Performing At Corera's Village Church

Father Cadarso in his home village of Corera

The next morning we all had breakfast, and we were ready to go by nine in the morning.  We were going to visit the village of Corera which was father Cadarso's home village. This is where he was baptised, Had his first Communion, Said his first mass and recently had his 59th anniversary as a priest.  His itinerary for us was quite overwhelming staring with the mass in his church at eleven, then our concert, and a great meal baked by the church's Ladies League.  Then there was a full day of sight seeing in the village. One good fortune is that we were going to wear our pastel polo shirts instead of our formal black and white outfits!

We arrived early enough to check out the lovely church.  We would be singing the mass upstairs in the choir loft.  So we went up the stairs to see what it was like.  The stairs were hard to see in the dark so someone used a flashlight to see by.  Those who had difficulty climbing, like Meg, could stay below in the last pews an sing from there.

This was a mass celebrating the Feast of Pentecost and Father Cadarso would be conducting the mass.  People from the village were starting to come in and we were all set up in the Choir Loft ready to go.

To our delight Father Cadarso sang the whole mass and I could now see why he liked choirs and music being sung by the parishioners.  It gave the mass a lovely quality of worship.  When the communion came, we all went down and then stayed down forming a group in the right alcove of the church.  We finished the mass singing the the front of the church.

 When the mass was over, we all took our places in front of the altar the pontifical choir went and stood half way between the center isle.  Father Cadarso changed his vestments and joined us.

Pontifical Choir

After the "Ave Maria" we joined the group in front of the altar and continued our full program.  We all felt pretty solid in our singing, this being the third performance in three days.  We were more relaxed and animated throughout the program. 

We paid special attention to the song that we had changed from Latin to Spanish as this was a request by Father Cadarso.  We sang it very well in spite of having done it only once in the bus!

Then we sat down while the Divas and the Don took over and sang their three songs.  The "Ave Maria" done by Amy and Lorraine was especially well received!

 Then the thee sang, "You Raise Me Up" and something came over me listening to the lyrics of the song.  My son had passed away two years ago struck down by cancer at the age of 43.  He left two young children behind, Berkeley and Jake.  I remember when we had our family burial each of us said something to the children about their father.  I told them about the time he would hoist them up on his shoulders so they could see above the crowed.  Especially little Jake who loved his father very much and was always in his arm. I reminded him that anytime he needed help, not to hesitate to speak to his father's spirit and ask for that little boost that would help him see things through his life.  This thought brought tears to my eyes as they finished the song and I quickly wiped the tears away as we walked back to the fold.

You Raise Me Up!

We finished up with a wonderful crescendo in Let There Be Peace on Earth!

Ending in a crescendo of Let There Be Peace on Earth.

The audience was overwhelmed and got up to give us a standing ovation.  They all came up and gave us a hug and a kiss on both cheeks.  One lady said, "You have really earned your meal today!"

When the concert was over we were all thrilled that we did a great job.  We were hustled out and set to walking toward the home where we were going to celebrate with a fantastic meal presented by the Ladies Guild.  After a bit of a delay we made it to the home and settled into seats arranged in a horseshoe.  We were given bread and wine to start our celebration feast!

We started the meal with salad, something we missed in previous meals.

Then they passed out more appetizers like mushrooms, and beans.  The main course was a fabulous stew with lots of meat and potatoes and vegetables.  As soon as your plate was empty, someone would come and fill it up again.  We ate and drank to our heart's content.

Then presentations were made.  First JJ got up an gave a little speech honoring Jack and Rosemary on their 45th wedding anniversary.  They had come from Wisconsin, Jack a retired pharmacist and Rosemarie a retired nurse.  Rosemarie joined the choir around 2006  and both enjoyed the last trip with the choir to Germany and Austria.  So they decided to come and join us on this trip as well.

JJ reading in honor to Jack and Rosemarie

Jack and Rosemarie being honored for their 45th wedding anniversary!

They are a delightful couple and we all love Jack's sense of humor!

Then Father Cadarso honored Ed and Sharon for leading this awesome group all over Spain.

We all gave a toast again the our fearless guides.

Not to be out done the Sisters took the "stage" and presented a production complete with accompanist in honor of Amy and Doug for their anniversary!  We were overjoyed as they sang and told their story.

That was funny!

A toast to the Sisters!

 Then it was desert time and the Ladies brought out homemade cookies and a sweet Moscatel wine from Valencia!

Fabulous sweet wine from Valencia

What a great time we were having!  With all the toasting going on we were a bit tipsy and some of us started dancing in the isle without any reservations.

Sue and Paula entertain us with their song and dance

Big finale!

It was a shoe stopper!

When at last we had drunk every bottle and eat everything there was to eat, we thanked the Ladies of the Guild and found our way out to the streets of Corera.