Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Bartola, a well-known criolla singer here in Peru. She has a show on Chanel 7 (TV Peru) called Una y Mil Voces and it features criolla singers and bands. Since Coro Arpegio has a criolla repertoire, we were invited to sing on the show. What an honor! We had a great time and even though the weather wasn´t the best in La Molina the day we filmed, we still rocked it and we looked pretty great too. (My hair, on the other hand, had a mind of its own.)
We sang three songs: Cuando Llora mi Guitarra, Chabuca Limeña, and Negra Presuntuosa. Bartola did an interview with Monica, our director. The only downside to the publicity is that she touted us as a philanthropic choir and not a professional one that sings in weddings or other function. We do charity work, but it is only a part of what we do. We might get another chance to go on the show again sometime in the future and honestly, the publicity is nothing bad!
A quick side-story. A few days after the show aired, my downstairs neighbor´s daughter who has to be 7 or 8 years old, yelled out of the window ¨Tia!! Te vi en la tele!¨ Translated she said, ¨Auntie, I saw you on TV!¨ I asked her if she liked it and she nodded her head vigorously with a resounding ¨Si!¨ It was really cute and just what I needed when getting home from a day of work. She is also so sweet and everytime she sees me she waves. She gets super excited when she sees Pepe too. I appreciate her happiness and friendliness.
Anyway, here are the videos I found on youtube! Enjoy!
Sorry, my computer is not allowing me to embed the videos so here are the links:
Chabuca Limeña
Cuando Llora mi Guitarra
Negra Presuntuosa and interview (Please excuse my disgusted face a 1:07. I had issues with the brightness. I really was trying to listen and be supportive of Moni! Also, you never know when the camera is going to hit you. Lesson learned.)
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Playing Tour Guide
One of my favorite things to do is show people around town when they come in for a visit. I had the opportunity to do it twice in one day last Saturday with a friend of a friend who had an 18 hour layover in Lima between Chile and Chicago, and a former TEFL certification classmate.
I met up with Michelle in Miraflores for brunch and we ate at Cafe Cafe. It is a Peruvian chain that serves somewhat pricey but definitely delicious food. We shared a Spanish breakfast that came with a butifara (meat sandwich), a tamale, sweet potato chips and onions doused in lime. We also shared churros. We got to know each other a bit. Michelle is a friend of a friend and she is going to finish her last year of college in DC this next year. She studied abroad in Chile and went back for a visit. She is helping out my friend find a place in DC for his biodiesel company and she also does a lot with urban agriculture. She is a pretty cool chick if you ask me.
It was uncanny how her laughter and smile reminded me of my friend Chanel from high school. I love when people remind you of other people that you like. I am always happy to hear when someone says I remind them of someone as long as they like the person. It tends to put them at ease with me.
We walked to Larcomar where Michelle tried a Peruvian pisco sour. She said there wasn't much difference between a Peruvian one and a Chilean one. I enjoyed a delicious chicha morada. We then headed over to a woman's apartment who was selling some things since she is moving. Michelle helped me lug a big shaggy white carpet back to my place. She also got to meet Marco, Gabriel and Pepe.
I didn't manage to get a picture during our time together in the day but we ran into each other in Barranco while Marco and I were waiting for my second friend. Michelle had spent the afternoon and evening bumming around Barranco. She was exhausted but looked happy.
The next person I met up with was Stephanie. She and I took the same TEFL certification course in Chicago in October of 2009. She then went on to live in Lima for a while before I came to Peru. I followed her blog which was great. She then went on to get a masters degree in London before landing her job that she has now. This particular job is what allowed her to come to Peru. She was here for a conference on practices in the mining and natural resources sector. She explained to us a bit about what she was doing but I can't remember all the details. I do know that she had to give a presentation on digital security.
Anyway, we took her and her co-worker to the restaurant Javier on the boardwalk towards the ocean in Barranco. It is our favorite seafood place close by and they have great drinks. Marco and I shared a chicken chicharron and Stephanie had lobster causa. We were only able to hang out for a few hours because it was 11:30pm when we met up and they had a flight to Juliaca early the next day. It was fun nonetheless!
I didn't remember to get a picture with Stephanie. Oh well!
So if anyone has some time in Lima coming up, let me know. If I am not working I would be happy to take you out and about!
I met up with Michelle in Miraflores for brunch and we ate at Cafe Cafe. It is a Peruvian chain that serves somewhat pricey but definitely delicious food. We shared a Spanish breakfast that came with a butifara (meat sandwich), a tamale, sweet potato chips and onions doused in lime. We also shared churros. We got to know each other a bit. Michelle is a friend of a friend and she is going to finish her last year of college in DC this next year. She studied abroad in Chile and went back for a visit. She is helping out my friend find a place in DC for his biodiesel company and she also does a lot with urban agriculture. She is a pretty cool chick if you ask me.
It was uncanny how her laughter and smile reminded me of my friend Chanel from high school. I love when people remind you of other people that you like. I am always happy to hear when someone says I remind them of someone as long as they like the person. It tends to put them at ease with me.
We walked to Larcomar where Michelle tried a Peruvian pisco sour. She said there wasn't much difference between a Peruvian one and a Chilean one. I enjoyed a delicious chicha morada. We then headed over to a woman's apartment who was selling some things since she is moving. Michelle helped me lug a big shaggy white carpet back to my place. She also got to meet Marco, Gabriel and Pepe.
I didn't manage to get a picture during our time together in the day but we ran into each other in Barranco while Marco and I were waiting for my second friend. Michelle had spent the afternoon and evening bumming around Barranco. She was exhausted but looked happy.
 |
| Tired and happy! |
Anyway, we took her and her co-worker to the restaurant Javier on the boardwalk towards the ocean in Barranco. It is our favorite seafood place close by and they have great drinks. Marco and I shared a chicken chicharron and Stephanie had lobster causa. We were only able to hang out for a few hours because it was 11:30pm when we met up and they had a flight to Juliaca early the next day. It was fun nonetheless!
I didn't remember to get a picture with Stephanie. Oh well!
So if anyone has some time in Lima coming up, let me know. If I am not working I would be happy to take you out and about!
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