Day 3: Recording in Quito

Hi all. This is my first time writing on the blog...Please bear with me while I figure this out...
Today, tuesday, is our "second" day of recording the villancicos. We were at the Ibarra Cathedral yesterday and were only able to record 2 of the villancicos (Atención a la Fragua Amorosa, and Ese Viril con Pan) since there was a lot of street noise coming from outside...So, we decided to return to Quito and test the sound/silence at the Chapel of Residencia Mercedaria. It turns out that we were indeed able to record here, so we have been recording since lunch-time. The soloists just finished with "La Chacona me Piden" and now they are recording "Miren que se derrama". It looks like everything should go smoothly from here on, and thankfully everyone is being very patient and waiting for their turn to perform and record.
The food has been favorable to everyone's taste, today we had "Patacones" which are made from green-plantains, and "maduros" which are sweet-plantains.
I am personally very happy that tomorrow is our first performance and interviews with the ecuadorian press. At 2 o'clock, we'll be at the U.S Embassy building and presenting the tour and the presence of Uconn Collegium Musicum in Quito-Ecuador. At 3pm, we'll start a short-performace. Pianist Paco Godoy from Ecuador and Penny Brandt from Indiana will be performing two pieces with me as an opening act and homage to the United States and Ecuador. Following that, the Collegium will perform 2 villancicos: Oigannos Celebrar un Misterio Unico and Atención a la Fragua Amorosa, as well as the Kyrie and Gloria parts from the Corpus Christi Mass.
We'll get to see downtown Quito for the first time tomorrow! I'm eager to show them around the Cathedral and other archives/libraries that hold breviaries and missals with some of the chant that will be sung during our concerts!
Stay tuned for more "blogs"...as I have finally figured out a way to log-in and tell you all about this experience (from my point of view).
Hasta pronto!