Never Forget The Power of Art: How The Power of Music Helped Me

Bear with me here today. I am going to share a personal story about myself to make a point about art and the power it can have to help people. Many people know me as the rocker, paranormal guy. The guy who goes out and chases UFOs and looks for invisible people who were once alive. Drinks up with his friends and ladies while belting Ramones and KISS songs at Metalsome Inc.  That my friend is just a part of me. Actually it’s just a fraction of me that is small, very small… Foremost and above all I am an artist. A photographer, writer, poet and painter, who has a passion for classical music and jazz. I was born Tico from the always beautiful Costa Rica. Yes I am Latino, something many people also seem to forget about me. Still that is okay, because for most of my public life I never brought those things out to the forefront. I NEVER hid it from anyone, people who know me personally knows these things. But in my day to day and in my professional life these things began to fade to the background sadly. Which is ironic in a way because I am in Norcross an art town.

Art is a powerful thing… To elaborate when I was a child in Costa Rica my mother always had me doing some little art project, be it painting, drawing or coloring if that was all that was available. My father would have me reading, the man is a voracious reader! Of course as you can assume that lead me to writing. Like Norcross, Costa Rica is big on the arts. Most of us Ticos (As Costa Ricans love to call ourselves) are exposed to the arts in one way or another, in day-to-day life and education, and are quite proud of it. A former president of the nation has been quoted as saying “Why can’t we (Ticos) not have tractors and violins?” I was exposed and enveloped with this at an early age; the arts were always there. As I got older my early teens if I am correct, my parents gifted me with two more parts to my arts education. First was music, which became a huge problem solving and comfort in later years. Then the camera, my best friend and lover some will say. My Grandmother used to joke it was more my eyes than the two god gave me. Before she died she told me to never leave to any location without it. Sadly I didn’t listen to her for many years, which brought me many issues.

Later in my life as I became an adult, I took off to new adventures with my camera and love for the arts. I traveled good miles of the world, had images published and put in galleries. I had the honor to see not just the beauty of nature in the world. I got to see the beauty in the day to day of people around the world and capture it on film and digital media. But the older I got the less and less that opportunity came and like many I became frustrated with my dreams and I gave them up. I put my camera (Actually cameras by then) in the closet and I walked away.  I began to work jobs, still close to the film and photography mediums for many years. I had jobs in labs and editing, never feeling fulfilled. When I began to hurt for money I started doing jobs outside of the field. Slowly as years passed becoming depressed, feeling like a part of me was missing.

My mother being well a mother seemed to notice that with me. To put it in a perspective, I was doing well in many places in my life. I had a good job, respect from others in my field of studying the unknown. I also got back in to writing and made a good book I co-wrote with Sally Toole ("Souls of Norcross: A Railroad Town With an Afterlife"). But personally I was not there, not where I used to be and wanted to be again. Truthfully I knew why, I knew that my personal expression was not being shared. I may have written many of my adventures on paper but the raw visual expression was missing. I was not sharing how I saw those adventures. I tried many times to do it though. I would pick up my camera and or a canvas, to no avail. Then Mom, back from a trip back home from Costa Rica brought me a CD from a band called Editus. She knew I loved classical music and these were some amazingly talented hometown boys doing their versions of some of classical music’s greatest hits. It did not take long for the music to trigger something in me, and my imagination was again soaring. The depression began to fade because I was again learning the mysteries of art, how to take what is in me and show it to the world. I was painting to the music, getting the actual printed music and following the tempo and notes with my brushes. I was also trying the same experiments with my camera. In time confidence came back and I was doing my own personal ideas. I felt like me again.  The art brought something to me, something very important. A voice that is in me that words alone can’t express. Something that medication and therapy could not fix on their own.

Why am I sharing this personal story about myself? Simply because lately I have been hearing many people and politicians saying that the arts are meaningless, that we as a community and nation should not be supporting it anymore. I see that as pure hogwash! Art is important, after 911 look at all the art that was made in the process of healing. Look at the concerts and art exhibits that were made to show the affected cities that we care and love them… Also look at ourselves when someone we love passes. How a song, book, story or photograph brings back a beautiful memory of the person who passed comforts and heals us. Many times I have heard someone say they wish they could write a book or story with the words of their lost loved ones to share with others. Lets face it almost all of us make poetry when we are hurt. At least in our heads if we can’t get it to paper. Some of us are talented enough to put those feeling in to music or a visual medium.

The arts do not just move us emotionally in hard times. Think about it we all have a favorite movie, TV show and song. One that puts a smile on our face and reminds us of happy times with friends, family and a significant other. For some examples, every time I hear “Rock and Roll All Nite” from KISS I think of many a good time with my closest friends. “Earache My Eye” from Cheech and Chong reminds me of silly days as a kid with my oldest friend and his father. “Abuelita” from Ruben Blades grabs me with memories of my grandmother and all the amazing meals I shared with her and my family. When I see the ultra bad “The Legend of The Seven Golden Vampires” on TV I am reminded of one of the best nights of my life! Trust me I know you all have those songs and movies too.  Give a big thank you to the arts!

My good friend and partner in paranormal investigation crime Bruce Mangan (A trained musician) always at some point when we are together talks to me about music therapy in the medical field. I always assumed it was because he could see how it was done with me without a physician.  Because of Bruce when I take a break and listen to some music to relax, I always take some time and look up some articles on the topic and last night I came upon a TED Talks video from Robert Gupta called “Between music and medicine" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx6KK-eT4qw) in which he tells his story and gives more examples of art especially music helping others is serious medical and mental health needs. There is a second video him too called “Music is medicine, Music is sanity” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_SBGTJgBGo) which I recommend. He can talk about this topic in a more eloquent tone and show you extreme examples of how the art and music can help many people. Hopefully I can have those videos attached to this blog.

To sum things up, I know we as a nation are in hard times. Money is tight and we are looking for places to save a dollar or more. But please don’t skimp on the arts in any form. Don’t cheat the future of the world without showing them ways that they can express their personal voices. Don’t cut them from an outlet to where they can express their emotions in a peaceful manner. Or get out of a funk. Music and the arts are not just about business. They are not the exclusive realms of Hollywood, magazines and the music industry. Let’s keep the arts; lets just not let it get to our heads. Lets keep it simple and form of educating the young and the curious. We don’t need multi-million dollar art centers to teach these skills. We don’t need a new arena or concert hall for a band to play in, for now we can do with the basics… We can grow, as we need, for now lets just get back on the ball and enjoy it is beautiful, personal and simplest forms. Let use it to get a smile on our faces and teach it for children to enjoy. Lets use art to share and move others.  

“ 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,' - that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” ~ John Keats

P.S. – To the people of the City of Norcross and the nation of Costa Rica, thank you! Keep doing a good job! Blue trees, yarn bombs, art fests and all!