Post 4

One thing that I like to do very much in my life is travel to any places for enjoying, knowing and other activities, but this started many years ago. My first trip was when I was just born, with only nine days. How I was born in other country, because my mom is Argentinian, I moved to Chile young, for the reason that my father is Chilean and is easier live here. Since then I have traveled to many places thank to my parents.

First, I like to know other cultures (some different from us or similar). With my mother we have the custom of go to the supermarket and see what products we found distinct to bring. The same happen with the food, we like prove (depending to where we are) typical dishes. Traveling also helps to disconnect from the routine, of course to rest (if it is a vacation trip) and to live new adventures that sometimes where you live you can´t do or don´t exist. For example, when we went to Easter Island casually in that month the celebration of the "Tapati" occurs or in Guatemala participate in a religious ritual of the deity "Maximón".

I am very grateful for the opportunities that I have had and I hope to continue traveling alone or accompanied to have new experiences, because there is a lot of world to know and explore.

With my mom in Guatemala 

With my parents in southern Chile

Like many people, I also thought about studying other careers, such as gastronomy or psychology, but I decided to study what I really want, so I won't regret it later.

I started studying lyric singing when I was 14 years old at the Academy of Veronica Villarroel and there I prepared to enter the university of Chile. I always thought of that university because it´s the best in Chile to study this career. It´s a problem that in our country there aren´t too many institutions prepared for musical careers and also concentrate on the capital.

But everything isn´t bad, I have learned many things over these years: musical theory (of course, very necessary in this career), phonetics of several languages, acting skills, teamwork and the most important thing is the discipline created by the years of work.  Also, from my own experience, I have learned that development is unique in each person, because the instrument is our body and we must always take care of it, that is why they are years and years of study, one never finishes perfecting.

In short, through good and bad, it allows us to meet new people, work with them and create ties, in Chile or abroad.

In the summer of 2008 (when I was 10 years old) with my parents we went on vacation to two different places, but for me it was the best to know Easter Island or Rapa Nui, which is an island located in Polynesia, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and 5 hours and a half flying from Santiago.

We were there for a week, enough to tour the island well because it is not very big. It only has one town and unlike other Polynesian islands; it has few beaches, but it does not take away how pretty it is.

We did many activities, of course we went to a beach (Anakena beach), but we also saw the famous moais (you can find them everywhere on their altars), we went to two quarries, where they made the pukao (moai hats) and where they made the moais. Furthermore, our travel coincided with the Tapati celebration.

This trip is especial because I knew another part of Chile and another culture with my family, now we hardly travel together, I usually just do it with my mom. In addition to this, my favorite activity was watching the sunrise through the Ahu Tongariki.

I have gone to Japan for many years, since I was a child and I hope that my dreams come true someday.  My love to this country started when I began to watch anime (maybe is the most common cause), but over time I discovered other aspects of their culture that it is very different from ours.

If I go to Japan I like to do many activities, for that I will stay in the country a long time, a month or two, because I do not only want to visit the capital, Tokyo, but also other cities for the purpose of knowing as well as possible.  I wish taste their characteristic dishes like ramen, okonomiyaki and the typical sushi, on traditional restaurants, not the touristic. Anyway, eat as they eat. Besides, I would love to know the temples, walk through Shibuya (it is an iconic place), go to the Nara park (where you can see a lot of deer and you can give them food) and perhaps use a kimono.

If possible, I want to travel during the Japanese spring, because hanami happens (when cherry blossoms bloom).

My favorite place

If I had to choose a place where I enjoy being in it I would have to say that it is the cinema. I don´t remember when was the first time that I went, but since 5 years ago approximately I watch a movie at the cinema every 2 or 3 month, sometimes every month, depending on the cinema billboard.

I like it because it's something very simple to do and you can go with whoever you want, for example your family, friends or couple. Besides that, it´s always variable due to the constant premieres and the film production, so you never get bored of going, but the most important thing is that I like movies, otherwise it wouldn´t be a fun place for me.  

