The Final 2 Days of Tour

Great time was had in Campinas. The concert went well...the church was great...amazing stained glass windows and one was a tribute to JFK! Then we came to Sao Paolo this morning for a quick tour, check in and then the final tour banquet...great fun as had by all and tomorrow afternoon we are off to the airport for the YGC's return to New York. I will stay at an hotel at the airport and off to Argentina the next morning!

CAMPINAS

In Campinas after an 8 hour bus ride....rehearsal tomorrow and noontime concert....will post pics tomorrow night!

BUSY COUPLE OF DAYS!

Whew....Crazy busy these past couple of days!!!

The day after seeing Christ the Redeemer, we went to Sugar Loaf (Pao de Acucar) We went up in glass walled cable cars to the top of the mountain for an amazing view! I have only been up that high in a plane!

Then our first concert in Brazil at the Candelaria Cathedral...It has be seen...one of the most amazing Cathedrals I have ever seen. Concert was well received and the students had a great time!

On Thursday, we spent the day working with the kids from the Cidade de Deus (City of God) slum. Made famous by the movie City of God. The Yale Alumni Chorus sponsors a choir here and we went to do some more work with them. The choir is from the community center CASA DE SANTA ANA - run by an amazing woman named Maria.

I had the great opportunity to go into the slum with our cameraman during the day..... This is one of the most dangerous places in Rio...these slums are run by drug dealers and murderers.....Right now it is under police occupation, so we were allowed to go in...The poverty and living conditions are overwhelming. Witnessing how these kids live, was life changing... That evening we performed with the kids and had dinner with them....Having seen how they live and what they have to deal with, and then watching them have an incredible time singing and dancing with the Glee Club, I was speechless and could not hold it together during the concert. We had dinner with the kids after the concert at a local restaurant........What a great evening, singing and joking, no barriers...they went past the language.

On Friday, up early and to rehearsal with the Brazilian Symphony, voices are tired and folks are sick with colds, but they made it through! That evening a concert in Ipanema...beautiful church and a well attended concert.

Last night we opened our concert....Haydn's Creation with the Brazilian Symphony.....Candelaria cathedral was packed with standing room only and the Glee Club performed at top of their game!

Today, barring the weather, we are off to the legendary HIPPY MARKET, a large flea market and arts market of local talents, then the second night of the Creation and off to Campinas tomorrow!

CORCOVADO - CHRIST THE REDEEMER

-----------------AMAZING----------------

At the top of Corcovado mountain is the incredible CHRIST THE REDEEMER statue. - What an amazing site...pictures cannot do it justice....The views from Corcovado are breathtaking, but also incredible is the huge size of the statue...

You take a train up the mountian at a 45 degree angle then four flights of stairs, followed by an escalator up to the summit.....you just have to look at the pictures.....

After that we went on to a buffet lunch and a rehearsal with Maestro Minchuk who will be conducting this weekend....it will be spectacular

I then took a great walk on Copacabana beach...followed by dinner and then Jeff and I stopped bya rooftop party that the YGC was having. Tomorrow we are off to Sugar loaf which you can see in the pictures....a glass walled tram over the ocean will get us there....WOW!

All in all a great day!

Buenos Aires

Spent some more time in Buenos Aires...What a great city. We had a great concert at the Methodist church followed by a pizza dinner.......When we came out of the restaurant I realized how close we were to the obelisk....AMAZING! The followng day we went to San Telmo for the famed flea market and on to lunch at a local Cantina in Soho. That evening a great concert at the Cathedral Metropolitana...the most important catholic church in Argentina...great audience! After the concert we went off to San Telmo and the famous Viejo Almacen club, in the area where Tango got its start. We had a great dinner and saw an amazing Tango show. Got home at 12:00 Midnite to pack and leave the hotel at 3:00 am to catch our flight to Rio de Janeiro.

We arrived this morning and went on a tour of Rio, saw the HUGE MODERN Rio de Janeiro Cathedral, and checked into our hotel...ONE BLOCK FROM COPACABANA BEACH! Dinner tonight at a local buffet.....off to bed for a tour of Christ teh Redeemer statue in the morning!

LUNCH WITH CARLOS

Had a great lunch with Carlos today...we talked for about 3 hours...I spoke with Adriana and Topo while we were at lunch...Whata great time...More later!!!

Day 2 & 3

We woke early and went off to a private, government funded all girls school for a brief concert...The girls thought the YGC were rock stars! It was a great morning!...After that we were off to La Plata for a tour, saw the famed La Plata Cathedral, the largest Catehdral in South America, went to rehearsal, and a concert...followed by an Asado dinner! Then we got back to the hotel at 2:00 AM! My Rotary brother Carlos was at the concert and my Rotary brother Cristian's son......What a great reunion! We got up this morning and were off the the country! We spent the day at a ranch! horeseback riding in the morning, followed by an asado and a tango/gaucho dance show! We came back to Buenos Aires and had a workshop and a rehearsal for tomorrow night's concert........What a full schedule! It has been great. Free day tomorrow for shopping and lunch with Carlos and then a concert tomorrow night!

DAY ONE!

Today we arrived early this morning to meet our tour guides, Hernan and Joaquin. We left the airport on a whirlwind tour of Buenos Aires, including a trip to The Metropolitan Cathedral on the Plaza de Mayo, where there was a prostest, the Boca section of the city and Recoleta Cemetary, the burial place of Eva Peron.
We then went and checked into the hotel where Jeff (the YGC director) and I were both given really nice suites!....Off to La Plata tomorrow for a workshop and a concert, and a visit to the concert by Carlos and either Cristian or his son...... Topo's sister Valeriamay also come to the concert!
Will try and post daily. So far things are great!