Students gathered in the Eastern Michigan University Student Center room 310A waiting to see writer/singer Salvador Ginori Lozano.
Awaiting his arrival, students were able to hear about Ginori’s accomplishments as a professor in the Universidad Michoacána de San Nicolas de Hidalgo and his best experiences outside of Mexico from Vicente Sanchez-Ventura Consul General Of Mexico.
“The consulate brings foreign representation of their culture so the world knows their history, literature, politics and arts,” Honorary Consul of Spain, Coral Lopez Gomez, said. “This is supported by the government of Mexico.”
This event was more than a meet-and-greet, and the passion in the room was beyond words.
Ginori was very enthusiastic about how many students were interested in learning about his book, “The Augustinians and the Music from the Colonization of Michoacán.”
“Music will have more friends because everyone loves music,” Sanchez said. “Mr. Ginori is a mentor in Michoacán and has an affect on how the music has grown in Mexico.”
The invitation from the Detroit Opera House has shown, even outside of Mexico, Ginori can mentor his musical talents to different audiences.
“What caused me to write my book is from my research about music in the 16th century,” Ginori said. “The research made by the Franciscans, nobody has wrote about Michoacán or Augustinians. The first musicologist to open doors about music in Michoacán and Augustinians was Robert Stevenson.”
Spreading the history about Ginori’s cultural heritage comes along with his ambitions as a writer/singer.
The research about the Augustinians teaching the musical arts has played an important role for Ginori appreciating the music in Mexico at a earlier time.
“If you know more about your neighbors,” Sanchez said. “The more opportunity you will have.”
Encouraging the students to learn more about their neighboring countries and languages will increase their chances in internship overseas and around the world, left the students with a sense of security and high hopes for the future.
As the event was coming to an end, Ginori and the Consuls of Mexico thanked the students for coming to the event and answered many questions about the cultural aspect of Mexico.
Those from the Department of World Languages also gave thanks to the students for having interest in this event.
“I thought this event went really well,” said Justin Beaudrie, a 20-year-old major in International Affairs. “The cultural experience helped me along the way.”
“I liked the musical historical aspect when it comes to music and culture,” said Phoebe Conybeare, a 21-year-old majoring in International Affairs. “I learned interesting things that I didn’t know about.”
Learning beyond what is taught in the classroom can have advantages and lead into additional information that will come in handy in the near future.
“I am from Mexico so learning further knowledge is wonderful,” said Leydi Roa Torres,a 24-year-old major in Language of Arts and International Trade and minoring in marketing. “I liked the concept of learning about the music, how it been passed down generation to generation and how it reflected in churches and convents.”
In the end coming from Mexico or from a different culture, the history of Augustinians and the colonization of Michoacán can broaden the students understanding of music and culture.
Although the students knew about Mexico they did not expect the depth of Mexican culture to be so interlinked with Ginori’s passion.
