The End of the YOA Mexico Tour

The last week of the Mexico Tour went by in a blur.  From Orizaba, we moved on to Leon, where we stayed in a very nice, if somewhat creepy hotel, and Stella and I got away to enjoy some street food.

While Leon was the place to go for leather, we only found the cheapo Tourist leather goods, and I never did find anything worth buying.  Whenever I found a pair of shoes that looked cute, I would realize they weren't actually made out of leather, or they would be cheaply made leather, that upon closer inspection looked like they would fall apart after a week.

Still, the street food was fantastic, and the architecture in the city was beautiful.  We went into some gorgeous cathedrals, and walked through large parks with fountains.  We also had some delicious and much-needed ice cream.

The nice but somewhat creepy hotel

The Lion of León

Tacos al Pastor, baby!

Faltan Pocos Días

Only a few days left!  In fact, only two more concerts, and two more days until YOA's 2011 Mexico Tour comes to an end.  I am here in Puebla at the moment, figuring out the last few things that I can take care of here in Mexico with the orchestra, and preparing for tomorrow night's performance as well as the finale performance on Wednesday.  My pictures have been doing a better job of documenting my experiences throughout my travels, so at least I have been pretty consistent with uploading when I had internet access.  Here is a quick recap to get you up to date.

Orizaba:

Concert in Orizaba went very well.  I hiked a mountain path at 4,000 meters in elevation.

Home Stretch

Two weeks from today I will be with Patrick and Mom and Dad in Pennsylvania watching the Allentown Drum Corps show.  YEEEEYYYYYY!  Can't wait.

I have some catching up to do for the last few days, so here we go.  Basically, I got to test out public transport to get from DF to Tuxpan.  It was an odd experience.

Me at the bus station

There was pretty much no one else on this giant Tour bus for the 6-hour trip.  When Nina and I finally got to Tuxpan, the drivers told us it was the last stop and got off...  Little did we know that there was actually one more stop, much closer to the hotel we were supposed to go to, but luckily Stella figured out which stop we were at and came to pick us up.

We made it though, and Tuxpan was such a nice change of pace!  It was super hot and humid, which normally I would say that I don't care for, but it at least made our stay feel more like a vacation than like work.  There was a great pool and pool-side tables to sit at, and the chef and cooking staff was amazing.  They made really good, home-style Mexican food for us, and they were very accommodating for some of our musicians' special dietary needs.

Pool-side

Patrick in DF

Though I am trying not to look at a calendar too much, I believe I am about half-way through the Tour of Mexico.  Thankfully, Patrick took the time off of work and bought a flight to DF to come visit me while I was here.
---Thursday---

It was really comforting to be able to talk to him in person for once, and it was great to be able to do some tourist activities with him.  We don't get to go on enough real vacations together, so for now, this is our time to explore different countries together.  It was perfect timing for him to come actually, because for most of the Tour I am busy with work every day - all day.  Here in DF though, not only was there a free day where we got to go see the pyramids of Teotihuacan, but I was also more free during regular days to just hang out and see Mexico with him. He got in in time to see the first concert of YOA in Mexico City and meet many of the musicians.

---Friday---

Stella got our bus drivers to work on their day off and take us to the pyramids, so a large group of about 70 people all pitched in 100 pesos each to pay the drivers to take us there on our day off.  Considering the complications that would have been involved if we had to all arrange our own transport, it was a pretty sweet deal for us - less than $10 USD. 

Though the bus ride was really long (2 1/2 hours each way) it was still a great trip.  The weather held out for us, and I even got a little sunburned in the end.  The pyramid was pretty steep, and I was very out of breath by the time I made it to the top, but we just took it easy and enjoyed the view and hung out until we could catch our breath. 

I thought going down was going to be more difficult, but as long as I kept my balance by holding on to the cable on the way down, it was pretty easy.

Friday night Stella, Maria, Patrick, and I went to Coyoacán, which is a very nice district with fancy restaurants, mercados, and a lovely park.  The weather stopped cooperating by then, and it was absolutely dumping rain on us.  We took refuge in the nearest restaurant and drank some margaritas and had tiramisú (an interesting combination...) 

We eventually found a fantastic restaurant that had mescal tasting and real Mexican cuisine.  It was on the expensive side, but was a fantastic experience anyway. 

