"A Night in Central America" by Michele Medina

This is called "A Night in Central America."
This has meaning. The wood and the candles are the most significant. I did this to relate the Honduran culture to my own Nicaraguan culture.
The wood panel represents 2 things: the cities, pueblos, buildings, and the infrastructures of places in Central America. The wood also represents the father figure, a foundation of the family as well as representing my own father because he is a carpenter.
The candles represent the resources available in Central America. Sometimes there is no light or electricity (among other resources), but there are other things you can use instead to fill your needs (such as candles or sun for light). The candles also represent the mother figure, the giver of light and hope. If you notice there is melted wax as the soil of the painting and as the stars.
Then of course, the verdant nature is represented by the eglantine in the sky (as if the candles were trees and there was a canopy of green), and the moon representing the night.

Mozart, Manu Chao, and Improvisations in F

March 18, 2012 17:26 On March 17, the students of The Day-Star School in Juticalpa participated in a mini-concert that I pulled together with the help of La Sociedad de la Cultura. It was an amazing event. It was wonderful! We all got to share and appreciate each others talent. We had a lot of support from the teachers and students. Everyone kept asking me when the next time we were going to have another concert. I have a few more months left in Juticalpa, and it will be my pleasure to pull together another concert!

I began the program, introducing the performers in English and Spanish. My beginning piece was Mozart's Sonata 34 and many people commented on my manual dexterity. Quite a compliment! Then I introduced Victoria and her brother Leo. They played "In the Mood" on saxophone. Then I played Bach's Andante in A Minor, a piece that I have been working on ever since I got to Juticalpa. After that, Roger played a guitar solo, then Josue and Roger both played La Chispa Adecuada. It is a beautiful melody and their dedication to the guitar was apparent. My favorite part of the program was something that went unplanned. Since a performer did not show up, Josue and I had to think fast. Josue woke up on Saturday morning with a tune in his head. He improvised it and so we decided that he would play it and I would improvise from his music. It was perfect: authentic, original, peaceful, beautiful, and inspiring.

Another teacher, Ted, played and sang songs by Manu Chao with Leo the saxophonist. Then, one of my 8th graders Tania sang "My heart will go on" from Titanic with Leo. The other really wonderful part about the whole show was my student Jorge. He played "Can you feel the love tonight" by Elton John on the keyboard. Everyone was very impressed with his piano skills. I'm pretty sure that he does most of his playing by ear. Most of these students play music by ear, and reading music isn't something that is very common here.

I am so proud of my students! I wasn't sure how it was going to go, and there wasn't any electricity that day. I was a little concerned about Jorge and his keyboard, but he had a battery for the keyboard. These students are so dedicated! It was such a pleasure to work with the Cultural Society, with the students, and other teachers. The next event will be just as great!

La Historia de Honduras Website

Absolutely beautiful music.

http://stores.imaginemusicpublishing.com/-strse-953/Michael-Patilla-Guitar-Solo/Detail.bok

Artists and their Visual Symphonies

I've been working hard on a school-wide art show at The Day-Star School in Juticalpa. It's going well, especially since it's about a month away. At first, I was only going to have it for grades 7-12. But, though I knew it'd be more work, I decided to let grades 4-6 enter too because I know that they are very talented too. Plus, it's been fun getting to know some of the other kids.

 So far, I've got over 120 entries, and I'm not done organizing the names yet! The director and I decided that I am going to have to select the best art -- which might be a challenge because some students are so talented. I'm getting help from other teachers, and my students are going to be required to help me set up and take everything down. March 12-23 is going to be a busy time for me because of this event.

