Placido came to perform at one of the seven (most recently elected) wonders of the world, Chichen Itza, which although wonderful is not a place noted for acoustics -- except perhaps on its giant ball court where the king could sit in a pavillion at one end and clearly hear his courtiers gossip or threaten him at the other end a hundred yards or so away.
We knew Placido was born in Spain, but we didn't know his family had a troupe of performers who travelled and lived extensively in the Yucatan when he was young. Or that he had taken on some of the children's roles as a youth here. We knew Placido was an extraordinary talent, but didn't know how gracious he could be when faced with a media-hungry governor who practically hosed him with a bottle of champagne when he debarked from his plane (Sarah Palin has nothing on our Yvonne!!). However, I came to praise our state governor, rather than criticize her since it was due to her diligence that I saw this concert.
For weeks, we have debated about buying rather expensive tickets to this once-in-a-lifetime event. They were expensive, and ridiculous if you actually wanted to be close enough to see the artists live rather than watching a giant TV screen and obscene if you wanted to share a meal with the artist. We have been to Chichen Itza during a spring equinox (something I also billed as a once-in-a-lifetime event that almost killed us all with the throngs of people, heat, and total lack of shade -- just ask Marilla who still shudders at the mere mention of Chichen) and more recently to stay at the upscale hacienda just off the property (owned by the Barbachano family who also own Chichen Itza by the way). Finally, clear heads prevailed and we decided to pray that someone would decide to simulcast the concert as had happened when Pavarotti was here years ago.
Before that decision was made, the government bureaucracies had to fight a little bit. Here, a bureaucracy called INAH is in charge at the federal level of all antiquities. This includes Chichen Itza, but it also includes our house, being an antique. So INAH controls what kind of colors we can use to paint our home and whether or not we could have a second floor. And as a group of bureaucrats, they can be annoying. However, in controlling Chichen, INAH was not at all sure they would allow this concert to take place, depsite tickets having been sold and lots of publicity about it. So, it was a cliffhanger, but of course, INAH caved and the event occurred. Not without some arm twisting however.
And last night, shortly after the concert had begun in real time, we watched it on TV in the comfort and air conditioning and privacy of our own home. The TV producers had packaged a short informercial about Chichen Itza, with interviews with the performers and the live concert. The concert began with a huge chorus of adults and children, all dressed in white, performing with drums and singing in Mayan, which was incredibly moving.By 2am, our concert was over, but not before Placido (who can still belt out notes with emotion and accuracy) and Ana Maria Martinez (who was quite wonderful when she sang even though she occasionally had a "deer in the headlights" look as Placido would drag her out on stage) had thrilled the live audience and us with selections of opera, zarzuela, Broadway songs, signature Granada, and finally mariachi. A special treat was a Mayan composer/pianist/interpreter named Manzanero who reminded me of a pint-sized Tony Bennett.
My sincere thanks to our governadora, Yvonne, who made it possible for all persons who live in the Yucatan to partake of this event, with or without a ticket!!
And here is what the AP has to say about the event---
By MARK STEVENSON – 12 hours ago
CHICHEN ITZA, Mexico (AP) — Tenor Placido Domingo's choice of a classical program peppered with local music and help from Mexican pianist and crooner Armando Manzanero appeared to smooth the controversy surrounding his Saturday concert at the Mayan pyramids of Chichen Itza.
The Spanish-born Domingo grew up in Mexico, and enthusiastic fans in the southern state of Yucatan erupted in applause on Saturday at his "Concert of 1,000 Columns." Many here see it like a homecoming; one of Domingo's first performances was in Yucatan in 1957.
The singers were dwarfed by the hulking mass of the site's main pyramid, eerily illuminated in red against a black sky, and the performance began with Mayan-style music from by The Monumental Chorus of the Mayab, accompanied by Indian drums.
Despite intermittent drops of rain, Domingo opened masterfully with the inspiring "O Souverain" from Massenet's Le Cid.
Domingo and local hero Manzanero won a standing ovation for a duet — which the Mexican sang party in Mayan — on Manzanero's love ballad "Adoro."
"It is marvelous to be here," Domingo said during a break.
The estimated 4,000 fans attending seemed unconcerned about complaints that the concert and others like it exploit or misuse the 1,200-year-old Mayan ruins. The concert's name is a reference to a temple platform at Chichen Itza crowned by rows of columns.
"It is an honor for us to have a concert like this," said Armando de Leon from the nearby city of Merida.
Herman Segovia came all the way from San Antonio to hear Domingo, whom he called "an artist of high quality."
"I don't think the site will be damaged. This is a controlled event," Segovia said.
Karen Eddy, originally of Toronto, Canada, traveled to the concert from her current home in Mexico City because "I though it would be magical, just magical" to see Domingo sing in front of the towering main pyramid.
Archaeologists and activists have complained that concerts like Saturday's expose ruin sites to additional damage and degrade their cultural significance by treating them as mere backdrops.
Mexico's federal government turns down most requests to hold concerts at ancient temples. But it faces increasing pressure from state governors to promote ruins which, critics argue, are already swamped with tourists.
Officials did impose limits on stage and seating structures and the number of spectators for Domingo's concert, ensuring that it would be smaller than tenor Luciano Pavarotti's 1997 appearance at Chichen Itza, which drew 18,000. Since then, more than a half dozen concerts have been held at or near the ruins.
Domingo planned to pepper the program with Zarzuela from his native Spain as well as music from Mexico. He even hinted he would sing in Mayan, the ancient language still spoken by about 1 million people in Yucatan and neighboring states.
The program also includes the melancholy, melodic "Lamento di Federico" from Francesco Cilea's "L'Arlesiana," and the soaring "Gia nella notte densa" from Verdi's Otello.