---Saturday---

One of my only work commitments Saturday was a meeting with our Board member who was hosting a luncheon on Sunday after the concert.  Nina and I went to the Board member's mother's house in the Mixcoac district. Her house was really sweet- the family is German, so it is like a little Bavarian oasis in the middle of a busy city.  After that, we had the rest of the afternoon free until the concert in the evening, so we went out in search of a market - we ended up going to a Mercado in a completely different part of the city.  The cab driver we had on the way there was especially chatty, so I got a lot of good practice with my Spanish.  Once we got there, we checked out some of the artisan crafts, and I did a poor job of haggling in Spanish.  We then checked out the street food, which Patrick and I were both very much looking forward to.  We got pork and beef tacos, and delicious tortas.

---Sunday---

Patrick had to leave Sunday morning so he could go back to work on Monday.  The concert Sunday afternoon went great, and after the concert the musicians loaded up the buses for the 6-hour ride to Tuxpan.  Nina, Mark, and I had a fancy luncheon to go to, to solicit potential sponsors for fundraising, which was in a beautiful restaurant called San Angel Inn.  The food was absolutely exquisite, but since I had to be on my game and pitching the orchestra, I didn't end up eating very much of the cream of spinach soup, or the duck in blackberry sauce, or the fancy cream and espresso cake...  Luckily, the people I were talking to were very receptive to the idea of supporting the orchestra, so I didn't miss out on an amazing dinner in vain.  The three of us went back to the hotel, which all of a sudden seemed extremely quiet, empty, and creepy.  I didn't have 78 musicians to say hi to by name and ask how their day has been.  And I didn't have Patrick there beside me. 

---Monday---
Today the three of us catch a public bus to Tuxpan (which should be interesting...).  I am looking forward to being around a lot of people that I know and who know me. 

Tuxpan is supposed to be much warmer, but we won't be in nearly as nice of a hotel and there won't be nearly as interesting restaurants and shopping to go to, but it will be an experience anyway.

On to Tuxpan!

YOA Media

Not to plug my work too much, but we have some pretty cool videographers and photographers with us on Tour this year.  Here is one of the videos they put together to summarize YOA's arrivals in Xalapa for our Residence.  Enjoy!

First YOA Concert 2011

Wow.  Eventful.  Mexican politics are a bit crazy.  Ok, starting from the beginning.

So we are told that the governor is attending YOA's opening performance in Xalapa.  Apparently is it customary to wait until the governor arrives to start the concert, and it would be extremely inappropriate for the orchestra to start until he arrives... (Do you sense where this is going?)  They would also like remarks to be made at intermission thanking the governor for coming, and they would provide those remarks for us to give...  Not talking about a simple "thank you for coming..."  Fine.  We're not exactly happy about this, as YOA does not side with any political party, but as it is so important, we are prepared to make some remarks thanking the governor for his kindness and support, etc. 

Anywho...  The orchestra goes out onstage to warm up, and everyone is ready for the 8:30 pm concert.  The audience is seated, and contentedly waiting for the concertmaster to come out and tune the orchestra. 

...10 minutes...  Still haven't started, but hey, it's Latin America, 10 minutes late is normal.

...20 minutes...  Getting a bit restless and the audience is now talking loudly amongst themselves.

...30 minutes...  Now everyone is downright rowdy.  The audience starts clapping in time, and the musicians too are obviously restless now, and join in with the audience by stomping their feet along with them. 

...40 minutes...  Not only is the audience alternating between clapping in time, whistling loudly, and talking loudly amongst themselves, but now we have people yelling things.  Luckily, because it is so typical to wait for the governor to arrive, everyone apparently knew exactly why the concert was late, and that it had nothing to do with YOA.  They started yelling things about the governor being disrespectful, and that they didn't want to wait anymore, and other loud (but maybe not uncalled for) comments. 

...50 minutes...  The press is all swarming around the entrance taking pictures, and the governor is arriving.  The audience erupts in loud boos and yells very rude and unrepeatable things right at the governor.  The governor, his two children, and the huge possy of maybe 30 government officials all hustle to their seats, looking down at the ground as they walk in. 

The concert finally starts, and the musicians sound fantastic.  I don't know how they were able to stay fresh and ready to go for that long, but the challenging repertoire and long concert sounded fabulous all the way to the end.  

All talk of podium remarks is withdrawn, and the governor skipped the post-concert reception, even though the whole thing was centered around the fact that he was coming...

What a night.

