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Posts: 21
Joined: Jan. 10 2016
From: Vina del Mar, Chile via San Francisco, CA
Hello from Vina del Mar, Chile
My wife jokingly calls me Paco when I'm practicing flamenco, so I guess I will start there. I have been studying both classical and flamenco guitar for a little over seven years now. I love both forms, but must admit I enjoy practicing flamenco a little more. My love for the music of the classical/flamenco guitar began in the 60s, but my own playing of it didn't begin until I was in my 60s. I have taken classical lessons with a private teacher, and also in an ensemble class at the local community college. My flamenco studies began with an intensive one-week course I took while visiting Seville. The materials that my teacher there gave me are still the ones I am trying to master (it's getting easier day-by-day). Fortunately, I was exposed to the fun of making music in a Catholic grammar school choir, and have never lost the desire to become good enough at some instrument to entertain both myself and my friends. One of the legacies of the choir experience was an appreciation of the joy that can be derived from making music together with others. This probably explains why I particularly enjoy ensemble pieces, and why I really love the connection that is made within a flamenco group. Looking forward to similar experiences on this forum. I currently reside in Vina del Mar, Chile with my Chilean wife. For now let me just sign off as, Paco del Vina:lol:
Posts: 6447
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy
RE: Hello from Vina del Mar, Chile (in reply to otirroz)
Welcome Paco, would love to visit Chile. My wife is Mexican, but she doesn't want to live there. We have members all over the World, so perhaps I'll do a vuelta grande one day
Posts: 3497
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
RE: Hello from Vina del Mar, Chile (in reply to otirroz)
Welcome Paco! You are fortunate to be living in Vina del Mar. In a U.S. Foreign Service career spent primarily in Southeast Asia, I was fortunate to have a couple of Latin American assignments, one of which was to the American Embassy in Santiago, Chile. I was assigned to Santiago from 1987 to 1990, the final three years of the Pinochet regime. An interesting time to say the least.
I always enjoyed Vina del Mar, and my wife and I often would spend the weekend at an Embassy-leased cottage in Zapallar, north of Vina. We would enjoy the quiet and the fireplace at the cottage in Zapallar, and we would rent horses from a local huaso and spend the day riding, using those marvelous Monturas Chilenas (Chilean saddles) covered in sheepskin.
I, too, began learning to play flamenco guitar late in life, after retiring from the Foreign Service. It is fun to play for personal enjoyment and that of friends.
Cheers,
Bill
_____________________________
And the end of the fight is a tombstone white, With the name of the late deceased, And the epitaph drear, "A fool lies here, Who tried to hustle the East."
Posts: 21
Joined: Jan. 10 2016
From: Vina del Mar, Chile via San Francisco, CA
RE: Hello from Vina del Mar, Chile (in reply to otirroz)
Thank you so much for the warm welcome Escribano and Bill. Our home in Vina has a couple of extra bedrooms, and once we get well established we look forward to welcoming guests that share similar interests.
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