Saturday will officially kick off the Cuenca Independence celebrations. There are over 300 different events planned in town between now and Tuesday, the majority of which are free. Cuenca expects 100,000 visitors to come to town over the weekend, and this is in a city with a population of only 450,000, so things will almost certainly become rather crowded for a few days.
Some events get an early start on the festivities. One example was a private art exhibit tonight at Casa Asvoria, Plaza Otorongo, a 15 minute walk from our apartment. I happened to run into Eduardo Segovia yesterday, a world-famous ceramicist. He told me that he was showing off some of his art tonight, so we had to go. When we arrived, and looked around, I discovered he meant some of his collection of art, rather than new art he had created. That was added to by the collection of Karen Kennedy, whose husband Boris Ordoñez was also exhibiting. We had seen a few of these pieces before, at Segovia’s home, but it was an impressive collection of 19 renown Latin American artists shown together in a pleasant temporary gallery.
The gallery is also where I take Spanish language classes, which is how I happened to run into Segovia yesterday. Our Spanish professor was also there, and was surprised when she discovered that Evelyn and I were married. We have both taken classes from her, but never together. It was interesting holding the entire conversation with her in Spanish. Talking about it later, we realized just how good she is at putting conversation at the level of the person she is talking to, and putting them at ease. I always leave Ana thinking I can really speak Spanish… and then realizing that is only true when speaking to someone willing and able to keep the conversation at my 3 year-old level… ☺
We could only stay a short time at the art reception, because the Cuenca Symphony had another free concert tonight too. For the first time since we have been here, it was an outdoor venue, at Parque de la Madre — also about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. The Cuenca Symphony concerts are all different, frequently including music I have never heard before. The symphony is also often whimsical at times, and tonight was a guest conductor, Patricio Alomoto.
About half way into the concert tonight, the conductor started speaking to the audience (in Spanish, of course). I only picked up part of what he said, but he appeared to be talking about a “tourist musician who be joining us tonight.” A man then entered stage-right, looking confused. One of the violinists approached and gave him a rubber apron. He gestured to the crowd that he didn’t know why he needed it, then put it on. Another violinist then got up and handed him two hammers. After more comedy of gestures, the man walked over to a tree stump and tapped the hammers on an anvil that was sitting on it. At that point, the symphony went into their next piece, while this “visiting musician” played the anvil with his hammers with them (man on left in center photo above). Typical Cuenca Symphony humor. ☺
Symphony performances here often also include either a famed soloist, or a famed singer. Tonight Linda Alvarado joined the symphony to sing with the last several pieces. She was obviously well known and loved by the audience, who joined in singing on one piece (that I had never heard before), and clapping at her encouragement on another (photo lower right above).