As part of the celebration of the Vedruna Bicentennial, on the Feast of St. Joaquina, Chile experienced an emotional musical day with the “Bicentennial Song Festival”, a meeting that brought together for the first time the four Vedruna schools in the country in an experience marked by fraternity, creativity and a sense of community.
The full recording can be viewed on YouTube:
The participating schools were:
- Nuestra Señora del Carmen School of Padre Las Casas
- Vedruna San Felipe School
- Santa Rosa de Constitución School
- Santa Joaquina de Vedruna School of Puente Alto.
In total, eleven songs reached the final stage, reflecting the spirit of the bicentennial motto: “Generous love, inspiring mission”.
The transmission was made through Zoom and YouTube, allowing to connect simultaneously to the educational communities of all Chile. The students, visibly excited, were able to greet each other, sing and recognize themselves as a single Vedruna family. The program was guided by four animators, one representative from each school, who presented the songs and accompanied the development of the festival.
The Santa Joaquina de Vedruna School of Puente Alto coordinated the entire transmission, ensuring that each community could best showcase their performers and compositions. The older sisters of the San José de Puente Alto community also participated as special guests.
Sisters Marisol and Marita, members of the Provincial Team, sent a special greeting from Lima, Peru, who encouraged the students to continue living the charism with joy and commitment.
The jury, chosen by the Bicentennial Commission Vedruna Chile, was composed of Brother Joaquin Grijalvo, a Mennaisian Brother from Llay Llay; Pilar Leiva, from Andacollo Parish in San Felipe; and Juan Valeria Candia, from Padre Las Casas. After a previous evaluation process, Sister Flor, delegate of the country, read the final minutes and delivered the results.
The honorable mention went to “El amor nunca dice basta” (Love never says enough), from Padre Las Casas. Third place went to “Somos Luz”, from Puente Alto. Second place went to “Misión que inspira”, from San Felipe. Finally, the first place of the festival went to “Carmelitas de Vedruna”, performed by Daniela Meza and Luis González, consolidating a celebration where music made the Vedruna heart beat strongly in Chile.
María Rubilar Silva
Vedrunamerica Province Communication Team
