Day 8 - Final Day!

We've come to the final day of the tour.  What better way to use than to have some free time in old Havana and do some last minute site seeing.  We had an extended morning to pack up our things, clean our rooms, and load the bus before lunch.

Looking down at the lobby and breakfast area of the hotel.

The outdoor courtyard area of the hotel.

Lunch was at another quaint little restaurant in the heart of Havana.  Like in all tropical countries, life happens outside.  The restaurant was situated in a beautiful open courtyard.  The meal was pretty standard fare for us - a selection of chicken or pork and rice dishes.

After lunch we loaded the bus for the revolution square, where many of Castro's speeches were made. Today you can go there and take a ride on the myriad taxis waiting for passengers.  As vehicle imports are scarce, you can find a lot of old American made cars from the 50's.  But if you look closely, you will likely find a Toyota engine or Hyundai steering wheel.

Our Tour Guide, Meleite

After the square, it was off to old Havana and some more site seeing.  I managed to find one last cappuccino before heading off to the airport.  Thanks for the great time Cuba!  Perhaps we'll meet again.

Day 7 - Vocal Jazz and Swimming

Today is the 2^nd last day of this tour.  We didn’t really have much on the schedule today, which was just fine.  This morning we did a little exchange concert with a local vocal jazz group from Havana.  We performed for them for about half an hour and then they performed for us.  They were really great – really tight sounding group.  They were 7 singers, four men and three women.  One of the guys imitated bongo playing with vocals throughout their set.  Not even sure how he did it, but it was quite amazing.

Perhaps even more impressive than the performance was the venue we performed in.  It was in a bar at the back of a renovated house.  The house is owned by a Miami club owner, whose family came from Cuba years ago.  This house had been in his family years ago and he owns it.  He completely renovated it into the style of 1950’s Havana, complete with the old living room shortwave radios, turntable and furniture.  It was absolutely stunning to find this gem of a house in the midst of so many decrepit buildings.

After lunch, it was off to the beach for a final swim in the ocean waves.  The whole evening is free time, and many kids plan to swim in the pool, or go to the grocery store to find Cuban coffee.  Tomorrow is the last day.

Day 6 - Traveling Cuba!

Today was our first day with no rehearsals or performances on the agenda.  We began the day loading the bus and travelling outside the city to a large botanical garden on a mountainside, full of orchids and exotic trees and plants.  They had a number of things growing outside that we simply consider house plants, and even more that we’ve never seen before.  At the top of the hill we encountered a small band playing traditional Cuban music.  Erika Fowler, always itching to play a guitar, asked the men if she could play a couple of numbers.  And they obliged, even accompanying her with the maracas.

After the garden, it was off to the see a waterfall.  However, being the dry season, there was no water.  The lack of water is actually quite noticeable around the country, as the vegetation looks quite dry.  On the drive we noticed a number of controlled burns along the highway meant to burn up the dead grass before it can become a real problem.  But having no water at the waterfall meant we could take a great picture of the choir on the rocks below!

Finally, we visited a cave site near the town of Vinales.  The cave was full of huge stalactites and even a few bats.  The visit finished off with a boat ride through the remainder of the cave.  It was a beautiful surreal kind of experience.

After a 2.5 hour bus ride back home, the kids were able to have the evening to themselves.  After a long day travelling, many of them simply went to bed.

Day 5 - Afro-Cuban Dance Group

This morning we went visited the Afro-Cuban Cultural Centre where we experienced several dancers and percussionists performing their native Afro-Cuban music.  They began by portraying each of their Afro-Cuban gods through dance, and followed that by a danced interpretation of early slavery.  It was a powerful performance.  This ended with all of us participating and even some impromptu salsa lessons.

We had a bit of free time after lunch, and several of us went to the grocery store to find some Cuban coffee.  It was an interesting display of what Cubans have to deal with on a daily basis.  About half of the shelves were completely empty, and then some things were in over supply.  They had an entire aisle devoted to ketchup alone.  Another aisle was mayonnaise.  Quite a bit of meat and fish, bottled water, some vegetables, and wafer cookies.  There were a few other non-descript things, but certainly not an abundance of food.  We found our coffee, the brand Milete said was good, and headed out.  On the walk home we passed several embassies, including the Russian and Costa Rican embassy, which are located between the store and our hotel. 

