Dispatch from the equator

So, the antibiotics are kicking in and I'm feeling much more human. The residency is in full swing now, and everyone is getting to know each other better. I have several friends who are taking it upon themselves to teach me more Spanish, and they give me quizzes at dinner to see how much I remember. The punishment for getting more than 2 words wrong: being thrown into the pool. They haven't had to do that yet.

Part of this residency is launching the new Filarmoníca Joven de Colombia, so there are actually two orchestras rehearsing in different rooms at the same time here. The FJC will accompany us throughout our tour of Colombia to raise awareness (and funds, I presume) of the new organization and classical music in general. We will also combine orchestras to play a couple of things, including Bernstein's suite from West Side Story. We had our first mega-rehearsal this morning and, well...it was loud. Lots of people. Every part doubled. There is tremendous talent here. They are just trying to organize it and to channel it into something manageable. It's a little strange to play with the combined orchestra, because you have great rhythm and sound, notes are learned, but it's difficult for everyone to follow the conductor. Our flute section is pictured above: Olga from Uruguay is principal, followed by Roberto of the FJC; then Kaili, a Canadian, and then Carolina of the FJC. I'm playing piccolo on the Bernstein and feel lucky that no one is doubling with me. That would be painful.

On a separate note, the town closest to us, Villavicencio, is having a yearly outdoor festival that apparently culminated last night with an outdoor concert with Marc Anthony last night. For those who don't know who that is, he's a big star in Latin American music. He's also married to Jennifer Lopez. And apparently they were both staying at our hotel last night and left early this morning. This could just be a rumor.