Listen up. Meet Juan Andrés

Introduction

Today we kick off the next post for the Journeys series with something quite different. Last few times we had a human look at Nueva Esparta, some Kitesurfers flying around, and a glimpse of Isla de Coche's past. But today, I want to share with you something different.

I joined a musical improvisation group in 2016 called Crea Música, which literally translates from spanish to "Create Music". The group really didn't have a leader, but they guy who'd make things happen was the guy in the cover picture, Juan Andrés. It was nothing out of this world, really: just a bunch of engineering students meeting in a huge, empty studio to improvise in unconventional time signatures (we loved 7/8's and 11/8's). Nothing special, but it was simply magical. It created a mysterious connection between us all. Something as basic as taking up various instruments (or even just singing) and letting the music flow became, for us, a way of letting everything flow: "The closest an atheist can get to a religious experience", as Juan Andrés used to say.

Nowadays, the group still gathers weekly to improvise music, although I don't usually attend anymore. But, to be honest, I doubt there is something quite like what goes down at that place. The vibes, the music... all comes together to make playing some notes an almost trascendental event.

I hope you enjoy this humble work

Crea Música

Gathered in a circle, some members of Crea Música

You, your music, and some dried paint buckets, from when the maintenance guys fixed the walls.

To see volumes, to hear light

The tribal conductor

No solos in the studio

Bass, guitar, traverse flute, violin, keyboard, drums, didgeridoo... you name it, we had it

Improvised singing with poetry bits and pieces

A place where things get out of hand on a daily basis

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Playing for Crea Música wasn´t like playing for any other band; it wasn´t a chore. It made you want to play. It made you want to interact with the people around you, and in an incredibly satisfactory way. You'd see faces and inmediately recognize where a song was going. You'd see a hand wave around and your mind would get ready to go wild in a grand finale. It wasn't just about making ephemeral music. It wasn't just about defying sheet music. It was about being then and there, and creating and listening to sounds that'd be born there and would die there as well. It was about living the moment, and those were some moments I'll never forget.

-SA

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All pictures were taken with my ol' & trusty Nikon D90 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G and Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G, surrounded by all sorts of crazy musicians.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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