In the afternoon we had our only formal performance of the tour.  We performed together with two other local children’s choirs at the largest cathedral in Cuba.  It’s an absolutely stunning facility and very well kept.  We performed these pieces as we had rehearsed them with the groups earlier in the week.  Our singers began wilting under the heat of the day, but we all pulled through.  It was a great concert, and wonderful choirs to sing with.

After this we had a formal dinner with the other choirs together, followed by a dance party.  It was an amazing site, seeing our choristers and the local Cuban choristers get together and become friends almost instantly.  There was lots of communicating through hand-signs, and sharing of email addresses.  They had an absolutely fantastic time dancing together and having fun.  It was beautiful to watch.

Day 4 - Shopping!

This morning we traveled first thing to one of the inner city cathedrals where we met up with another children’s choir for an exchange of music making.  As with yesterday, we practiced together for our combined performance on Wednesday.  The piece their director taught us was highly improvised, as the singers were asked to create the sounds of the city.  The cathedral was in need of repair, as the front doors were completely broken.  The panes of glass which used to be in the doors were missing, which meant anybody could enter the building anytime they wanted.  It also meant that all the noise from the street outside would waft through the building.  It added a level of authenticity we weren’t quite used to.  Even so, we were quite happy to sing in this old inner city cathedral.  The other children’s choir was great – energetic and eager to sing. 

This lunch was perhaps the best I have had so far.  It’s hard to explain the food here.  Usually it’s some combination of chicken or pork with rice.  It’s certainly a meat-eating culture, with few vegetables to choose from. Our vegetarians in the choir are doing well, however.

In the afternoon we all went shopping in the tourist square.  It’s an indoor shopping complex full of small kiosks where you can buy any combination of tourist paraphernalia – small wooden sculptures, hats, purses, leather goods, trinkets, key chains, etc.  We spent an hour there and no one came back empty handed.  It also gave our students a chance to practise their bargaining skills.

Then, it was time to head to the beach again.  We all managed to go swimming this time.  The weather has been perfect for it – hot and not a cloud to be seen.   Both the sky and water are a beautiful deep blue.  And in the distance, you can see the freighter ships going by.

Day 3 - First Rehearsals

 Today was a day of singing.  This morning we had a wonderful time singing at the National School of the Arts.  This is a boarding school of student musicians who come from around the country to study music and visual arts.  It’s a large and beautiful campus.  While we were there we heard every manner of instrument being practised through the campus.  We were able to meet and sing for their choir of 16 singers.  They are considered one of the best choirs in the country and are nationally recognized for their music.  We performed really well, and then it was our turn to listen to them.  What a beautiful and clean sound!  They performed their traditional Cuban music for us, complete with salsa rhythms.  Rhythm and movement come so easily for them.  It was a great experience for us!

After lunch it was time to have an exchange with a small children’s choir.  We spend most of the time learning combined pieces that we’ll perform together at our concert on Wednesday.  Michael did a bang-up job of teaching “In Paradiso” to the kids, and we learned a beautiful Cuban piece as well.

 

After this we headed to one of the cultural houses of the country.  Each municipality of the area has a “cultural house” where you can take music or dance lessons – especially the kids.  We performed a couple numbers, and then were treated to an incredible dance recital by all their young students.  We were in the blazing sun, but that didn’t matter when, after seeing them perform, all the kids came down from the stage and took our students with them onto the stage where they were coaxed into participating.  It was fantastic!  Then it was time to gather in the upper floor of the school for an informal salsa lesson with the entire group.  Some of us are still sore from it J

Back at the hotel, we listened and watched an amazing flamenco band and dancers.  A beautiful and energetic way to cap off the night!

Day 2 - Havana

What better way to begin our time in Cuba, than with a tour of old Havana.  We spent much of the morning doing a walking tour of the old part of the city.  Through years of hardship and neglect, much of Havana’s buildings and infrastructure, and that of the country itself, have been slowly deteriorating.  There is a constant repair work being done.  The oldest and perhaps most important part of the city has been well-maintained and it was interesting to walk through it and learn something of Havana’s history.

After this we had a private lunch waiting for us at a restaurant.  The freshly made pineapple juice was fantastic!

Finally, it was off to the beach – something everyone was waiting for.

And then we had our first informal performance of the tour.  The hotel lobby.  A good venue to just get out the cobwebs.

Can’t wait for tomorrow.