We had read that the Mexico Navy Symphonic Orchestra and Chorus was to be giving a free performance last evening in the Plaza of the Tres Presidentes. We decided that it would be an interesting evening and so around 6:30 PM we hopped on a bus going to centro. We wandered down to the plaza and were amazed at the amount of people who had had the same idea. They had put an astounding amount of chairs out in rows and there were at least as many people standing as sitting. The performance was to start at 7 PM; so until then we wandered around and did some people watching. It was a lovely evening, with a slight breeze perfect for an outdoor concert. They had the stand for the orchestra and chorus set up at the west end of the plaza with the Palacio Municipal as a backdrop. To our right (north) the white/grey spires of the church rose into the dark night sky, to our left (south) were the statues of the 3 presidents that were born in Guaymas. They have added some nice lights to the Palacio Municipal and it looks great. The photos below were not taken last evening, they are from last winter. I was too lazy to take the camera along last night, as I didn't want to have to carry a lot of stuff in case we ended up walking all the way home.
Palacio Municipal, the backdrop to the stage.
Church Spires.
Statues of the Tres Presidentes (3 presidents)
The orchestra and chorus were of course, all in their white uniforms and looked wonderful as well as many other members of the navy that were in the crowd to watch the performance. Remember the old saying, "there's something about a man in a uniform?" Well if there were any ladies looking, last night was a perfect opportunity!!
The performance began around 7:30 PM and was fantastic. They also had a big screen off to one side of the stage, so that if you couldn't see the stage very well, you could watch the screen. One little boy, watching from his fathers shoulder didn't notice the screen until about 3/4 of the way through and when he did he got very excited. It was funny to see his facial expression when he noticed it.
After some introductions, they began playing. They did a few numbers from some operas, La Traviata for one. The music and voices were awe inspiring, sending shivers down my spine. They did some by Tchaichovsky (sp?), some popular tunes, some movie themes by John Williams-Jaws, ET, Star Wars, etc., some popular mexican music and much, much more. It was an absolutely wonderful concert and if anyone reading this ever has a chance to go and listen to this group, I highly recommend it. At three times during the performance they set off fireworks, much to the dismay of some of the local pigeons. Part of one came whistling close enough to us that I moved aside. The sounds of the music, the fireworks, the people, the lovely evening weather, definately a night that will long be remembered.
There were some jokes told by the MC and I actually understood some of it!! They had to keep turning on and off the lights in the plaza, off for the performance and fireworks and on for the MC, and I think at one point the MC joked about the mayor not paying the power bill as the lights were going on and off--but I might be totally off key to, as my spanish is iffy. At certain times he would call for applause and sometimes, strong(loud) (fuerte) applause.
When the performance was coming to an end, a city official (the new mayor?-I couldn't hear this very good) gave the leader of the group an ironwood statue of the Pescador, a large one sits at the malecon.
Statue of the Pescador on the malecon.
This was a family outing and I have never seen so many well behaved children in my life. They sat quietly throughout the whole performance, which was for 3 hours!!! No whining, no crying, no pouting. There were of course, the usual vendors selling toys,balloons, candy floss, etc.; but they were very unintrusive and did not interfere with the performance what so ever. They began playing at around 7:30 PM and didn't stop until 10:30 PM. A few of the older children whose parents were standing close to us, would go away for awhile, I guess to play and would return to check in once in awhile. We were getting very tired and sore from standing for so long; but we didn't want to leave and miss anything. A couple of times, the leader would make out like they were finished and everyone would yell, "otra, otra", instead of "encore" and of course they would continue.
It was a wonderful concert. When they did eventually quit playing, we made our way down the street hoping that there would be a bus that we could get home on. We were lucky and there was one from our area, so we got on and rode to within 3 blocks of our place. We sat outside for a few minutes to unwind and I was getting goose bumps so went inside to get the thermometer. It was 11 PM by this time and our thermometer showed 24 C./76 F.. Hmmm.. I may need a parka this winter yet, if I am getting goose bumps already.
A wonderful evening.
1 comment:
Thanks for coming by my blog and commenting. Your blog is lovely.
I have lived in South East Texas for almost my whole life. In 1964 I hitchhiked to Mexico with a friend and instantly fell in love with its charm. I spent six weeks travelling around Mexico when I was in my early twenties.
I have learned a fair amount of Spanish and at one time was considering living in Mexico when I retired. It looks like I won't have to now, because I live in a working class Houston neighborhood and most of my neighbors were born in Mexico. So I guess you could say that Mexico has moved to ME.
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