4th of July YOA Party

Though I am still fighting the slow internet connection here in Mexico, I WILL at some point have a video online of the YOA brass musicians playing our national anthem in my hotel room as we celebrated the 4th. 

YOA Tours are all about learning about other people's cultures, sharing languages, and instilling a sense of pride for your country while appreciating the cultures of others.  So, for the 4th of July, we Americans threw a party in honor of our independence, and were joined by our friends from 20 other countries...

...in my hotel room.

It was a great time, and my room is by far bigger than everyone else's, so it seemed the appropriate time to throw a party.  We all pitched in to buy (extremely cheap) cervezas, plugged in someone's iPod with lots of salsa music to my TV, and posted a USA flag on my hotel room door.  Even though we were celebrating the 4th of July, we were all having a great time getting to know our friends from the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Colombia, Argentina, and all of the other countries of the orchestra. 

There were a lot of beer cans to pick up, and of course some spilled beer here and there... but I tidied up nicely before going to bed, and left a tip for the cleaning ladies in the morning.

One of the musicians (still don't know who!!!) left me a present...  When I was finished cleaning up and was getting into bed, I found about 5 copies of the sheet music for The Star Spangled Banner in my sheets, and under my pillow...  Thanks, guys.

All in all, it was a really fun party, and all of the musicians thanked me very nicely for hosting it in my room.  I really like the group of musicians this year.  They are very polite, extremely talented, and they are fun and interesting people to get to know.

It has only been about 2 weeks since I've been here in Mexico.  It has seemed like a lot longer.  Still, I am looking forward to the rest of the Tour because of the great people that I get to be around.

Also, it doesn't hurt that this year Patrick is getting to visit me halfway through the Tour!  Next Thursday Patrick will be arriving in Mexico City and will get to see two YOA concerts before heading back after four days.  This will certainly make life easier than last year's 7-week tour where I barely could even Skype...  Difficult.

¡Qué Ojos!

Phew! I have made it through musician arrivals! For two days in a row I was "on" from 7 am to 2 am the next morning, being happy, helpful, excited, and having to speak in both English and Spanish. I made it through, and have had two nights of a full night's rest since to make up for it. Today should be more laid back - almost a "day off" for me, although I wouldn't particularly say that any day on Tour is a day off.

Last night, the secretary of education hosted the YOA Faculty and Staff at a fancy dinner. We got all dressed up and were brought to the restaurant.

Me all dressed up for dinner

After a while in the van, I realized we were passing the same block over and over... It turned out that the restaurant wasn't ready for us yet, so the drivers were looping around trying to kill time. (Kind of a funny way to coordinate timing, but hey, it worked.) Once we arrived, they brought us through the kitchen to a private back room, where we were received by a group of traditional musicians and dancers, who entertained us as we got seated and were served drinks.

Musicians

After a while, they served the appetizers, and then a man came around and gave each of us the business card of the Secretary of Education, and let us know that he would be arriving shortly...

In comes the Secretary of Education, we all stand, he goes around to each of us to shake our hands, and we tell him our names and where we're from. He gets around to me, and as I'm shaking his hand, he shouts: "¡Qué Ojos!" (What eyes!) Everyone laughs and I quickly say my piece and that it is a pleasure to meet him (in Spanish). Then Gilberto, our Stage Manager (who has been coordinating our Residence here in Xalapa) gives a speech welcoming everyone, and introduces everyone around the table. When he gets to me.... he introduces me as "the girl with the eyes, Emma Moores".... Oh geez...


Anyway... We have dinner after that, and it is delicious food, great music (videos here and here). We had a good time. At the end they gave each of us a set of books about the state of Veracruz, and then the Secretary went around one more time to shake our hands.

All in all, it was a strange but very nice event, and we all felt very honored to have been hosted by these people. I'll tell you one thing though... Next time we have an event like this I think I will wear my glasses so I don't get as many comments about my gringa eyes...

Xalapa

Hey ya'll.  I made it here to Mexico safe and sound.  I am sitting here in the hotel lobby waiting for the musicians to arrive.  There will be about 20 arriving tonight through about 2 a.m. tomorrow, and then all of the rest of the musicians arrive through the day and night tomorrow.

So far we've had a violinist from Cuba and a harpist from Seattle arrive.  The next wave of musicians will be here late late late tonight, so I'll be up a while yet.  Good thing I snuck a nap in there. 