In general, I like to watch movies with original language and subtitled, but when they are animation movies they are always in Spanish and I usually watch a variety of movie types, because I don´t have many preferences, I really like the movies based on real events. ("Woman in Gold" or "The Danish Girl”).

By habit and comfort, I go to cinemas that are close and accessible from where I live if I go by subway, my favorite is the one inside the mall "costanera center" (cineplanet) and I also have discounts and promotions in that place because I´am a member of that movie theater chain since I was a child.

Cineplanet. Mall Costanera Center

My blogging experience

This is the last blog and it makes me think about my experience writing, especifically in English.

I have a love and hate relationship with the English because in my firt school the classes were bad and when I changed to another school the classes were more difficult, but the theacher  never helped me to level off with my classmates, so I surrended.  As the years go, I returned to change the school and I begun to be interested but I had  too much kwonledge holes, even I have.

Whith this blogs I found a difficulty, because although I like read and write, is not the same that writing in English, I feel restricted for my grammar knowledge. In generally I think a lot and it´s complicate to me find the right words added put my thought in order in addition to put my thought in order.  It also happens to me that some phrases in Spanish or certain words I can´t find a way to translate them and in the end, writing a blog is a long task, but these evaluations helped me to improve that ability, to modify my mind in a certain way, because English grammar is different from our grammar.

Speaking / writing about topics related to one was very useful to approach and start developing the drafting ability, but I would like to touch musical issues because there are specific words in our major that are necessary in the future when we decide to travel to other countries to study or work.

In my major, depending on the year that one is studing, there are different subjets like musical theory or phonetic but at the present time my favorite subject is "Ópera", of course, I also like my principal subjetc (canto) because I can experiment in divers types of repertoire and that is what motivates me. 

Ópera is a subjet where basically we learn about how to sing and act at the same time to tell a story and the name comes from the musical genre.  I liked it for many reasons, the proffesor is very good (I love him), the last year he taught us how to express emotions through the vocal inflexions and he is meticulous too, besides, is a subject ensemble and there is a lot a work to do in conections with others, the ópera doesn´t work alone, but it can be bad because if a person doesn´t go to rehearsals or  doesn´t study the part, our work is delayed. 

At the end nevertheless, it´s very fun be a character in an opera, be a different person with different clothes, it´s an experience and I am more freely when I sing acting.

Añadir leyenda

If I think about a website that I use so much in relation with my career, two pages come to my mind.

Years ago when I was studying at an academy  a singing teacher showed me the website 

www.kareol.es. It´s a website where someone can find translations of many operas and other types of musical works like songs or cantatas.  Furthermore, it´s very simple to surf the web   because you have fourth options on the principal page, you select a searching method and then the works appears in alphabetic order. For me it´s very useful to translate scores and read the full libretto of opera.

Another website is www.imslp.org and it´s my favorite. Basically as the page says, it shares the world´s public domain music. You can find a huge variety of composers´ scores from many countries and many periods in the history of music, of course, different languages and instruments as well.  On this website if I am looking a specific score, I only put the name on the imsl search and appears.  I use this page so many times during the week, because I like to find unknown scores to incorporate them in my repertoire.  

Someone can think that lyrical singers hear classical music and yes we like it but in my case when I am walk or when I am alone at home, I prefer cut myselff off from my studies and hear another music type. I like many music styles but my favorite is electronic music. I think that my pleasure started when I was younger (13 or 14 years old maybe) and since then I listen it until now.

Electronic music is a type of music that uses electronic musical instruments and electronic musical technology for its production and interpretation and it is very diverse, I mean that the electronic music have many influences for to like to different people.

Now my favorite Dj is KSHMR and although in generally I love electronic music because it cheer me up, KSHMR´s music have a distinctive touch. He making music oriented to "electro house" genre (electronic dance music) and he combine that with his ethnic background (hindu heritage). The best is I saw him live on Creamfields Chile 2016 (music festival). It was a exciting experience that I would repeat. 

