Keystone State Boychoir

The first of two ship excursions on the day after Christmas was a tour of the Strait of Magellan in a Chilean Naval Vessel. The choir was shuttled in small groups to the naval vessel in a smaller boat, and once the entire choir had assembled on the naval vessel, we headed south on the Strait of Magellan. The choir toured in the boat in sections with one section enjoying the bridge, another the open stern deck, the third enjoyed cake and hot cocoa in the mess, and of course, the last group practiced in sectional.

Finally, the choir sang to the non-essential crew on the stern deck, where we took a group photo.

Next up…Penguins!

En Español:

Celebramos la Navidad en Punta Arenas, la única ciudad que visitamos en la gira de 2009 y a la que regresamos en esta gira. Esta fue la primera vez que muchos de nosotros pasamos la Navidad sin nuestras familias, pero Punta Arenas nos dio unas familias Chilenas nuevas. Muchas gracias a la Armada de Chile por llevarnos en uno de sus barcos por el Estrecho de Magallanes a Cabo Froward, el punto más austral de la tierra de Sudamérica. También queremos dar muchas gracias a la familia Sharp por todo lo que ha hecho para nosotros, incluyendo la barbacoa de cordero

The shore patrol naval vessel that took the choir on a tour of the Strait of Magellan, the Marinero Fuentealba. Ship Trips in Punta Arenas, Chile on December 26, 2015. (Photos by E Bryan Crenshaw III).

The bridge.

No rest from sectionals.

The choir and non-essential crew on the stern of the ship.

Boarding for the shuttle back to shore.

Christmas Day with Jorge! What a blow-out festival with sports, jump rope, sack races, chorizo on rolls, and a most delicious lamb roast cooked on a spit over an open fire. The day ended with a singalong with our Chilean hosts. Good ole time fun – without technology, of course.

Christmas Day Feast Punta Arenas, Chile on December 25, 2015. (Photo by E Bryan Crenshaw III).

Christmas Day Feast Punta Arenas, Chile on December 25, 2015. (Photo by E Bryan Crenshaw III).

Christmas Day Feast Punta Arenas, Chile on December 25, 2015. (Photo by E Bryan Crenshaw III).

Christmas Day Feast Punta Arenas, Chile on December 25, 2015. (Photo by E Bryan Crenshaw III).

As we’ve seen so many times during tour, the Santuario Maria Auxiliadora was a beautiful cathedral full of shrines and art. One distinguishing feature in this church was the elaborate manger scene that was set up along the side of the church.

The boys provided music for the mass, and were mostly situated off the side and in the organ loft. The local children were often highlighted during the mass, some of them replete in their finest Christmas outfits. At the end of the mass, the choir sang a few additional songs from the altar, and processed out of the church. A beautiful service.

The boys spent Christmas Eve with their homestays, which was a real treat. In Chile, Christmas Eve is significantly more important than it is in the US, and many of the boys met the extended families of their homestays.

Christmas Eve Mass.

Boys in the Audience Are Fascinated by Christmas Eve Mass Performance.

Christmas Eve Mass at Punta Arenas, Chile on December 24, 2015. (Photos by E Bryan Crenshaw III).

The local children were called to this spectacular altar several times during the mass.

The tour’s Christmas Eve began with a noon concert in the downtown park, Plaza Muñoz Gamero. As described on the TripAdvisor website, the Plaza Muñoz Gamero is “a central plaza of magnificent conifers surrounded by opulent mansions.” Along one side of the park, a number of vendor carts hawk wares to tourists and residents alike. The plaza is organized around a statue of Ferdinand Magellan gazing towards his eponymous strait. At the base of the statue, one of the figures is a native Patagonian Amerindian, whose toe is burnished to a bright luster because it is considered good luck to touch the toe.

During the concert, gifts were exchanged with the mayor of Punta Arenas. Both the mayor and the choir engaged young people in the audience. After selecting one of KSB’s gift for himself, the mayor distributed the CDs to the children in the audience. Mr. Fisher also engaged a young man in the audience, giving him a KSB windbreaker and asking him to join the boys during the gift-giving ceremony.

As usual with outdoor concerts in Chile, we were joined by one of the many dogs that roam the country, who nonchalantly sauntered past the choir to seek the attention of those in the audience. Another ham among all the hams in KSB!

