Day 5-A Little of This, A Little of That....

Today was full of many different things. I started off my day by meeting with the Dean of the Music School at UM. I have been talking to Dean Berg over the past several months via e-mail, and he has been extremely helpful with allowing me access to the University of Miami's facilities. He granted me access to the piano practice facilities as well as put me in contact with many UM faculty members who are active in the Cuban Music "scene." So...I wanted to finally put a name to a face and thank him for all of his help.

Next, I stopped by the Music Library to introduce myself to Albert De La Reguera. He works during the day in the Music Library, but also conducts a Salsa Big Band during the Academic Year. He was originally born in Cuba, but grew up in Puerto Rico. With this said, everyone that I have spoke to at UM (Dr. Raul Murciano who I met a few days ago & Dean Berg) have told me that this is the man I need to speak to. He is a wealth of knowledge about Cuban music and musicians in the Miami area. He told me to stop by whenever I need anything. Also, he told me he would put together a list of musicians he knows in the Miami area that I could speak to for my project.

After this, I decided to get some practicing in while I was on the UM campus. I played a beautiful Yamaha Black Baby Grand for about an hour and then went in search of some lunch. I ventured a few blocks off campus to yet another open-air shopping mall (after all it is Miami!). I found the local Panera Bread Location and had some lunch, while using their free Wifi! Then, I went to Barnes & Noble (which was right next door) and did some reading on restaurants around my hotel so I had a better idea of what is available.

The rest of my night consisted of relaxing. I watched a little bit of the Home Run Derby, cooked dinner, and started to transcribe a Cuban song entitled: Compositor Confundido. I should probably mention that while I was cooking dinner, one of the electric burner would not turn off (the knob broke off). So...I had an electric burner (which is conveniently placed right next to the Fridge) getting hotter and hotter. Of course, maintenance is not around at 8PM and the front desk did not have anyone to call. So..I ended up flipping the circuit breaker for the electric stove (luckily it had its own breaker)! What an adventure...