Rescued Chilean miner serenaded by LI musician
From left, rescued Chilean miner Edison Pena speaks to the press Friday night at Fiol Pomaire Restaurant in Manhattan. Behind him is Chilean Consul General Julio Fiol. Pena will run in the ING New York City Marathon this Sunday. He ran between three and six miles each day while he was trapped underground in the collapsed mine. Credit: Danny Ghitis
Chilean miner Edison Pena let loose during a night of fun and dancing at a Chilean restaurant in Manhattan and was serenaded by a Long Island musician who wrote a song in tribute to him and his 32 fellows, rescued after they were trapped underground for more than two months.
"That was beautiful. It inspires me," Pena said through a translator to Kristofer Ambrose, 31, after the singer and songwriter from Middle Island played his guitar and sang "Keep Hope Alive" on Friday night.
Peña and his wife, Angelica Alvarez, listened as they sat at a table in the Pomaire restaurant with Julio Fiol, consul general of Chile, and his wife, Fernanda Fiol.
Pena, who plans to run in Sunday's ING New York City Marathon, clapped and cheered and then started singing and dancing to "Blue Suede Shoes" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand," when the restaurant switched to Elvis and Beatles songs.
Ambrose said he sent his song to the Chilean consul general a few weeks ago and Fiol invited him to his United Nations office. "I was so excited that he wanted to hear my song," he said.
Fiol told Ambrose that although he liked the song, it should be in Spanish for greater understanding by the people for whom he had written it. In Spanish, the name of his song is "Esperanza," which means "hope."
Ambrose, noting all the attention Pena was getting, said, "He's like Michael Jordan, JFK Jr. and Julio Iglesias, all rolled into one."
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