Finally, as we walked away from the concert, we passed the Shackleton Bar, where Ernest Shackleton arranged for a Chilean vessel to rescue the members of his crew that remained stranded after their ill-fated expedition to Antarctica.

Next up: Christmas Eve Mass…

Plaza Muñoz Gamero Concert Punta Arenas, Chile on December 24, 2015. (Photos by E Bryan Crenshaw III).

One of the Ever Present Dogs Nonchalantly Joined the Plaza Muñoz Gamero Concert.

A Placard from the Mayor Presented During the Plaza Muñoz Gamero Concert.

Mr. Fisher Gives Away a KSB Windbreaker to a Local Boy Who Joins the Choir for the Gift-Giving Ceremony at the Plaza Muñoz Gamero Concert.

Local Vendors Sell Their Wares Along the Plaza.

Shackleton’s Tavern Adjacent to the Plaza Muñoz Gamero

The choir sends their greetings home on Christmas!

1st of 10 clips of boys (altos) mostly by voice part with holiday greetings

A video posted by Keystone State Boychoir (@keystonestateboychoir) on Dec 25, 2015 at 11:18am PST

2nd of 10 clips of boys (sop2s) mostly by voice part with holiday greetings

A video posted by Keystone State Boychoir (@keystonestateboychoir) on Dec 25, 2015 at 11:29am PST

3rd of 10 clips of boys (sop1/desc) mostly by voice part with holiday greetings

A video posted by Keystone State Boychoir (@keystonestateboychoir) on Dec 25, 2015 at 3:39pm PST

4th of 10 clips of boys (sop1/ desc) mostly by voice part with holiday greetings

A video posted by Keystone State Boychoir (@keystonestateboychoir) on Dec 25, 2015 at 3:41pm PST

5th of 10 clips of boys (sop1/ desc) mostly by voice part with holiday greetings

A video posted by Keystone State Boychoir (@keystonestateboychoir) on Dec 25, 2015 at 3:44pm PST

6th of 10 clips of boys (t2,b2) mostly by voice part with holiday greetings

A video posted by Keystone State Boychoir (@keystonestateboychoir) on Dec 25, 2015 at 3:48pm PST

7th of 10 clips of boys (t1) mostly by voice part with holiday greetings

A video posted by Keystone State Boychoir (@keystonestateboychoir) on Dec 25, 2015 at 3:53pm PST

8th of 10 clips of boys (b2-1) mostly by voice part with holiday greetings

A video posted by Keystone State Boychoir (@keystonestateboychoir) on Dec 25, 2015 at 4:01pm PST

9th of 10 clips of boys (b1) mostly by voice part with holiday greetings

A video posted by Keystone State Boychoir (@keystonestateboychoir) on Dec 25, 2015 at 4:05pm PST

10th of 10 clips of boys (sop1/ desc) mostly by voice part with holiday greetings

A video posted by Keystone State Boychoir (@keystonestateboychoir) on Dec 25, 2015 at 4:07pm PST

Note: These were recorded and posted on the KSB Instagram site on Christmas Day, but we are reposting them to reach everyone and to ensure that the blog has a complete record of the tour.

Punta Arenas is a port city on the Strait of Magellan. The harbor is filled with cruise ships, ferries, and navy vessels among other ships. During the summer, the Chilean Navy services the Antarctic exploration stations, and in the cold seasons, their major role is search and rescue in the treacherous waters that surround the port – the South Atlantic to the north and east and the South Pacific to west.

The city is filled with low slung housing reflecting a British architectural influence – a throw back to the important role that the British played in establishing the town. Even the name is a Spanish translation of the the British name for the area upon which the city was built, Sandy Point. Jutting out of this architectural background is a glass and steel tower with a neoclassical facade at street level, and on this facade the aspirational name of the casino, Dreams, is emblazoned. Inside, the choir practiced sectionals in a brightly lit gallery displaying photos of Patagonia, the region of Chile and Argentina in which Punta Arenas is located.

The concert was well-attended in a large performance space. It was advertised with a brightly lit banner in the front featuring a picture of the choir – a favorite spot for photos. The audience including many homestays, who were recognized during the performance, as well as an admiral in Chilean Navy that was instrumental in the choir cruising through the Strait of Magellan in a navy vessel. More on that later…

Sectionals Prior to Dreams Casino Concert, Punta Arenas, Chile on December 23, 2015. (Photos by E Bryan Crenshaw III).

