What a truly amazing experience we had in Ensenada this week! Selected OWCC Ambassadors traveled down to Ensenada, Mexico with our director, Aaron Mitchell, and assistant director Emily Schaumann for a weekend of connection and service. We rehearsed with the children from the Esperanza Azteca Youth Choir and Orchestra and the Reino de Los Niños Orphanage in Ensenada before spending some time laughing and playing together.
Although divided by barriers of geography, language, and cultural differences, the children found that they were far more alike than different--and they did just fine at communicating with each other. Words that couldn't be filled in were replaced with smiles and laughter! The concert was incredible as we shared music in both language, with a message of unity and common humanity. The directors were in tears and the audience on their feet shouting "encore" in Spanish (to which we were forced to oblige!).
During the trip, our ambassadors had the opportunity to experience some of the local culture as well, traveling to the national landmark La Bufadora and then to the rolling hills of Baja where they completed a very challenging ropes course and experienced the exhilaration of zip-lining across the canyons and ravines! They also had a very powerful experience playing with the children at their orphanage, after having sung together in the concert.
The concert was an amazing synthesis of all the hard work of children on both sides of the border over the course of this project, children who may come from different countries and speak different languages, but whose hearts will be tied together forever. Check out a video of their stunning performance below!