Music and Family

 Okay to start off I'll say that I felt a little iffy about doing this blog. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of it and now having done the interview I actually love it but before having interviewed my parents I knew this would be stepping into uncommon grounds. Of course we love each other but sitting down and having real conversations, meaning not just chatting, is not something we do. Communication is a bit of a stranger to us which sounds pretty bad but that's not an issue for today. 

I did the interview on both my mom, Francisca Cruz, and my dad, Angel Garcia. I didn't want to be rude and not let my dad participate, so you'll hear his story too, plus he's more of a talker than my mom so :) I knew going into this that I would have to kind of drag out answers from them because well they don't touch into their feelings too much let alone be open to talk about them. Throughout our talk I had to reword and expand far into questions and even change one or two. Before moving on, I really want to highlight that the interview was a different experience for them than it was for me. On my part, I was doing a sort of analysis on them, comparing my life to their teenage years and also piecing together their individual history and the history of their family that I did not know of, but was fun hearing about. For my parents, I saw them struggle to find an answer to questions and find the right words to be able to explain their selves, so for them, it was more like a thinking exercise. Overall, I believe we all benefited from this because it's not often that we get to sit down and hear each other speak. 

This is my mom and dad btw <3 
Now on to interview: 
(mind you, they sometimes aren't the most talkative people in the world so their responses may be short and sweet) 
Q1
Me: Who introduced music to you and how? 
Mom: My dad. How? Dancing. He would dance and so he taught us [her siblings and her] how to dance. Anytime there was a birthday, he would always play music. Him, my mom, uncles, everyone would get up and dance. 
Dad: The radio. My dad had placed a radio in every room so everyone would be hearing music throughout the house.  Also, in school it was mandatory for us to do a dance performance so music was very involved in every students childhood. 
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I always thought it was very neat how, where my parents grew up, the school would have them do performances, but instead of singing which is what my siblings and I were forced to do in elementary school, they had to dance all throughout their time in school until they graduated. I've never attended one live but this is what that looks like. It's really cute.

Q2
Me: What is the first memory you have of music and what is your favorite? 
Mom: My first memory would be hearing my mom and dad play music at home through the radio. They would listen to "Las Jilgerillas". My favorite is all the times I would see and hear my mom play her favorite, song, Maria Elena, because she would sing and whistle her heart out. 
-- Funny story, I asked my grandma about the song and she denied that it was favorite, but I started listening to the song after my mom put it on for me and it brings me so much pure joy now when I hear it play anywhere.
Dad: I've always listened to "Los Tucanes de Tijuana". I can't remember not listening to them.
--He's not lying. He will be 50 years old in a matter of 3 years and all my life he's never not listened to them. I asked more questions than I've included here but one of them was "How has you music taste changed over the years? " His reply, "It hasn't". 
Dad: My favorite memory would be thinking when I would drive across the country for a job I used to have and when we would be driving on the interstates we would play "Los Temerarios", "Bryndis" and some other groups. Those were good times. 
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This is a song by "Las Jilguerillas" called Busca Otro Amor (Find Another Love) 

This is my grandma's favorite song, even if she denies it, "Maria Elena". 

Q3
Me: What has been your favorite concert you have been to and why? 
Mom: I have 2! When I went to go see "Los Temerarios" and Enrique Iglesias. The first ever concert I went to was to go see "Los Temerarios" so that's why it's one of my favorites and Enrique Iglesias because that was the love of my life. 
--Fun Fact: all my family (mom, dad, brothers, sister, and me) has had an Enrique Iglesias phase!
Dad: My favorite was when I went to go see Juan Sebastian because I have been a fan of him all my life. I find out about all the artist I grew up listening to and still listen to through Johnny Canales TV show so through him I find out about Juan Sebastian. 
-- I've heard my dad mention Johnny Canales so much. I need to look into him. But onto Juan Sebastian, I LOVE JUAN SEBASTIAN!!! and it was because of my dad that I got into his music :D
This is just one of masterpieces, 

I was really interested in knowing if they had some background with instruments so the last 2 questions are based on that. 
Q4 
Me: Do you come from a family of musicians? 
Mom: no
Dad: Yes! My dad was in a band. He played the trumpet. 
--I knew this but had forgotten. Anytime my grandpa would call me while I was in middle and high-school he would ask how I was doing with my violin which I always loved and appreciated. He would always encourage me to keep working hard and not give up.  
Q5
Me: Did you ever have an interest in playing an instrument? 
Mom: I did! When I was around 15 years old, I would go to a house and look after some kids and there was this one girl. She was learning to play piano and watching her made me want to learn too. Since then, I've always thought piano is a beautiful instrument. 
Dad: no 
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I asked them more questions but these were my top ones. But yea, that's a little bit about my parents. Thanks for reading.