Brooks, who came to Chugiak in 1960 and taught music at Chugiak and Eagle River elementary schools, traveled in November as part of the newly formed One World, One People International Peace Choir of Alaska to participate in the International Festival of Choirs - an event held every other year since 1989 in Santiago, Cuba. Thirty-five Alaskans formed the choir, including six members from Chugiak-Eagle River.

Brooks talked of the trip with the tone of an excited traveler, showing pictures of tropical streets lined with American cars from the 1950s, horse-drawn hay carts, and brightly colored adobe walls.

"People were so helpful," she said. "And there were drums everywhere. They have the most complicated rhythms."

The group spent a week in the communist Caribbean nation, performing with 35 choirs from Great Britain, Norway, Finland and Cuba, and enjoying cultural exchanges. Each choir member raised the money for the trip, and brought medical supplies and baseball equipment donated by the New York Yankees management for the impoverished Cuban people.

The other five local choir members were Sherry Eckrich, Paul Winkel, Brian Anderson, Robert Tenney and Sara Collins.

The choir was lucky to get to go to Cuba. President Bush's recent edict declaring Cuba once again off-limits to American travelers did not apply to the choir group because travel plans were made prior to the announcement. Their travel permits expired Dec. 30.

Brooks said it felt obvious to her that they were in a communist country.

"There were soldiers and police on every corner," she said. "And they were listening, so consequently no one talked about politics."

Brooks said the experience was a "real battery charger" for her musically.

"None of us from outside Cuba were even in the same category as the Cubans," she said. "They make beautiful music."

When not singing, Brooks said she and her choir mates enjoyed tours of Cuban cities such as Havana and Varadero. She described one experience she had on the beach at Varadero.

"We were sitting on the beach when three men came up, two with guitars and one with a violin," she said. "And it was the most beat-up violin I've ever seen. But he was so good, he could have been playing at any symphony. And then one of our choir members, Mary Shallert of Anchorage, gave him her violin chin rest and strap and he started crying."

Brooks said Shallert then played an Irish Jig on the violin and the two guitarists joined in.

"They sounded great, like they'd played those songs before," she said.

Brooks said the most impressive thing she saw in Cuba were the specialized schools for musically gifted children.

"If a kid shows any signs of musical talent, they are sent to a special, government funded music school," she said. "And there was one kid there who was slouching around like teenagers do, and then he sat at the piano and he was like Rockmonanov."

Brooks said the Cuban people did not associate the Alaskan choir with the Untied States, regarding Alaska as a separate nation.

"We would always shout 'Alaska!' when we met new people," she said. "And they would always shiver and say, 'Frio!' "

It didn't take long for the exotic appeal of the choir to take hold. One morning, Brooks said she awoke early to a knock on her hotel room door. It was her guide with a freshly picked bunch of flowers.

"When I opened the door, he shouted, 'Alaska!' " she said.

Members of the International Peace Choir of Alaska will hold a gathering and slide show of their trip to Cuba Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at St. Mary's Episcopal Church on Tudor Road and Lake Otis Parkway in Anchorage. Log on to www.akspy.com/ipca.htm to learn more.