Bright and early, a small crew headed out to interview Hugo Raposo, a viola and guitar maker. At his workshop in Ponta Delgada, he showed everyone his unfinished works, so they got to see the inside look—literally. He spoke about his inspiration to build violas and his experience building the Viola da Terra.
Later that morning, we visited Sete Cidates (Seven Craters). This was named after the seven cities. We took many photos and videos of Lagoa Rasa, a dual-colored lake located on the west side of São Miguel. Despite the cold, the area was beautiful, with the sun peaking out occasionally, making it great for shots of Sete Cidates.
Even though it was cloudy and rainy today, we had a great view of the lake. There is an abandoned hotel right across, and we learned that the view is only very visible two months out of the year hence why the hotel is now abandoned.
For lunch, we went down by the lakeside. There, we saw many ducks, and even a puppy! It was still a bit rainy and pretty cold outside, but the inconsistency of the weather having us on our toes is something we don’t get back at home, and adds to the experience!
While two of the groups were off filming and interviewing Rafael Carvalho’s class, the other two went to a botanical garden. This garden had a wide range of different types of beautiful flowers, and it also had a cave.
It did start raining so we had to pack up fast. We caught really nice shots of this cave, while the second group caught shots of unique florals and a sprawling tree, nicknamed the “tree of life”.
The red marks you see in the display are actually the focus assist. This helps us see what exactly is in focus on the camera.
The other groups, as mentioned, went to interview Rafael’s students! At the Viola school, students learn all the basics of playing the Viola da Terra. The Viola doesn’t have exact instructions, it’s based on what was taught and brought down. Many stories were heard, such as a woman who learned about the class through her church and jumped on the opportunity. One man even just caught an interest in learning to pass the time! Everyone has their own reason to learn how to play the Viola da Terra and stumbled upon Rafael’s class.
Finally, at the end of the night, a small crew of students went to watch a band perform songs for us and display their abilities in playing the Viola da Terra. They played us 5 songs, one song was also performed by Rafael Carvalho, called “Saudade”, when we interviewed him. They played more sad songs and one about a couple finding their way back to each other.