Miguel’s Life Soundtrack Part 4
As I approach my 44th birthday and realize how important music is to my daughters, I've contemplated my musical influences throughout my lifetime. This article is the last of a four-part series in which I cover my musical evolution after college.
Lado B - Evolution - Tracks 7-12
Worth the Wait
During my second six-month internship at IBM Austin in 2006, I met Vanessa. My roommate, Chris, who was also Puerto Rican and attended El Colegio with Vanessa, introduced us. Vanessa and I clicked right away, and we spent a lot of time dancing. After our internship, Vanessa headed to Georgia Tech, and I went to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. After a year in the master's track, I moved back to Austin to finish my degree, and later, Vanessa moved back as well. I proposed to her in Puerto Rico on Christmas 2008, and we married in 2010. Our song is Marc Anthony's 'Valio La Pena,' as the wait was worth it; Vanessa became my creative muse, professional inspiration, travel companion, parenthood accomplice, and biggest cheerleader.
Spanish Alternative
After reconnecting with Alternative music, I started looking for a similar vibe in Spanish. After familiarizing myself with the usual Spanish Rock suspects, I found Jarabe de Palo. They were new to me, but the more I listened to their work, the quicker they became my favorite band. One of my favorite concert experiences of all time was their concert in Austin in 2015. Vanessa surprised us with tickets to their concert at the Parish for our 5th anniversary. An intimate venue with superb acoustics and great music equaled a wonderful experience. Jarabe de Palo's 'La Flaca' is their iconic song. Santana and Juanes once interpreted this song, and I wish Santana had teamed up with Pau instead.
Texirican Gastronomy
The kitchen has always been an essential part of our family bond. Working with my brothers to hand-grind the vegetables so my mom could make Puerto Rican pasteles to sell during the holidays to the time spent dancing with Vanessa while cooking and drinking in our newly remodeled kitchen. I had to cook in college to survive, and I remember being proud of my canned chicken spaghetti. Somewhere along the way, I started experimenting with my cooking more seriously. I've developed my Texirican cuisine, mixing the smoking methods and iconic Texas menu with the Latin flavors I've picked up from Puerto Rico and Miami. The best song to represent my cooking journey would be El Gran Combo's 'El Menu.'
Climbing Grind
In 2016-17, I spent most of my free time training for the Leadville MTB 100, a 104-mile marathon MTB race in Leadville, CO., which starts at over 10,000 feet and gains above 11,000 feet of vertical elevation. Although I had done long rides before, nothing compared to the amount of climbing necessary for this race. I started riding Austin's steepest climbs, joining group road rides on my mountain bike, and completing long, grueling hours in the trainer. I asked Pandora to help me create a playlist to help through the long hours of pedal smashing, and after a lot of attempts, the playlist was settled. I didn't know these songs or the genre, but they represented the hours of painful pedal smashing I was going through. The playlist included music by The Lumineers, Rag'n'Bone Man, and the headliner, Hozier's 'Take Me To Church.' In the summer of 2017, I was in my best cycling shape; I felt strong and confident until I crashed during a prep race in Minnesota. I ripped the skin off my knee and lower leg and was evacuated to the emergency room. After returning home, I had to make the call that I wouldn't recover before Leadville in less than a month. I participated in Leadville the following year (2018). Still, I was burned out from the last 3 years of training, and my performance showed.
Lullaby
How are you supposed to feel when you find out your newborn is a Sith? We discovered by accident that listening to the Star Wars Imperial March would calm Aurora down and help her fall asleep. The Imperial March reached our speed dial but didn't last long. Soon, I had to learn a few lullabies. One of my many weaknesses is that I can't remember any lyrics. I was 40 years old and could not karaoke to any one song. Still, I'm proud to say that I have a repertoire of sleepy-time songs to choose from in Spanish and English, including my own song, which the girls love. My favorite kid's music performance was Kacey Mustgraves' rendition of 'Rubber Ducky' in Elmo's Not-Too-Late Show.
The Magically Expensive World of Disney
Before Aurora and Diana, Vanessa and I donated to Mickey yearly, as Vanessa had been running the RunDisney races for a long time. But once the girls were a little older, I had to dive into the deep end of the Princess World and watch so many movies so many times—countless views of Frozen, Encanto, Mohana, Lilo & Stitch, and all the others. I may complain, but I love our sing-along sessions. I have two favorite Disney movie songs: Tomatoa's 'Shiny' and my newest favorite, Encanto's 'Dos Oruguitas,' which makes me cry every time as it reminds me of my girls. Maybe I'll get to sing it at their wedding.