Today was an eventful day. It started off with three groups going three different direction, each on their own missions. Group 1, Kieri’s left early in the morning to go to a TV station for a press conference with some of the performers, where they interviewed Morningstar about the show. Language barrier aside, it was a great experience for the group to be on live T.V. to promote the two performances in the area. Group 2, Jim Stark’s, involved a diligent search for bottles of water by Jim Stark and our tour guide Jose. What should have taken less than an hour of course took double the time, not the least due to the store delivering twice what was actually purchased and then having to figure out how to go back and pay for the extras (since we needed them, and we really do want to maintain our integrity). We ended up with 19 dozen water bottles, enough to last us for a few days hopefully. Group 3, Matt’s, went in search for a Bose Sound System cord or replacement system as the portable sound system charger that Kieri would rely on for running the Fireside music through an iPod (remember Dagny who normally plays the fireside needed to stay behind this year) was left behind in the rush to get to San Francisco. This venture was comical as Matt tried to remember his high school and college Spanish classroom learning as he went from store to store in search for an impossible to find item. Jim was fluent, Kieri had the local FA rep to interpret and I had a 12 year old cousin to the organizer that seemed annoyed he wasn’t able to spend time with the “real” performers. He eventually found a portable player that would have cost about $30 in the states for $100. Electronics are expensive here.
The temperature here in this part of Ecuador is surprisingly cool. We are in a city called Cuenca, which is at an elevation of around 2600 m (8530 ft). It rained and it is definitely not warm, so all of us are wearing our sweatshirts. Even the native Cuencans are wearing coats. So, even though it is summer, and even though it is hotter than blazes in Guayaquil, up here it is a whole different world. The surrounding country is absolutely gorgeous. The kids are enjoying themselves immensely.
In the early afternoon, they all visited some local church cathedrals – really ancient structures to say the least. Morningstar then visited a place where they could overlook the whole city, as well as a visited a few other places. It was then time to come back to the hotel and get ready for the show in Chordeleg, which is an adjoining area of Cuenca but much more rural. The venue was an inside sports gym. In typical Latin American fashion, the show was scheduled to start at 8:00, but didn’t really start until after 9:00. It was a good thing though as the venue managers were late to let us in and not very helpful in helping set up changing areas for the performers, the optimal presentation direction (think high school basketball arena) and even simple things like a table for the tech equipment to sit on.
Eventually, there were probably between 300 and 400 people in attendance, so the turnout was good considering this particular venue was chosen at the last minute. Even though the acoustics were not optimal, the kids put on a really good performance and the crowd was very appreciative. The princesses and princes from the Disney section were an absolute hit!! They spent at least 10 minutes with the kids in the crowd during intermission, holding them and taking pictures with them. You could see the happiness in the faces of the parents as our youth interacted with their youth and literally made their day. Most of these kids have never seen a Broadway-type show, and probably never will again. Even though, due to the late start time, the show did not end until after 11:00, everyone stayed around to the end and the kids received a thunderous applause and whistles after the end number. All in all it was a very satisfactory performance. We had the buses and equipment loaded up by 12:29, and were back at the hotel by 1:14 in the morning, where we took a little time to quietly celebrate Jonathan’s birthday with a local birthday cake purchased that day from a local bakery. A great ending to a great day.
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