Universal Language

At the Universidad Reformada, I had the opportunity to participate in their community orchestra for Christmas concerts.  This was the one place where I could fully participate even without knowing the Spanish language - the language of music crosses all borders.  The university students I played with were wonderful.  Most students played on instruments purchased by the university, and none that I met had been playing longer than 5 years.  We rehearsed a few times each week at the university and performed several times for university events and concerts around the city.  The chamber ensemble performed for the university graduation, at the orchestra concerts, and at an outdoor festival.  The orchestra concerts included two large concerts with a combined chorus from the university, the Colegio Americano, and other smaller choirs.  We performed one concert at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral and another concert at a bustling mall next door to the Colegio Americano.  This mall was built on property previously owned by the colegio, and the colegio retains the right to use small sections inside the mall.  After the combined concerts with the choirs, the chamber ensemble performed an outdoor concert at a Christmas Festival.


Even though the Universidad Reformada has been educating students for  several years in Theological Studies, the other focus areas are relatively new.  This year's graduation that took place in early December welcomed the first class of Psychology Majors into the ranks.  Professional Music and International Business are the other two programs currently admitting students, and the university is in the process of adding a program for Industrial Engineering.  Every time I performed with the orchestra, I thought, "This is GREAT publicity for the burgeoning university!"

Feliz Dia De Las Velitas

 

Advent and Christmas in Barranquilla differ from Advent and Christmas in the United States in fewer ways than I expected.  Sure, by my typical "United Statesian" standards, December is not a cold month (there are NO cold months) here, that's for sure.  Otherwise, you've got the festive decorations in every store, choirs and orchestras playing carols in cathedrals and malls, and a night for lighting the city's Christmas lights.  In Medellin, we saw the city-sponsored decorations throughout the city.  


Here in Barranquilla, one tradition,  Dia de Las Velitas, includes families gathering for a whole night of fun and dancing.  At 3 a.m., children often blow out the candles that have burning through the night.  My cultural education for the evening included "immersion" dance lessons.  For the night at least, I learned the difference between salsa, merengue, cumbia,  and vallenato.  Cumbia and vallenato are unique to Colombia, particularly the Caribbean coastal region, with variations in Panama.  


The evening was more evidence that despite the decades of violence and fear woven into life in Colombia, or perhaps as a way to balance it, the Colombians we meet are relentlessly happy.  Never naive, always cognizant, and resolute on enjoying life.