Hey folks, sorry I haven’t posted anything for the last couple of weeks. I’ve been working on a little project and it’s taken up a lot of my time. Yes, I promise I’ll tell you about it when it’s time. In the meantime….
This little community we’ve moved to is totally in to their entertainment. In the three months we’ve been here I have attended a jazz festival, volunteered at a film festival/art show and just today attended my first live play. All of these events take place at the Boquete Community Center, an events center built by the ex-pat population and maintained through the commitment and hard work of volunteers.
They dedicate themselves to bringing great entertainment to the rest of us and I am grateful for the impact they’ve made on our community.
Taken verbatim from the official web page of the 2011 Boquete Jazz Festival:
The beautiful Chiriqui Highlands have long been one of the favorite vacation sites, with the beautiful jewel of Chiriqui Boquete. Boquete’s natural beauty is the perfect setting to stimulate the creative talent and artistic skills of its visitors. So it is not surprising that Boquete sponsored a festival of world class jazz in February 2011. These four days, from February 24 to 27, include concerts with the participation of top talent in jazz.
The night John and I attended, a lively group called Spicy Latin Jazz performed, followed by the world class jazz musician, Carlos Garnet. While I didn’t capture a quick vid of Sr. Garnet, I did snag a few seconds of Spicy Latin Jazz. Enjoy:
Three months later, the Boquete Community Players presented the Film Festival and Art Show. Over the course of May 5th and 6th, patrons were able to view films dealing with the arts (Frida, Pollack, Lust for Life, Girl with the Pearl Earring and others) and also to stroll through aisles of original artwork, presented by some of Boquete’s finest artists. (No, yours truly did not have a booth, although I am working on that for next year!) I volunteered to take tickets at the door and thoroughly enjoyed the films “My Left Foot” (yea, yea, yea, I know, never seen it) and “Pollack”. One of our local photographers took pics of the artists and I just completely ripped off his web site. Here’s a very apologetic “thank you” to http://www.bcpboquete.com. Enjoy these!
Photos from the 2011 Film Festival and Art Show
Okay, so we’ve covered music, art and film. What’s left? Oh yea, live theater. Of course! Welcome to Chiriqui Players’ “Dead Man’s Cell Phone”. 8 performances: Thursday through today (May 15th) and the same schedule next week. It is a really cute show, but more than that my next door neighbor, Susan, plays the lead and another friend, Anya, has a really juicy and fun part. Here are a couple of images from the show:
Front page of today's theater program
This next photo shows a scene where a large part of the cast in on stage. I wasn’t supposed to take a picture with a flash, so I snuck this with my flash turned off. I think it turned out, okay, don’t you? Hey, and in case you’re asking, my friend Anya is second from the left and neighbor, Sue, is on the right:
A scene from "Dead Man's Cell Phone"
So, while it may not be Madison Square Garden, the Guggenheim or Broadway, I gotta tell ya, the active little community of Boquete, Panama, works hard to bring culture and art to this part of the world. And I’ll let you in on a secret: it’s much more fun and relevant here!
(By the way and just so’s ya know: I’m scheming to make off with that fun red table in the photo, above. You don’t supposed the prop master will notice it missing after next Sunday’s performance, do you? Yea, I didn’t think so, either…..)
Next up: a quick little essay about bridges here in Boquete. Hope to get that posted in the next few days. Take care, all, and “break a leg”!
I’ve been hoping you would throw us a bone soon. Thanks for the update! I love reading every little bit and piece about your new life. You may be surprised to know that even the most mundane things are interesting to hear about whilst we are stuck back here in the 9 to 5 hum drums. Love to you, love to John. Oh, and are there any friends of Bill in the ex pat community?
Oh, Meg, I do so miss you! And I do need to write more about the mundane, because it helps clear my head. Maybe the next essay will be all those little notes I save for future blog topics. Just stuff I’ve observed in the world around me.
Having a strong friends of Bill W. community was a pre-requisite for moving down here! About 5 meetings per week available in the basement of the local insurance agent’s office. AND, I think I’m working on a deal to rent an empty office in the insurance suite above the room to use as an art studio! Just think, a real live art studio away from the house right above the meetings. Ya don’t get more spiritual than that! My dream come true! (Well, that AND a threesome with Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp….but….never mind…..)
Stop! Stop! With every blog I can’t wait till we get there. You are making it so hard to stay here. I can’t wait to we are residents of Boquete. Just love reading your stories. Please don’t stop.
BOQUETE SOUNDS WONDERFUL….. HOW FAR IS VOLCAN FROM BOQUETE WE HAVE RENTED A SMALL CASITA IN VOLCAN TO CK OUT THE AREA SINCE WE RENTED IT…. WE HAVE CERTAINLY FALLEN IN LOVE WITH BOQUETE GIGI