Friday at IESC

Friday was the last day of folklorico week for the grade schoolers. I was lucky enough to be able to ditch my classes and attend the program. The kids were judged by 4 teachers on each performance. Though the singing was off at times, it was fun. First the Princesses came in; all 7 of them. They are so tiny! Of course, they are only 5th graders.

Our beautiful Princesses.




These two, and others are singing with just the ukulele-type instrument. This kind of singing from the Interior. It has its own rhythm and count. From what I understand, usually the singers make up words as they sing and have insulting contests with the other contestants. That's not what they did at IESC.



Now for some call and response groups. These groups were accompanied by heavy drumming only. The influence is obviously African and really cool when done well.




It's time for the dancers.




These groups sang songs accompanied by a small band with guitars, drums and an accordion. They usually sing about life, Panama, and clothes. That's right, I heard them singing about polleras which are the pretty dresses they wear.



What a week! Next week they have exams and I get the week off.

Friday Evensong

Thursday at IESC

Yesterday we saw the Princesses in their beautiful outfits worthy of Carnival. I was told the students didn't want to pick just one girl, so all these girls were the princesses. The pictures tell it all.

May I present the Princesses of Instituto Episcopal San Cristóbal.







Formal presentation of the Princesses in the new gym. The noise was amazing. The music was loud and the students had whistles and horns which were blown continually. The float was pulled by a few of the male teachers around the gym so the girls could wave at all the students.








All the Princesses on the stage.

Friday Random Top Ten Nine

Ya pushes "shuffle" and ya takes yer chances. . . .

1. You Get What You Deserve Big Star
2. Mr. Disappointment Neil Young and Booker T.
3. Cloudbusting Kate Bush
4. It's A Boy The Who
5. Melt The Guns XTC
6. Rich Kid Blues The Raconteurs
7. Shut Up Black Eyed Peas
8. Honey Are You Straight Or Are You Blind? Elvis Costello and the Attractions
9. Twist Barbie Shonen Knife

I was tempted to stop after Big Star, but I kept going. I was tempted to stop after XTC, but I kept going. I was tempted to stop after The Raconteurs, but I kept on going. I finally had to stop after Shonen Knife, as there was no way at all it could get any better! What a list!! I used the iTunes on the macmini at home, which has all the same songs as the eMac at work, but seems to chose different stuff in the shuffle.

Waddaya listenin' to?

Wednesday at IESC

This has been quite a week so far at the school. Everyday is something different. Yesterday, the grade schoolers had an open house. Each room was decorated as a different Province in Panama. They were also serving the kind of food served in said Province. The kids were really welcoming when I went into their classrooms. I got a couple of pamphlets, a key chain, and some Panama candy. These are the rooms I got to see.

This is from the Province of Colon.


This is a representation of Chiriqui which is by the Costa Rica border.

I found Hilary, who is a member of our parish while I was looking at the display in her room. Her class was doing the Province of Los Santos.

Panamanians like big masks.



These girls are wearing Kuna clothes

I'm not sure which tribe these girls represent, but they are cute.

This is the Ngobe Bugle room. I don't know much about them, but I do see Ngobe Bugles around.





As you can probably guess, this is a week of fun. Tomorrow, I will post pictures of the 5th grade queens. Wait till you see their costumes.

Smiles Are In The Genes

Left to right Unca Jimmy, Aunt Manny, Granpa, with Shigeiko-san, Okuma, Okinawa, 1962

left to right Mommy and Auntie Anne, San José, CA, sometime in the 1980's

Miss Bebé, Berkeley, CA, 2010

Tuesday at IESC

Michael and I were really surprised to see all the kids with play horses taking up the street in front of the church when we tried to turn the corner in front of the church. We couldn't even get into our parking spot. So, I parked the car in another place and learned that the little kids were practicing a tradition from one of the provinces in the interior.

This is folklorico week for the grade school kids. Yesterday, Tuesday, I didn't teach at all. First off, the other band teacher didn't show and he has the key to the room. The band was on its way home from Costa Rica, so I guess he wanted the day off. Turned out for the best.

Later, I learned about another tradition from the interior about greasy pole climbing called Palo de cebado. The pole was greased with pork fat and four teams of eight tried to reach the top. I stayed for over an hour and no one had made it. I don't know if they did. Apparently, this is done all the time outside the city. One teacher told me in her day the kids practiced all year long and when the day came, it was easy for them. These students had never done it, so it was quite a challenge. Below are photos.

Waiting for the parade to start.


Off to parade around the neighborhood.


The kids returning from the parade.


Here are the students waiting for the palo de cebado contest to start. Notice all the space in front of them.


Teams are getting instructions.

So much space for the teams to work in.

As you can see, the police tape is still up and students are closing in.

Now, the police tape is down and everyone crowds around the teams as they attempt the climb to the top. We teachers lost all control. Everyone started to participate, including some of the teachers.