Taller de guitarra numero tres en San Salvador

Students from El Carmen out in the Bajo Lempa region work on new songs

The third workshop went well despite a whigging out by the piano teacher (we're currently searching for another one). The turnout was a little smaller than the last one, but we continue to gain new students from different parishes. The students spent most of the day practicing what they've learned so far while we fostered interchange among them by forming small groups where they were encouraged to help each and teach new students the basic fingerings and chords. Ideally we'd like the workshops to turn into a place where students teach each other and learn from one another. By doing so, it won't be so dependent on us and can continue to flourish in the future and grow into a unique music program that reflects the soul of the church. Songwriting is another area that I'd like to address in the workshops and encourage the musicians to write their own songs and see what we come up with. I have a feeling we could come up with some pretty powerful songs. Transportation continues to be an obstacle for students. Those in the outlying areas are finding the five dollar bus ride to and from San Salvador to be too expensive, and so hopefully we'll start workshops this month out in the Western part of the country to address this issue and reach them. There are a number of eager students out in such areas as El Maizal and out near Ahuachapán with newly donated instruments from the diocese of Arizona, so hopefully we'll put the new guitars to use soon. We are set to order our next batch of guitars for the rest of the parishes with the grant from the Celtic Cross Society at Church Divinity School of the Pacific. -Vince