Living the life Ecuador Coast

Man of La Mancha

 Salinas does not have its cultural arts base set in the performing arts, so when we were approached with an opportunity to not only see this production but support a worthy cause, we jumped at the chance.

The ticket price was set at $5.00 and it was to be shown at the SalinasYacht Club. Yet another bonus- until now we have not been to the yacht club, so we took this opportunity to take a look around.

Running late, we jumped into a taxi that let us off at the gate to the yacht club, where we were to meet another couple that had asked us to purchase tickets.

We made our way from the gate to the building where the musical was to be shown. This play was being performed by adults with disabilities such as Downs Syndrome, so the first thing I noticed was that the play was being shown on a floor of the building that can only be accessed by stairs. As some of our friends have physical difficulties, we thought that this was not the best idea.

A small stage was set up in an area that is used for dancing; the stage was raised, which helped the audience see better. They had speakers on both sides and lighting for the stage. The performance was produced by Fundacion Gabriel. 

There was ample seating and the crowd was from all parts of the community, old and young.

The speeches and performance were in Spanish. I doubt that there are many from my generation that have not read or have not seen this production. The fact that it was in Spanish did not detract from the performance.

The opening performance was a two man skit called Rompi la Dieta. This piece to me followed the line of mime and turned out to be quite funny.

 We then moved on to the main event, and with the aid of narration, the play began. With the exception of the narrator, the spoken word was recorded and the players were to mime the parts.
It worked well and took the risk of forgetting the lines out of the picture.

A lot of effort was put into the parts played by the individuals. Their costumes were bright and fun.

As the play unfolded and the characters entered the stage, their colorful attire and the sound track melded into a nice performance.

The crowd seemed quite taken with the performance and were making noises that indicated appreciation.

From this point, I have included a number of images that show the performers and their colorful costumes in various parts of the play. At the end, I have put together a slide show of most of the images I was able to take and set them to music. I hope that you enjoy the play as much as I did.

This month

December 15, 1791 - The Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution) became effective following ratification by Virginia.

December 15, 1840 - Napoleon was buried in Les Invalides in Paris. He had died in exile on the island of Saint Helena after his fall from power.

December 15, 1890 - Sioux leader Sitting Bull (native name Tatanka-yatanka) was killed in a skirmish with U.S. soldiers along the Grand River in South Dakota as his warriors tried to prevent his arrest.

December 15, 1939 - Gone With the Wind had its world premiere in Atlanta, introduced by producer David O. Selznick and featuring appearances by Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable.

December 15, 1943 - The Battle of San Pietro took place during World War II as a German panzer battalion devastated American forces trying to take the 700-year-old Italian village. Hollywood director John Huston, serving as an army lieutenant, filmed the battle and left behind a graphic account.

December 15, 1961 - Nazi SS-Colonel Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death in Jerusalem for his role in the Holocaust. Eichmann had organized the deportation of Jews from all over occupied Europe to Nazi death camps.

December 15, 1964 - Canada adopted a new national flag featuring a red maple leaf on a white background.

December 15, 1989 - The dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet ended in Chile. Pinochet had come to power in 1973 after a military overthrow of the democratically elected government.

December 15, 1993 - The GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) Treaty was approved by delegations from 117 countries. The treaty was designed to reduce international tariffs, eliminate trade quotas, and protect intellectual property.

December 15, 1995 - European Union leaders announced their new currency would be known as the Euro.

Birthday - French engineer Alexandre Eiffel (1832-1923) was born in Dijon, France. He designed the Eiffel Tower for the Paris International Exposition of 1889. He also helped design the Statue of Liberty.