One thing that is very important to me during my time in Juticalpa is expanding the culture. I volunteer with the Society of Culture in Juticalpa and many times someone says something about "There is no culture here". Living here has been frustrating at times because there is not a whole lot to do and it's highly suggested that you don't leave your house past 7 pm. I've gotten used to it because I focus on work and am pretty dedicated to the Society of Culture and La Casa de la Cultura (see Facebook page that I started!). For example, I have set up a recital that will include students and teachers. I'm going to play Bach and possibly De Falla (depending on if it's ready or not) but I'm really excited to improvise with my students who play the guitar. I'm not sure what else is going to happen on the day of the recital, but the nice thing is that we can plan it relaxed and let the program work itself out.

Finally, I have also arranged and art show at La Casa de la Cultura. This will take place in April, and so far I will involve the best entries from the Day-Star School art show. Every little attempt to augment the culture here seemed slow at first, but now I'm seeing results! It's really exciting, and I'm getting to know my own students on a different level. One of my students Ricardo painted this picture with his friend Jorge. Before I even suggested combining art and music, the two friends decided that they were going to paint their assigned landscape and refer to music. I was impressed I loved looking at their piece as they were painting it. I can't wait to see what they contribute for the art show!

Quote: “Art is a beautiful symphony that we musicians love to play.” – Ricardo

Violinist.com Blog

Link to my violinist blog:
http://www.violinist.com/blog/Michelita

After Nicaragua, back to D'Olancho!

I'm back in Juticalpa, Honduras. To celebrate this relaxing day and return home, I cooked up some frijoles rojos with a bunch of D'Olancho and also prepared an ensalada with lechuga, tomates, vinagre, sal, pimiento, and aceite de oliva. I also bought some decent tortillas de maiz. I still need to find a person to buy good corn tortillas from!

La Michele, Lindsay Michel, Cristobel, Elaine, Sariel, Kenny, Abuela Consuelo, y Freddy.

For the last days of 2011 and the first of 2012, I was in Nicaragua. I had a blast. It was my primera navidad outside of the United States. . . and not with my immediate family. I celebrated with my Nica family: Abuela Consuelo, Aquiles, Zadyr, My Tio Ricardo from Florida, and finally from my dad's family Tio Carlos O. and Tia Jenny O. with their hijas and nieto.  That's not it, though. Zadyr has a wonderful girlfriend Sandi Bel. Among the two, they have 5 wonderful children. And even more, the maid of my Abuela, Maria celebrated with us too. She has the cutest little boy ever, Freddy. I am in love with him! So is everybody else. He's such a wonderful baby.

Maria y Freddy

 Relleno, Pollo, and Ensalada

These pictures are only some of the comida I ate.  I ate tons of gallo pinto, sopa, mariscos (pescado) y relleno. Aquiles and Zadyr took me to Mercado Oriental to buy some soup one day, another day, they made me sopa de pescado. What else? I ate some yummy salads in Montelimar, San Juan del Sur, and Managua. And, delicioso pollo in Catarina. I also rode this lovely caballo in Catarina. The path overlooks Laguna de Apoyo. I like this picture because it gives me some ideas for my new novela that will entertain my mind while I've nothing else to do. When I'm not watching Teresa, I suppose!

In San Juan del Sur, my family and I ate, and then I stayed after they left. I really just needed to relax, and this was a perfect opportunity. This beach is beautiful, and of course full of tourists. I didn't really talk to anyone because I was just soaking in the beauty and wrote a lot, went to bed, and went back to Managua dark and early on the bus.

 

Izquierda: Michelita, Aquiles, y Sandi Bel. 

I don't know if you can see, but Aquiles and I are joined at the hip. At least, we were for this trip. It was really nice to get a tour from Viajes Aquilitos, como siempre.  

Derecha: Zadyr and Sandi Bel. They're really cute, and Sandi is such a warm being. I'm also really happy that she loves to bailar! I love dancing!

I had such an amazing time. No tengo suficiente palabras to describe how much I love going to Nicaragua to spend time with my family and get to know my country. There is so much more that I did and have done, and I'm happy to share it! I can't wait to go again!

Art Lesson Plan Website

http://pinterest.com/