When you put a civic-minded violinist in a province devastated by the eruption of a volcano, you get something like Casa San Miguel in the province of Zambales. In 1993, violinist Alfonso "Coke" Bolipata merely wanted to uplift the spirits of his province mates—still reeling from the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991—by bringing art, music, theater, dance and film to town plazas, orphanages and hospitals. In 1996, a dozen young local children began learning how to draw and play the violin under one of the mango trees in the Bolipata compound. Now, Casa San Miguel has more than a hundred students in music, drawing, painting, photography, film, and creative writing.
April 15, 2013
A beautiful thing
When you put a civic-minded violinist in a province devastated by the eruption of a volcano, you get something like Casa San Miguel in the province of Zambales. In 1993, violinist Alfonso "Coke" Bolipata merely wanted to uplift the spirits of his province mates—still reeling from the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991—by bringing art, music, theater, dance and film to town plazas, orphanages and hospitals. In 1996, a dozen young local children began learning how to draw and play the violin under one of the mango trees in the Bolipata compound. Now, Casa San Miguel has more than a hundred students in music, drawing, painting, photography, film, and creative writing.
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9 comments:
God bless this man and his vision.
Thank you for sharing this interesting post and beautiful picture !
beautiful story.
From tiny seeds...
very inspiring. this is the kind of gift that will keep on giving.
Learning how to play violin under a mango tree. How wonderful!
I can't tell you how nice it is to hear such an inspiring tale! What a guy! We need many more like him.
And what a lovely building or series of buildings.
Do you know why he is called "Coke"?
What a great legacy.
What a marvelous thing to do -- and what a beautiful place in which to study art.
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