Matanzas Art Education Excellence Awards (+ photos & audio)
Yerikko Moreno Santana is a student at the Alfonso Pérez Isaac Vocational School of Arts (EVA) in Matanzas. After winning each one of the stages, the student, who is in his third year of guitar specialty, has just won the third prize in the Isaac Nicola National Competition of the instrument.
This contest had the complexity of including participants from the country’s elementary level, from fifth to ninth grade, according to Yalena Fundora Gonzalez, head of the plucked strings department at EVA.
Several results preceded this one. Yerikko previously merited first prize for the grade he is studying in the Amadeo Roldan Competition at EVA this year and second prize in the second category at the Sixth Edgardo Martin Guitar Festival in Cienfuegos.
«It was a very educational experience. I learned a lot from the other kids who perform the guitar. Among the many activities we attended was a master class offered by a Colombian teacher and I loved the performance of the Trovarroco trio.»
Elena Naranjo Guas, who won third prize in the first category, and Ariel Alejandro del Toro Cuello, who won the Popularity Award, also performed for Matanzas. Diego Alejandro Pereira joined the students who represented Matanzas in the event.
«We lived very nice moments because we went from stage to stage of the Festival. We visited places that I liked very much, such as Cumanayagua. Everything was very enriching. (Elena)
«I unfortunately could not go because I was sick, but I enjoyed my award very much.» (Ariel Alejandro del Toro Cuello)
«We achieved many goals during the competition, it has been very useful for me because of what I learned.» (Diego Alejandro Pereira)
Previously Elena deserved the first prize of second year in the Amadeo Roldán Competition, while Alejandro won third place in the same category.
But these are not the only results that endorse the preparation of the students of the Matanzas Vocational School of Art.
The presentation of the young students of this educational center in festivals and events at an international level has also been praised by spectators and teachers, and they have won important prizes.
«I participated in a competition in Argentina where I won a first prize and another in Italy, with a third prize. My instrument is the saxophone,» relates Victor Manuel Perez Alvarez, a ninth grade student majoring in music.
«In the Drum Festival, out of 14 couples that we presented in the contest, eleven were finalists and six of them were awarded first, second and third places in different categories and genres, specifically casino and rumba,» explains Alvin Hernández Ricardo, head of the Department of Dance Specialty at EVA.
It is worth mentioning the presence of Matanzas in the Encounter and Competition of Ballet Academies, where Joan Manuel Riera won a gold medal.
These awards, in addition to the systematic academic results, attest to the preparation received by the students of EVA, a process in which the teachers are decisive. The Matanzas Vocational School of Arts is a beautiful example that exalts the beauty of teaching art.
…ONLINE AUDIO.
Written by Jessica Mesa Duarte.