Dreams Casino Concert.

Gift Exchange with Host, Jorge Sharp, at Dreams Casino Concert. The choir received a flag from the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region in which Punta Arenas is located.

Staff and Interpreter, Heidi, with Poster Announcing the Dreams Casino Concert.

Dreams Casino, Punta Arenas, Chile.

And now for something completely different. We’re heading from the Atacama Desert in the north near the Tropic of Capricorn to the Puntas Arenas on the Strait of Magellan and the largest city south of the 46th parallel.

Our journey began with the usual luggage check except the grads got involved to help the younger singers.  Next, a quick bus trip to the airport, followed by the inevitable waiting, filled first with singing and then with a bit of free time where the boys could have fun and engage with one another.

When we landed in Punta Arenas, the choir met old friends, including our host Jorge Sharp and many families that had homestayed the choir on the previous trip to Chile.  Because of their warmth and hospitality, Punta Arenas was the only city the choir is revisiting from the first Chilean tour. After the greeting song, the boys met their homestays and were off for the night – after pictures with their homestays, of course.

Grads help out with inspections of the younger singers luggage. Travel to Punta Arenas, Chile on December 22, 2015. (Photos by E Bryan Crenshaw III).

Time to relax and have fun in the airport…

…and time to interact with the other singers.

Met with warm greetings from our hosts on our return to Punta Arenas.

Welcome banner.

Today was like spending a day in Tatooine. It’s hard to put the magnificence of the place into words…awe-inspiring…stark…magical…desolate…alien…awesome! It was immediately obvious to all why they tested the Martian rovers in this place of wonder. Our day started at the largest open pit mine on the planet, Chuquicamata Mine, where they mine copper. Many of the boys will have pictures of themselves next the first boulder mined from the pit, one example is shown below.

Next we moved on to a small town, San Pedro de Atacama, where the boys gave a concert in a small, but beautiful, chapel in the middle of town, filled with shrines and relics. Our interpreter, Heidi, tells us that the town has become a draw for the “New Age” crowd, and we did see a group yoga event on the approach to the town.  Most importantly for the home crowd, the boys were able get much of their souvenir shopping done in the market, which had many bargains on beautiful alpaca clothing items, art pieces, leather goods, and of course, kitschy souvenir items.

Next on the journey was Chaxa Lake in the Flamingo National Reserve. The pictures will do it more justice than a description, but it was truly an example of life overcoming adversity – beautiful, pink, flamingos in lakes formed on salt flats in the driest spot in the world.  A real bonus was that the national park ranger insisted that the tour remain completely silent, so the flamingos would not be scared away.  Experiencing this magnificent spot in complete silence was truly inspiring.

Finally, we visited the Valley of the Moon at sunset.  Our first view of the valley was a tremendous sand dune that appeared untouched by people or time.  Further up the pathway, we got a spectacular view of this barren, alien landscape, and watched as the shadows cast across the valley grew in length and depth as sun dropped below the horizon.

Today was truly awe-inspiring! The real value of the tour journals will come through, as your children convey their thoughts about this fascinating place.  Perhaps the pictures below will give you a taste of the wonder we experienced today.

Zack C. and Max M., two of our Spanish-speaking choir members, have written a paragraph for any Chileans following the blog in their native tongue:

En Español:

En Calama y San Pedro de Atacama, la segunda parada de nuestra gira, disfrutamos el bello paisaje del desierto de Atacama. Fuimos al Valle de la Luna, y miramos las montañas iluminadas por el atardecer. También fuimos al Salar de Atacama, donde vimos los flamencos en el lago rodeado por la sal blanca. Paseamos por el salar en silencio, y eso fue una experiencia mágica.

First Boulder Extracted from the Chuquicamata Mine Visit in Calama, Chile on December 21, 2015. (Photos by E Bryan Crenshaw III).

San Pedro Cathedral Concert. Atacama Desert Tour Calama, Chile on December 21, 2015. (Photo by E Bryan Crenshaw III).

San Pedro Market.

Flamingos in Chaxa Lake in the Flamingo National Reserve.

The choir at Chaxa Lake in the Flamingo National Reserve.

Valley of the Moon.