Music in Huaraz -
The Piano -

When we were in Guatemala and in Mesquite, I started giving piano lessons to those who were interested. There were more candidates here than I could reasonably teach each week. It finally narrowed down to eight, some who started from the beginning last  year and several who joined more recently to replace some who dropped out.  

Unfortunately there are not many opportunities for young people to receive music lessons here and they are very expensive so people have no idea how long it takes to learn to play.  I had one primary president ask if I could come one Sunday and teach the primary children to play the piano--I said no.  The first week or two I tried giving the lessons at the church but that didn't work out at all since I was left waiting in the cold chapel when they didn't show up or no one came with a key to open the gate and the doors.  So we bought a keyboard and I gave the lessons in our apartment--much better. 

Thursday night we held a recital at the Church for the eight students that made the effort to come for lessons.  Here are a few photo highlights.

Since the chapel is being remodeled, we moved the electronic piano to this classroom and it worked very well.  (The floor is beautiful wood that is being refinished.) This is a very nice piano/organ that has pre-recorded hymns that can be used if there is no pianist, but I don't think they use it.  They just sing acapella. Hopefully a few of my students will be able to play for meetings sometime in the future.

I played the opening piece, "Flur Elise", so none of  the students would have to be first. I told them that I had much more empathy for them since I was trying to learn to play the harp and that we all had to continue practicing. They were still all very nervous since none had ever played before an audience before.

This is the program we printed with the eight participants and their songs.  All of the songs were from various levels of the John Thompson books that I had copied or various hymn books.  I hope I don't go to jail for copyright violations but there is no beginning music available here. 

Here are four nervously awaiting their turn, starting with the second from the right. Monica, Vicky, Mauricio and Carlos.  It has been amazing to see the difference in their ability.  Monica is still working to master the first song she started on a year ago and Carlos is playing out of the third grade Thompson book after less than a year, plus everything in between. 

This was a duet with Rodrigo, age 10, the youngest student. His number: "Coming Around the Mountain". It was "foot-tapping good!"  I am going to give my keyboard to him since his older brother "hogs" theirs all the time and I think he is going to continue progressing.

This is Carlos, one of two non-member students and the most advanced. He is playing hymns from the standard hymnbook after only eight months of lessons. He wants to be a professional pianist someday and this is a good beginning.

This is Joseph, one of the better students who is playing some simplified hymns. He was really nervous but is determined to get good enough to play for his ward. 

Here they are: (Back row) Carlos, Mauricio, Joseph, Vicky, Mónica, Sharon and Tracy. (Front row) Rodrigo and Marilyn.

We had our favorite bakery around the corner from our apartment make this chocolate sheet cake. The wording says: "Congratulations - Keep Practicing", which was my constant reminder to each student as they departed from their weekly lessons.  They all thought the cake was so funny. The 34 in attendance devoured the whole thing--well, plus a few extra people that always seem to appear when there is a dessert around.

The Harp -
I have been wanting to learn to play the harp for quite a few years so we decided to buy one.This is an Andean harp and is quite different from a standard classical harp like the one in the Orchestra at Temple Square. It is basically always played in the key of C since there are no levers to add sharps or flats.  But it has a very pretty tone when someone who knows how is playing it.

We had it made to order here in Huaraz with all natural wood and hand carving. With its carrying case included, the cost was about 1/3 or much less of what a comparable harp would have cost in the U.S.

Next, we had to find an instructor and we found the best. Sr. Siles Sanchez, is known throughout Peru as one of their premier musicians; he plays and teaches, harp, violin, guitar, saxophone, trumpet, percussion, and a few other native Peruvian instruments. After the first lesson at his studio, he agreed to come to the apartment each week and teach a one hour lesson for U.S. $8.35 per lesson. What a blessing! We attended a concert last week in the  city cultural center and he was one of the featured musicians, playing the harp.  It was inspiring and beautiful.  You can find him on YouTube playing the harp and the violin.

Student and master.  He is very patient and I know just how he feels when he says to "keep practicing". We have spent the last couple of lessons with me learning to tune the harp--which is one of the biggest challenges because it gets out of tune so quickly.

  The colored strings are the base notes and are much thicker than the very thin high note strings or in this case wires.  The high notes are the ones that break and then that is another whole challenge to replace a string.

Look out Carnegie Hall, here I come! Well, not really. I sound just like Monica. We have ordered a box made to bring the harp home in.  It will look like we are bringing a coffin off the plane but we don't want to take any chances on it getting damaged.

Vehicles -

Last year we posted a number of photos of interesting cars, vans and moto-taxis we have seen in Huaraz. Here are a few more auto-related photos.

Our landlord purchased a new Suzuki several months ago and had this roof built to protect it from the sun and rain. It has an alarm system and each time their cat climbs on the roof to take a nap, the car makes a sound but not a full alarm. At first it startled the cat but now she is used to it. For the first months the owner wiped it off each day and washed it several times a week, whether it needed it or not. He finally gave up when the cat left tracks each day in the dust on the hood and windshield.

The old Chevy pickup now is parked out in the cold.