Xalapa seems like a great place.  The weather is perfect: warm enough that I feel like I'm in an exotic country, but not so muggy and disgustingly hot to make it uncomfortable.  Because it's rainy season, we've been getting downpours every day for an hour, but then the sky clears up and it's perfect the rest of the day. 

As usual, I've started uploading my pitcures to my Picasa album online, and will continue it throughout the Tour.  Enjoy!

YOA Mexico Tour 2011

Off We Go!

Heading to the airport!  My next post will be from Xalapa, Mexico.

Time Flies Like an Arrow

Fruit Flies Like Bananas.

This semester is already going by way too quickly. Here's an update on the happenings. Or, as my blog calls them, the Goings On.

First, a frog attended my Facilities Management course a few weeks ago. We took a break to free it from the building, but still haven't quite decided where it came from:

We also went to the awesome Sounders at DC United game, where we (Sounders) won 2 to 1:

A very sad Redskins helmet:

My friend Katie came too, and brought her friend Nicole:

DC United fans were pretty intimidating, but no comparison to what it would have been like at a Sounders home game:

We got some awesome Sounders scarfs:

Non-Sounders:
We had an awesome Beatles Rock Band session with Steve in Seattle. Skype + Rock Band is the future of gaming:

I've been a bread-baking fool lately. With Patrick's awesome cooking skills and my baking skills, we created.... BREAD BOWLS! Or as we have lovingly named them, Bread Bowels. don't ask, it doesn't make sense.

I played in my quintet for the International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap this weekend, which was pretty neat. There were all sorts of tents up for the thousands of kids to go to, and I was providing musical entertainment with my brass quintet at the Instrument Petting Zoo, where the kids got to actually play on the instruments and such. Even though I've never been inclined to be a Music-Ed person, it was cute to see all of the little kids that were intrigued by the instruments, and I took every opportunity to engender an early interest in the Trombone. If a kid looked over my way with interest, I'd go up to them and show them my Trombone up close and show them how it worked and what it sounded like. They liked it a lot. It was very fun for me too.

Today Patrick and I went up to Baltimore to see my relatives. I forgot to take pictures, but it was fun, and they made us deeeeeelicious food. My cousin Sadie who lives in Oklahoma with her husband Steve and new little baby Edward came to visit her parents, so it was neat getting to see her again. I haven't seen her in forever, and had never met her husband, even though they've been married for five years. We also got to see my other cousins, Dave (with his baby boy Tanner), and Mary (with her husband Bob and new doggie Ziek). 'Twas good times.

That's it for the Goings On for now! This week is going to be extremely busy at work as we're ramping up for ARTS by George!, which is this Saturday. I hope it all goes smoothly.

VIDEO GAMES LIVE!!!!

Last Friday, Patrick, Me, my friend Dani, her boyfriend, and one of his friends (whew long list) went to Video Games Live! at Wolf Trap. It was my first Wolf Trap experience, and it was AWESOME!

We tried out the second-newest of our electronic devices (toys, as my mom would call them), Creative's "Vado HD." I was a pretty crappy video camera operator, due to my shaky hands and annoying talking, but I will get better.

http://www.youtube.com/user/emmuhwilla

Patrick videoed this one, which explains the better quality.



We brought a cooler (purchased at Five Below, the $5 store here, where everything is $5 or less) filled with beer, and a backpack of snacks and a ginormous sub sandwich from Wegmans. Joey's Old Fashioned Sandwich For the Whhhhhiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnn!

It was such a good time. It reminded me a lot of the drive in, which was nice, because I was missing that, and the closest one to here is basically in West Virginia. It was obviously much better than a drive in (c'mon, the National Symphony Orchestra playing live video game music?!), but it was similar in that it was casual and you could lay back with a blanket and talk to your friends and eat your own food. Plus the big projector screen, and being outside for all of this at night in the summer.

I'm looking forward to seeing The Two Towers at the end of August in the same format!!!!

Re-post about Albums

Check out this article from Mental Floss that expresses how great albums are better than I was able to in my post earlier. (first pic looks familiar, no?) I actually owned 4 of the albums discussed, which is impressive considering the very small collection that I had (before it was stolen in 2002.... grrrr. that's a whole 'nother post).

