Tonight was an evening of the arts at the Angela Peralta Theatre and I was uncertain as to what tonight’s performance was actually about. I have not attended many cultural events over the years as they are not available in the small town where we live and even if they were they wouldn’t be of this calibre. In the end it doesn’t matter whether you are a lover of classical music, ballet, opera, choir or anything else a live performance is an overwhelming cultural experience. So…here we go.
Ruth, Eddie, Angie and I left the park around 5pm on a big green bus. We were heading downtown early so we could have dinner at Hector’s before the concert which starts at 8pm. The traffic is heavy at this time of day so it was slow going and then …the going got slower. The bus was overfull and there wasn’t an inch left to squeeze another person in and as we travelled along it was obvious there was something wrong with the bus’s clutch….much grinding and wiggling of the gear shift by the driver. I’m guessing it’s been a problem for quite awhile but the rule of thumb in Mexico is….don’t fix anything until it’s actually completely broken and won’t go another inch! Well…that almost happened! We got a mile or so away from the theatre and the driver couldn’t get it into gear. The hood was up, the dash was off, the wrenches were out and he was really stressed out but….finally we were moving. By this time we were late for our 6pm reservation and we still had to walk about six blocks to the restaurant. Away we went.
We are still being let off a couple of blocks east of Benito Juarez because of paving and as we walked I noticed this building on Angele Flores. Just beautiful. As we hurried along a couple of guys were trying to sell their house and tried to get us to come and have a look! No gracias…not today!
We were in a hurry and there was no time for dilly dallying so this picture is blurry as I didn’t even stop to focus. Many buildings like this one by Revolution square are decorated for Carnival.
We made it to Hector’s and it seemed we had enough time for a leisurely dinner however service was a bit slow and it took some time to get a drink and order dinner.
I ordered the duck breast as did Ruth. Eddie had beef and Angie some sort of sandwich. Now the dinner was good but in my mind it’s a little light for an entree. No vegetables, rice or even a potato. Maybe I missed something and I was supposed to add this from another part of the menu but I don’t think so. Definitely not enough for a hungry man like Eric! We ended up by following dinner with a chocolomania dessert which had three items to share. By this time we were running late and I forgot all about pictures….time to dash to the theatre.
The Plazuela was all decorated and lit up. Many, many people strolling and eating around the square. Soft live music played here and there. Just lovely!
Tonight’s program guide.
We were seated in row O. Ruth and Eddie’s season’s tickets for Sundays are in row D so we are farther back tonight but…every seat is a good seat.
Tonight the theatre was really full….even the balconies.
The first part of the program included this beautiful young woman who I think may be last year’s Carnival queen as the part of her sash that I could see says Reina del Carnival.
She was joined by another beauty with a similar sash.
And now for the awards. As this was all in Spanish and I neither speak or read it I was a bit in the dark as to what was happening. However I do know that the gentleman in the centre (Alberto Ruy Sanchez) was receiving the 2018 Mazatlan Literature award. If you Google him you will see his many achievements.
At this point Senor Sanchez gave a rather lengthy speech which he did do partly in english.
And now….on with the show!
The Sinaloa symphony orchestra is seated and ready.
The conductor is Mazatlan born ….Enrique Patron de Rueda. “Music critics from Europe, South and North America say he’s probably the best lyrical conductor of our time.”
The first half of the concert contains a backdrop on the screen and a light show! There was also some sort of artsy fogging happening which burned my eyes a bit and had people coughing. I’m guessing it’s something to do with the evenings score which is from Scheherazade and Carmen.
Not sure what the significance of some of the images on the screen were about.
And now for the solo violinist….William Harvey. I have heard that a good violinist can make the violin talk….well tonight we heard a whole conversation! What a priviledge to be able to hear him.
He was recently named concertmaster of Mexico’s premier orchestra, the “ Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional.” Further information about his life and credits can also be found on Google.
At this point there was a short 15min intermission.
When the orchestra commenced for the second half Mr. Harvey popped up on the left hand lower balcony and then….
….at the end of our row!
Here he is playing on screen with a ballet dancer in the Fantasia de Carmen.
The orchestra was absolutely wonderful!
Here we have another visual production of a ballet which was confusing at first. After a little research I found out that it is the ballet Bolero and the orchestra was playing the score. It started with one male ballet dancer who was naked on top and as it progressed more and more from the outer ring joined in. I don’t know which ballet troupe is performing.
“ Bolero is a one-movement orchestral piece by the French composer Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937.) Originally composed as a ballet commissioned by Russian actress and dancer Ida Rubenstein, the piece which premiered in 1928, is Ravel’s most famous musical composition.
The dance was as hypnotic as the music.
The applause was just thunderous as the program drew to a close and the audience was on it’s feet….
The orchestra concluded with an encore number that showed visual clips of Mexico in all it’s glory.
Viva Mexico!
By the time we were done the audience was once again on their feet and there were beaming smiles on the faces of the performers, conductor and orchestra. Thank-you so much ….it was just glorious!!
Another moving blurry shot as we wander into the Plazuela to find a ride home.
We ended up in a taxi and the cost home was 150 pesos….cheap. The interesting part of the ride was that the taxi driver seemed uncertain as to where we were going at one point. Angie was to get off first in the Golden Zone but the driver had avoided that route and was now confused as to where she actually needed to get go.
Enter electronics! He brought a young lady up on his mounted cellphone and opened video chat so she could help him out. Funny enough she spoke perfect english and is presently residing in Victoria, B.C., Canada. She is from Mazatlan but she is employed to help the cab drivers with directions and works remotely. How wierd is that! She chatted to us as she figured out his route and pretty soon everything was all in order. We were dropped off at the park first and then Angie would be dropped off on his way back downtown. We paid him 200 pesos and he left to deliver Angie to her condo.
A perfectly lovely and eventful evening!
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