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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2015)
4C THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015 PARTING SHOTS A weekly snapshot from The Daily Astorian and Chinook Observer photographers The Astoria Bridge disappears into the fog over the Columbia River. JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Band: Tico families welcomed the band members into their homes Continued from Page 2C For this 50th anniversary celebration Karen Graham, president of the Oregon Part- ners wanted a musical group that would represent a unique Oregon experience and offered it to the Brownsmead Flats, who were only too happy to accept. The group spent its ¿UVW ¿YH GD\V DW SOD\D 2FRWDO on the Nicoya peninsula, rest- ing up and enjoying the beach and warm waters of the ocean (80 degrees Fahrenheit). They began their tour playing in Liberia and playa Ocotal, then traveled inland to Grecia near San Jose (the capitol and largest city) and played for Costa Rican part- ners’ groups in Grecia, Zarce- ro, La Quesada, two locations LQ *XDSLOHV DQG D ¿QDO FRQ- cert and big celebration of the 50th anniversary at the Eu- gene O’Neill Theater in San Jose. Performing for Ticos In each place the venue was different and attendance varied from 30 to 150. The band played in a church an- nex, a hall for retired teach- ers (think Alderbrook Hall), several cultural centers, two restaurants and a theater for the performing arts with ex- cellent acoustics. The concerts lasted about an hour and we got the au- dience up on their feet and taught them a country dance (with the assistance of two Flats’ wives Lulu Heavenrich and Tory Sutherland). Ticos (the nickname for Costa Ri- cans) are generally enthusi- astic dancers and responded well to learning a new dance everywhere the band played. The instrumentation of the band’s guitars, mandolin, ¿GGOH EDQMR DQG KDUPRQLFD are novel in Costa Rica and the Ticos were especially en- Tory Sunderland photo Costa Rican dancers perform for the Brownsmead Flats, who also taught locals some Western dances. thralled with Ray Raihala’s banjo playing. In Playa Oco- WDOZKHUHWKHEDQGVWD\HG¿UVW one of the workers there said that the banjo looked like una llanta (a tire). At every con- cert, the band sang “De Col- ores’ a well-known song in all of Latin America, and the audiences all joined in singing with gusto. Following each perfor- mance, the band was treated to a potluck lunch or dinner with Costa Rican-style fare and often the Ticos would sing songs of their heritage to entertain the Flats. One of the most enjoyable parts of this trip was being hosted by Tico families who welcomed the band mem- bers into their homes. The group spent four nights in the company of their Costa Rican hosts, enjoyed commu- nicating in Spanish and sign language and sampling their comida tipica (typical meals). The fresh tropical fruits with rice, beans, eggs, fried plan- tains and tortillas in the morn- ing along with local coffees and juices were especially delightful. To see more photos of the tour visit the Brownsmead Flats facebook page. For more information about the Partners of the Americas pro- grams please visit oregonpart- ners.net or partners.net for the national organization. Ned Heavenrich is a band member of Brownsmead Flats. Tory Sunderland photo The Brownsmead Flats listen to stories in a Costa Rican restaurant. Facing the camera from left are Ned Heavenrich, John Fenton and Robert Stevens. GE T Y O U R CO PY TOD AY ! D iscoverO urCoa st.com
