The longest day...

We're finally back at the hotel after the longest day of the trip. We left Buenos Aires at 9 this morning, and fought rush hour traffic to make our way about 50 kilometers to La Plata, the capital of Argentina's largest province. 

We made our way to a local performance venue to meet up with Oscar Escalada, Argentina's most famous choral composer/conductor. Oscar wrote two arrangements for us, and it was incredibly valuable to get his insights into the music of Argentina. 

After the workshop, we went to a local restaurant for lunch and a little singing. Then it was back on the bus for a visit to the local Cathedral. 

Though the cathedral is fairly new, it was built in a much older, Gothic style. While inside, we took advantage of the reverberant acoustic to sing a bit. We then drove to City Hall, the site of tonight's concert. 

Our concert space was a large, slightly tired salon with some incredible chandeliers--powered by extraordinarily bright compact fluorescent bulbs. 

We rehearsed for a bit, followed by the Gleemen, and then we had some free time to grab a snack, return to City Hall, and dress for the concert. But there was a slight wrinkle--a large demonstration for a variety of causes on International Women's Day. 

Though it was tough for the audience to get in (the main entrance was blocked), we eventually mustered a quorum. The audience wasn't huge, but they were very appreciative. When we got to Oscar's arrangements, I invited him up to conduct one of them, and that was a real highlight of the concert. 

We arrived back at the hotel after 11, and many of us went to the restaurant on the corner for some dinner. Fortunately, we don't have anything tomorrow until the evening. Finally, we can sleep in!