the whole choir: SIESTA!
Later that afternoon we walked over to a local high school to sing outside for their students. Unfortunately, many of them had to stay in their classrooms to take government-mandated midterms (um, yay TAKS tests?!?). Their principal lined them up in neat files while we organized our processional. However, by the end, the audience (who stood the whole time) had formed an amoebic blob scarcely an inch from our choir. By the end of the school day, their principal had the unfortunate task of telling them we were done (they begged for more, but he snapped back that they should have been quieter! 🙂 ).
Afterwards, a few members of the choir got to know the audience. Well, it looked more like this: rabbles of giggling girls swarmed around a couple of guys begging for pictures, autographs, locks of hair, etc. See photo evidence below.
Dr. Bradley also exchanged gifts with the school’s principal. The principal gave Dr. Bradley a sculpture of two gauchos (rural Argentinian farmers) pulling a wagon in the style of a famous painter, as well as a small collectible wine bottle from Mendoza’s famous vineyards.
We all received another gift as we left: a fiery blaze of a sunset, streaked over the deepening azure sky. So beautiful.
Later we arrived at the Sala Elina Alba for our formal concert. The acoustics were wonderful, which is ironic because the building was originally used as a bank. The stage we stood on was built off of the original teller window in the bank’s main hall. We were also finally reunited with our fearless accompanist Clint Kimmel, who essentially jumped off of a plane at the Mendoza airport and joined us in rehearsal. We’re glad to have you here, Clint!
The concert opened with Coral VÃctor Volpe, a local men’s choir. Male choirs are very unusual in South America, so it was a privilege to hear them. They opened with two settings of Argentine folk songs. These men (many of whom have sang together since boyhood) sang with such heart that, even though we didn’t understand all the words, we were deeply moved. They also closed with a Gospel piece in English called “Ride the Chariot.” That really gave us the feeling of a cultural exchange — they tapped into music of our culture, just as we sought to do the same with their culture.
I’ll be honest — I don’t remember how well we sang (although I’d like to think it went quite well). All I know is that the crowd absolutely loved it. After “Te Quiero,” a well-known Argentine piece, we received whoops and cheers. (This piece has a bit more poignancy now since the lyricist, Mario Benedetti, passed away earlier this week.) The audience laughed along with “Old Dan Tucker” and just about brought the house down after it was over. We performed “Soon-ah Will Be Done” in the audience as our penultimate song, and the crowd got restless when they thought we were done. By the end of the concert, I think both us and the audience had won each other over.
A reception followed (with empanadas — of course!), and we got a chance to dialogue with some of the music school students, VÃctor Volpe singers, and community members who showed up. Chris encountered a lady he happened to meet in line at the airport who decided to come to the concert. The choral conducting students involved in Dr. Bradley’s master class came and conversed with our students. Many people just showed up after seeing a wonderful article in the local newspaper about our performance (pics to come). I talked to a few of the VÃctor Volpe singers who couldn’t believe that we weren’t all music students. One told Dr. Bradley that that was the first time he had actually understood all the words from “Te Quiero,” and we didn’t even all speak Spanish!
Many of us are already feeling like we’ve been here a month — so much has happened in just a few days! We are all excited to see what new things we will experience as we travel to mountainous Uspallata tomorrow.
– Jacob Garcia