Today, before the wind orchestra rehearsal, I asked Arley if he could take me around the town of Pindoretama so I could get a better idea of where these kids come from. He gladly obliged. We stopped by the music building to pick up Julianna, who is the first chair alto sax player and a beautiful person.
We first went to one of the public schools in the town-see pics. This is not the school she attended, but is indicative of the normal public school in this area of Brazil.
We then went to another school which is were she actually attended elementary school while growing up. I think the pictures speak for themselves.
After that, we went to her home where she has lived all of her life. Her father went blind a few years ago so he is retired. Her mother works in the home making clothes. She has a brother as well, but I can't remember what he does. She also has a puppy named Zeus. Since she is such a cute girl, I asked if she had a boyfriend, only to find out that he died 3 months ago at the age of 18 from a heart problem. How sad.
Julianna is now 17 and has played in the wind orchestra since she was 12. She is a very good kid, works hard, and plays pretty well. She is definitely a shining star in the project. Like in America, Brazilian students have to take a national exam to qualify to enter university. She had just found out today that she has passed the exam and will go this fall to Fortaleza to start school at the Federal University to study English and Portuguese to be a teacher. Yet another success story of providing a life changing opportunity for a young person who might never have been able to leave Pindoretama. Almost makes you cry.
Julianna is always watching carefully in rehearsal and listening to every word I speak. She is bright, friendly, and a wonderful young person. I can only imagine how many other Juliannas there are in Pindoretama that need to be saved through the beauty of music and the work of Arley Franca.
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