MENTAL FLOSS Article can be found here:
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/27053

Between The Liner Notes: 6 Things You Can Learn By Obsessing Over Album Artwork
by Mark Arminio - June 26, 2009 - 10:29 AM

There’s something exciting about unwrapping a new CD. The sense of anticipation, the smell of the packaging, the struggle with the sticky, impossible-to-open white anti-theft strip. But as music becomes increasingly electronic (in the downloadable sense of the word), gone the way of the liner notes. Sure, you can still pull up the cover art and a track listing, but booklets filled with lyrics and stories and artwork with hidden meanings have become more and more rare, leaving music junkies with just a little less to talk and discuss and argue over. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Here’s a quick look into a few hidden gems plucked from the liner notes:

1. Radiohead Did NOT Create a Concept Album (Or Did They?)

1997’s OK Computer by Radiohead still holds up as one of their most brilliant works. While the members of the group insist OK Computer is not a ‘concept album’, there are recurring themes of consumerism and human apathy among the lyrics and highlighted by the album art. The liner notes also hold a variety of hidden gems left open for interpretation. The lyrics themselves have erratic spacing, leaving some to suggest that they represent images. For instance, the gaps in the lyrics for “Lucky” reveal a man getting out of a lake or a superhero, two lines found in the song itself. Also hidden in the liner notes? The band thanks Michael, Bill, Peter and Mike…the members of R.E.M.

2. John Coltrane Sings Poetry

In the liner notes of arguably Coltrane’s best album, A Love Supreme, there is a devotional poem written by the artist representing a conversation between Coltrane and God. The album is broken down into four movements, with part four being called “Psalm”. In this movement, Coltrane performs what he calls “musical narration,” playing the words of his poem without actually singing any lyrics. The poem ends with the cry “Thank you God. ELATION – ELEGANCE – EXALTATION – All from God. Thank you God. Amen.”

3. Pearl Jam Wants You To Read One Book

While recording Yield, Pearl Jam was heavily influenced by a book called Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. The title itself comes from one of the primary concepts of the book: yielding to nature. Inside the liner notes you will find a yield sign hidden in every picture. This album actually received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Recording Packaging, which I had no idea existed (although they were beaten out by Madonna’s Ray of Light).

4. R.E.M. Included the Puddles of their Brainstorming

As you may know, R.E.M. pulled it’s band name at random from the dictionary (at one point the band serious considering calling themselves Cans of Piss). Seeming to enjoy this method of selective christening, band members typically tape up a huge sheet of paper up on the studio wall and write any name that comes to their head as a method of brainstorming album names. The liner notes of Monster include some of the alternate titles they were considering. Also written in the notes are two words: For River. River Phoenix, a good friend of frontman Michael Stipe, died the year that R.E.M. was recording Monster.

5. Weezer Just Says “No”

After the huge commercial flop that was Weezer’s Pinkerton, Rivers Cuomo shut down Weezer for three years. However, following this hiatus, the band reunited to put out a second self-titled effort (while recording this album, Weezer toured under the pseudonym Goat Punishment). Nicknamed “The Green Album” (to differentiate it from the Blue Album and, later, the Red Album), the liner notes contain an Italian phrase from a Verdi opera: “Torniamo all’antico e sarà un progresso.” The definition? Let us return to old times and that will be progress. Additionally, if you pry open the CD tray from this album, written on the edge is the word “No”. Online groups have suggested this is an answer to another hidden gem from Radiohead’s OK Computer. Written in the liner notes: I like you. I like you. You are a wonderful person. I’m full of enthusiasm. I’m going places. I’ll be happy to help you. I am an important person, would you like to come home with me? Weezer apparently declined the invitation.

6. Sublime Wants You To Learn the Language

Sublime’s third and final release (the album actually came out after Brad Nowell’s death by heroin overdose), contains a song called “Caress Me Down”. In this single, Nowell alternates between english and spanish while singing. While the other songs on the album have lyrics that appear in the liner notes, under “Caress Me Down” it has the first few lines followed simply by “Learn Spanish”. Also found inside this CD’s liner notes are pictures of Brad singing to his new born son and Lou Dog, Nowell’s Dalmatian named for his grandfather Louie.

Of course, this is just a brief sample of the hidden wonders of liner notes. I deliberately left off some of the most famous examples (e.g. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heartsclub Band) but if you’d like to read more on that album, try this article. Does anyone else miss the joys and wonders of reading and speculating over liner notes? Got any favorite examples? Drop them in the comments when you get a sec.