Well, my last Concert in Grecia went well, and a lot of my friends were able to come out to it, including Pablo Ortiz, who I invited up to play
with me for the close of the Concert. It was truly a grand finale! We had such a great time that we are now planning to do
more Concerts together in near future! I am also planning to start hosting
Guitar Competitions in conjunction with our Concerts, and Pablo is also
enthusiastic about that possibility! I think it will be a great way to inspire
people here, and especially the kids, to get into the Music & the Arts!
Now, I'd like to switch gears, and focus on the condition of music & the arts, in
general, here in Costa Rica... a few weeks ago, I was invited to play at the Inauguration of the
Community Games for Sarchi, Valverde Vega. And as a result I was able to
meet the Diputado (like a Congressman or Senator), for the area, Luis
Antonio Barantes. The Alcalde
(Mayor) for Sarchi, Victor Rojas Vega. And the National, and Provincial Directors of ICODER
(the Costa Rican Institute for Sports, and Recreation), Gorge Muñoz & Johnny Gómez Vega, as well as the local ICODER Committee for Sarchi.
They were all very helpful, and excited about
my proposal to promote Music & Culture in these outlying areas of the
country. With the aim of inspiring the youth to take up Music instead of
Drugs, and at the same time giving the local community a cultural outlet to
bring their families to for a nice evening out on a regular basis! It looks as
though, at least hopefully, that the Diputado, Luis Antonio Barantes Castro, will have success in obtaining a
Grant to build an Amphitheatre in Sarchi. That would be wonderful, as the
neighboring Communities of Grecia & Naranjo would easily have access to it
as well, thus making Sarchi a bit of a Cultural "hub" for the immediate
area!
I am interested in contacting National, and International
businesses, Banks, Foundations, and Governments for support towards
investing in local communities, for the
founding of Theater/Opera Houses, Concert Halls, and Cultural Centers.
The challenge is not whether there are plenty of Cultural activities in
Costa Rica... It is that they are almost exclusively held in the
Capitol, San Jose. And that doesn't help the local farming families in
terms of having access to them... and there's a lot of talent here
that just needs to have an outlet! If you're interested in talking with
me about any of this, please feel free to contact me via my contact
page. My hope is to get people involved in this so they can carry it on
to completion once my Parents & I return to Europe, probably some time next year.
I am also in process of building my first Electric Guitar. It is based on the Strat style, and I am modifying it to use an Acoustic bridge sensor for acoustic tone as well! I'll write a bit more about this when I have more photos to post!
I've also been busy with students, and guitar repairs, so that keeps me
occupied, but I am trying to take more, and more time to play my guitar, and come up with new material...
That's been fun!
Take care, Buddy
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