Chorus director on humanitarian mission
Toolbox
By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: January 10, 2010
SPRINGFIELD — Maricel Lucero is on a mission to promote fellowship among women and provide humanitarian aid.
In 1997, Lucero founded the Feminine Tone, a women's chorus.
"I really enjoy being with women and music is my whole life, so it was a good way to bring those two things together," said Lucero, who operates a music instruction studio out of her home in Springfield.
In addition to performing locally, the Feminine Tone has been the only group from the United States to participate in the International Choral Festival in Santiago, Cuba.
The Cuban-born Lucero was 10 years old when her family moved to the United States in 1968, and for much of the past decade she's been leading groups of singers to her native country to perform and enjoy the beaches, nightlife and warm hospitality of its people. Americans must get permission from the U.S. government before venturing to Cuba.
So what's it like being the only American group at a festival in a country that's under a U.S. trade embargo?
"The first reaction is always surprise, but the second is warmth and welcome," Lucero said.
Sara Norcross of Reading, who has been in the chorus for 11 years and has made several trips to Cuba, agreed.
"The people are very warm," she said "They like Americans and they appreciate us being there."
Emily Mobus, 17, of Springfield, was one of six teenagers who made the chorus' most recent trip to Cuba in November.
"It was a pretty spiritual experience, because even though our governments don't get along, we can still connect through music," Mobus said. "It's pretty amazing to be up there singing a Beatles song and looking out and seeing everyone sing along, even if they don't know what the words mean."
But the Feminine Tone doesn't just come to sing. Each member's suitcase is filled with 50 pounds of over-the-counter medicine — such as vitamins, cold medicine and aspirin — that they distribute to local churches.
"That's one place where the (Cuban) government does not interfere," Lucero said of the churches in Cuba. On their most recent trip, the chorus donated more than 1,500 pounds of medicine.
The trade embargo is "such a horrible thing," Lucero said. "It only hurts the Cuban people, not the government. If anything, it strengthens the Cuban government. We trade with other communist countries, like China and Vietnam, so why not Cuba?"
Lucero is holding auditions for the spring season of the Feminine Tone, which will culminate with a pair of concerts in Woodstock and Springfield on April 24 and 25. The group meets Saturday mornings for practice and fellowship.
"They are just such a supportive group of women," Mobus said. "It's so nice to just be able to sing for four hours after a stressful week. It's really cathartic."
It's that sort of experience that Lucero wants to promote for both the members of the chorus and its audience. In addition to its spring concerts, the group performs at events honoring cancer survivors and at "Take Back the Night" events opposing violence against women.
"We have a really strong mission to bring women together and to provide a message of peace and love," she said.
For more information about the Feminine Tone, visit www.femininetone.com.
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
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