Me at the San Pedro Basilica interior - Lima
Umm I love Lima!!!. The capital of Peru, founded more than 400 years ago at the side of the Pacifc Ocean, is a never ending treasure box. “The city of the kings”, my city, keeps surprising me everyday. Today I went to a free Barroque Concert in the one most beautiful Barroque Basilicas of Lima, the Basilica of San Pedro, built in times when Peru occupied half of Soutahmerica counting as its provinces every single country from Panama to Argentina but Brazil.
The beautiful Barroque San Pedro Basilica in Lima
This concert was special for many reasons. This Basilica belongs to the “Jesuist” and it was the “main” Jesuit Church in Southamerica. The Jesuits were a famous Spanish religious order that founded cities all over southamerica in communion with the natives. The Jesuist gave this natives the rank of “citizens” and in their missions european and natives were alike citizens…no wonder why the Spanish crown vanished them from all their kingdoms afterwards.
Their idea of an “ideal place” where native and europeans where alike was too advanced for that time. The movie “The Mission” played by Robert De Niro tells this story and it was nominated to 7 Oscars and it was the winner of the 1986’s Cannes Festival http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mission_(1986_film)
The soundtrack of this movie belongs to the great Ennio Morricone and is a must listen, where pieces like “The Mission” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fawtIF-SPM4&feature=related) and “Gabriel’s Oboe” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L41oGXgVmZg) speaks not only of this “ideal” but also of how barroque music actually did play an important part in ”making peace” and “atracting” the native communities to settle down and live with the Spanish.
From this very Church in Lima, Jesuit where sent to the highlands in Puno (12000 feets above the sea level) to the Church of Juli, to be later on sent to the guaraní jungles to found the famous “Missions” that inspired the movie, the only world hertage site recognized by UNESCO in Paraguay (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/648), which in fact is a baby born out of the Peruvian province of Puno. From this Church were sent not only Jesuits but their music, the music that help built a dream where native and europeans where alike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OaGqqyphsI The concert!
I came yesterday from Sao Paolo. Sao Paolo itself was a city born out a Jesuit mission founded there 400 years ago. When I was flying to Sao Paolo from Lima, crossing the jungle I was listening Ennio Morricone “The Mission” the soundtrack of the movie with the same name and the concert I listened today was written by two 18th century men Roque Ceruti and Domenico Zipoli who may be well inspired the movie. Music played by heart who might might linked two absolutely different cultures nevertheless compose by humans with same heart.
This wonderful concert was played by the “Capilla Panamericana” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-0Ki4vklg4 a group of young southamerican musicians who are very proud of their heritage and it was directed by the Argentinian Maestro “Gabriel Garrido” in an most perfect place: the Church of San Pedro in Lima…followed of course an after party at the reception hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs located in a 17th century house (the casa Aspillaga) in downtown Lima… I love my city!!!
Me with the great Argentinian Barroque Music Director Gabriel Garrido, Barroque Music Teacher at the Geneve Conservatory in Switzerland
The Casa Aspillaga (where I shared drinks with my friend Fernando delucchi -Director of the Peruvian Conservatory of Music - and his lovely wife the great Peuvian actress Pilar Núñez.)
