City of God - Youth Choir Performance

Last week the youth choir from the school did a performance at a care center in "City of God" (Cidade de Deus), a large slum in Rio.  I'm not teaching yet, but the director asked me if I would play violin for one song that had a fiddle part.  I agreed and went with them on this little field trip.

From what I understand, this care center is run by a church and provides after-school care for local students who have less-than-desirable home lives.  The public school system in Brazil is such that students either go in the morning or in the afternoon, but not both.  So this facility is really a before-school and after-school center.

I thought these plastic bottle flowers were adorable, and I am intent on creating my own!