Carver HS Students Attend Houston Grand Opera’s ‘El Milagro del recuerdo’

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Verónica Flores, the Spanish teacher and Spanish Club sponsor at Carver High School, had her students attend the Houston Grand Opera El Milagro del Recuerdo at the Wortham Theater last month, courtesy of the district’s Foreign Language Department.

“As a foreign language teacher, I promote interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational communication,” said Flores. “Opportunities like the Houston Grand Opera’s El Milagro del Recuerdo increase students’ ability to relate to cultural practices to perspectives learned in the classroom.”

The HGO-commissioned mariachi opera El Milagro del Recuerdo (The Miracle of Remembering) transports audiences to Michoacán, Mexico, during the celebration of the holidays. The Spanish opera is a celebration of family and tradition. The story follows the lives of Laurentino, a bracero who returns from the United States to spend Christmastime with his family and his wife Renata, who worries that his time away from home is changing him. The two face a life-changing decision: whether to stay with family in Mexico or leave for the promise of a better life. The cast included soprano Cecilia Duarte as Renata and acclaimed bass-baritone Federico De Michelis in his debut role as Laurentino. Librettist Leonard Foglia directed, with conductor Benjamin Manis at the podium. The opera is a co-production with Arizona Opera and San Diego Opera.

Carver HS students Natalia Alegre, Diego Alonso, Andrea Dueñez, Alexandra Escobar, Giovanni González, Jacqueline González, Lorena González, Edgar Hernández, Alyssa Leija, Elizza Dabrio Leiva, Daniela López, Mariana Martínez, Guillermo Orellana, Mía Palizo, Jacqueline Rivera, Sabrina Rodríguez, Ximena Vázquez, and Rosa Zúñiga attended the opera.

Migdalia Treviño is the multilingual elementary curriculum and languages other than English (LOTE) program director.