I am currently in Colorado. When we came back from Guatemala we found out we had new neighbors, very nice ones I may add, during a quick visit at the pool 'she' shared with us her mom's dad was Guatemalan.
Today I was pleasantly surprised when there was a knock on my door followed by an invitation to meet her mom. We got talking and I found out her mom's 'tío abuelo' (granduncle) was a famous Guatemalan musician: Maestro Oscar Barrientos, consequently this post came about.
Maestro Oscar Barrientos was born in Guatemala and learned music from talented musicians such as Rafael Alvarez (composer of the Guatemalan National Anthem), Santiago Coronado and Alfredo Pinillos.
He was a music critic for the newspapers of the epoch: El Imparcial and La Hora. He was one of the founders of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional, were he worked for 50 years until 1982. During time he was the assistant director of the Orchestra.
He was also professor at the National Conservatory during 35 years. He was the first president of the Guatemalan Philharmonic Association and served as president for three terms.
He represented Guatemala at the International Contest of Orchestra Directors, he was selected on the top five amongst 80 participants from all over the world.
The plot thickens in this story, I am almost sure that Maestro Barrientos and a member of my family, also a prominent Guatemalan Musician, met about 6o years ago. This post will soon have a sequel were I will write about the men from my family I am referring to and my findings on if they actually worked together with Maestro Barrientos. I am so tickled to think that three to four generations ago my neighbors family and my family met and about 60 years later in another country the two families coincide again!
2 comments:
What a wonderful surprise from your new neighbors!
Maestro Oscar Barrientos era su esposa Betty de Barrientos? Y Rolando Barrientos el hijo de los dos que es de el?
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