Main Stage
Creamfields Chile 2016

The Amalia glacier

This photo was taken last year when my parents and I went on a trip to south of Chile. I like it because we usually travel to places with warm climate but my parents wanted another destination and it was also my firts time on a cruise.

We made a marine journey on the Skorpios III (cruise name) for three nights to the “Campo de Hielo Sur” (route “Kaweskar”). I don’t know much the south and even less the glaciers so for me it was an experience totally different.

The cruise started the navigation in “Puerto Natales” city and the first excursion was the next day. We disembarked close to “Amalia” glacier but anyway we had to walk for being nearer, there my father took the picture of me (he really love to take photos and especially if it is one of me and my mother). 

I also liked this travel because since we had our pets we haven´t been able to go out together. 

MY PETS

Currently I have two dogs, two really tiny dogs, Mimí y Leila. Her names are curious because they are character opera names. Mimí is character of the opera “La bohème” y Leila is a character of the opera “Les Pêcheurs de Perles”.

First we bought Mimí 6 years ago. She is a white maltese dog and her hair is really complicated to comb because it is a long hair dog and also she has a very special personality, basically she is tricky. Maybe we spoil her too much.  

3 years ago, again we bought a dog (I really love the dogs) because Mimí was a lot of time alone, so we thought that a company would be good. We decided to buy a Yorkshire Terrier dog, her name is Leila. Her personality is opposite to Mimí´s and her hair too (they are my ying and yang).

I really love my both dog, they are my life and I am always concerned when something it is wrong with them because I hope they remains happy and live many more years.

When I was a child I wanted be a teacher because my mom, my grandma and my uncle are teachers. Also, I like to teach to others but my mom told me that I could study another major.

After I wanted to study dance when I was at Elementary School. Then at High School I discovered my passion for singing, thank to my parents because they make me listen different types of music, so I said to them: “I wanted to be a lyric singer” (14 years old).  From that moment, I went to an Academy for four years to prepare myself before university.

Of course, I thought in other major like to be a lawyer or nutritionist but nothing was the same than singing. The only major that I really considered was to study psychology, even I had a scholarship at “Universidad de los Andes”. Finally, I decided follow my dreams for not regretting.

I prefer the “Universidad de Chile” because their reputation, and their curriculum is more complete. Although now, after 5 years, I know that nothing is perfect. I had bad moments, very bad moments but good times help me to continue this major.

MY FAVORITE PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY

My favorite piece of technology is my iPad. Perhaps one may think that everyone´s favorite piece is the cellphone, but I prefer the Tablet.  

I have since 3 years (2016), it was a christmas present by my parents and it is the only that I have.

 

I usually use it every day in many moments, because it´s very useful to different activities in my life I like to watch movies, read, writer documents or in my particular case to see and scan scores, necessary in the major that I study.

The functionality is similar than a notebook, but the weight is lighter that is why it doesn´t have a keyboard, however, it has a touch screen. Even in sometimes occasion it is a little complicated when I need to write down correction on my scores, but it is save a lot of paper.

My full name is Florencia Guamán Lettinich and I haven’t middle name because my parents hasn’t decided. In generally the people call me Flo, but there is exception like one friend that call me flower in French (Fleur).

I was born in Campana, a city approximately one hour and half to Buenos Aires (Argentina), 22 years ago.

My mom is Argentinian and my dad is Chilean so I have double nationality.

I studied in two school during the Elementary School, Don Orione and Divina Pastora, both catholic school. I didn’t enjoy my time there.

After in High School I changed to Liceo Carmela Carvajal de Prat, where I met difference type of people that lived in a variety of places because is an excellence school and many people wanted go to there.

I started study lyric singing at age 14, first in Academia Veronica Villarroel and then when I finished the High School in Universidad de Chile.  It’s hard but I love what I study.

My favorite hobby is cook, especially sweet food. I like to see the people happy when they eat what I prepared.  

Last year i sang in an opera for the university

I did the cake to my father