The son of an older couple who are members of the Church and live straight across the park from us owns this VW. They were driving it to church one Sunday and picked us up. Brought back a lot of memories.

This is a beauty. It still has the original VW emblem on the hood.

Mint condition all around. I believe it is an early 60's model, judging from the larger rear window and the larger tail lights.

How about this pristine VW Kombi van?

Judging from the grillwork, this is a mid to late 50's model.

It is in good condition all around.

Another morning I passed by the VW Kombi and there was the garbage awaiting pickup. See previous blog posting on the garbage system here.

One morning as we left for the archives, we encountered this meeting of moto-taxi drivers and their vehicles. Not sure what this was all about.

There were a lot of them! Largest group we have seen in one place.

Windows -
This may be an unusual subject to post to our blog but we have found the variety of windows in Huaraz very interesting. Here is a sampling.

We'll start with this 4 story home and the unfinished commercial building next to it.

An unusual design of small panes in each window. I would not want the window-washing job at this house.

Nice variety of windows here. This is the second and third floors of a home.

This house is right across the street from our apartment.

A nice assortment of window shapes, all in one three story home on a corner.

"Einsteinitos" is the name of this colorful preschool about 3 blocks from our apartment. Lots of window shapes here.

Why would you angle the corners on all your windows?

Here is a collection of window styles on three different buildings. All appear to be homes although there businesses on the bottom floor of two.

Some uniformity here, kinda sorta I guess. Homes on the upper floors and businesses on the ground floor.

The former hostal in front of our apartment building recently received a new paint job and here you can see the painters putting on the final touches. The owner (our landlord) has converted it into three apartments, one on each floor, with three bedrooms and four bathrooms in each one. Actually the windows on this one are a little different.

Waste Removal in Huaraz -

We have been interested in the garbage collection system in the city. It is certainly different from what we know at home. Basically each home or business puts their garbage out either late at night or very early in the morning. Pickup times vary depending on where you live on the route. At our apartment, the truck comes twice, once at, or near, 6:00 a.m. and again around 7:00 a.m. We always take it out in the morning and try to catch the 7:00 a.m. pickup. The truck comes every day except Sunday and you can put out your garbage as frequently as needed. 

In my early morning walks, I have been able to observe the various forms and locations of the garbage as well as the fate of some of the garbage that is put out at night.

These were on the corner across from our apartment, awaiting pickup by the garbage truck.

This is the usual method: bag it up and set it on the curb in front of your dwelling.

Here is another option, put it out by your car so the truck will be sure to see it.

This is interesting. The blue barrel is a garbage can but perhaps the homeowner, not being sure how soon it would be emptied, chose to put his garbage in a more visible location to ensure pickup that morning.

A creative option. Probably to make it a little more difficult for the ever present street dogs to get into the garbage.

Not all garbage is bagged.

Easy spot to remember, the street corner with the leaning street sign.

Umbrella anyone? Looks like several neighbors contributed to this pile.

Here is why it is not wise to put your garbage out at night or too early in the morning -- dogs! There are lots of street dogs here and this is perhaps the only source of food for them.

Taking his picture didn't seem to deter him from his objective.

Same corner, different day, different dog. They must have tasty scraps.

A doggie bag for take out! Maybe he didn't want to share his meal with the other dogs.

"Let sleeping dogs lie" might apply to this group. What do the street dogs do when not rummaging through garbage? Take a nap. These were on the main street downtown in front of the post office.

Garbage is not the only thing that gets piled in the street. This is construction material from the project to the left. It is covered to protect from the rain and possibly theft. Also to let the garbage truck know that it is not garbage.

This construction waste is probably intended for pickup.

A mixed assortment of construction waste and garbage.

A neat and tidy pile. Probably indicates the owner is still using the sand or gravel that is underneath.

Apparently anything can be put out for pick up.

This has been on the street for months. Obviously not in running condition,

The back doesn't look much better.

There are trash cans around the city, but not very many. There are two in the park in front of our apartment. They swivel on the posts and are emptied by tipping the bottom up until the contents fall out.

This is another style that we have seen in some residential areas. It keeps the garbage away from the dogs but they are not used very much. Most people prefer to put out their plastic bags on the curb.

Last year we posted a picture of the garbage pickup ladies who worked our neighborhood. I have not seen them since the first of the year when the new mayor was sworn in. Ladies like this one are all over the city all day sweeping up and gathering garbage, litter and dog droppings from the streets and sidewalks. Thanks to them there is some semblance of sanitation on the sidewalks and streets of the city.

Huaraz does have modern garbage trucks to pick up the bags and debri that are left out each morning. Notice the stuffed animals on the roof. Since this picture was taken they have added several more. They play music as they make their rounds as well as a recorded message about sanitation. The music easily penetrates your early morning slumber, thanks to the loudspeaker on the roof of the cab.

"Municipality District of Independencia" "A clean district is a healthy district" - We actually live in the city of Independencia, which is adjacent to Huaraz. The men riding on the back of the truck jump off and pick up the garbage and throw it in the back as the truck moves slowly through the streets.