Music, a time machine

Music, a time machine.

I don’t know how to play the guitar; or rather, I don’t know how to play any instrument. However, I can't imagine a life without music. And I am grateful to have the privilege of being able to listen to it.

Music is eternal life, for those who compose it, for those who perform it, for those who dance to it, and for those who listen to it.

It is eternal life because it allows us to freeze moments or once again enjoy the energy of people who are no longer physically here. When I listen to “A Rianxeira,” my grandfather is always with me, even though he passed away 21 years ago. I remember how he laughed and how he danced.

If I play Julio Iglesias, I am transported to the preparations for any birthday at my house and me, at 6 or 7 years old, dancing on the balcony to the sound of "Me olvidé de vivir."

And when I decide to listen to “Devagar, Devagarinho” by Martinho da Vila, I am driving down to Higuerote with my parents singing in the car and my dad repeating the song over and over again (I do the same). *Zapatillas* by El Canto del Loco transports me to my adolescence and to a concert where I wore a t-shirt that said "I am the luck of your life" so that Dani Martín would see me. And the song “A te” by Jovanotti transports me to a cold afternoon in the Toronto subway, holding hands with Rafinha while he told me: this song is for you.

It is no coincidence that musical memories are preserved even in advanced stages of Alzheimer's.

I cry listening to music and I laugh too; listening to music is living. Every time I discover a new artist, I get excited because it is one more opportunity to freeze time and save it in songs—in other words, Spotify is a great refrigerator for personal moments. We just have to press play when we want to relive them or invent new ones.

Thanks to all the musicians and performers for giving us this wonderful time machine. Without you, life wouldn't be as beautiful.

And thanks also to my musician friend @wladimirhinz who asked me to paint flowers on his guitar. It has been an honor.

Small table and guitar customized for Ale and Wladi.