Power of the Voice

 As a regular listener of Tiny Desk I am especially grateful to NPR for bringing these three artists into our lives - Khaira Arby, Tamino and the unbelievable Silvana Estrada. So when I heard Silvana was touring and was going to be in LA, I promptly got the tickets as I knew my 16 year old would not want to miss seeing her live. But is she worth driving through 3 hours of Friday evening traffic from San Diego to LA, standing outside for 30 minutes waiting for the doors to open, then listening to the opening act (Doris Anahi who was also really good!) for another 30 mins (all standing) and then hearing her for an hour and a half (continuing to stand) and then driving back home close to midnight? The answer is ABSOLUTELY YES!

 

My daughter and I were probably the only folks in the 400 people theater who did not speak/understand Spanish, but that didn't mean we didn't know the music. This was just pure soul, something that struck you deep inside whether you are 16 or 60. This was my daughter's first non-Classical/ non-Indian music concert and what a glorious way to start! She was so grateful to me for doing all the driving on a working day, but I told her that this was something my dad would do for me (except he never drove any vehicle, so i had to drive him to accompany me to anywhere I wanted to go) when i was her age and I am only paying forward. My dad's family loved all arts and were not limited in who or what they admired and I am so thankful for that openness in my upbringing. A soulful voice is a soulful voice is a soulful voice! Throughout the concert, although we were probably 6 feet away from her, we could not believe that she was real and her music was actually coming from within her.

 

I also have to say what an amazing crowd of people to share the music with! With the pandemic we all have lost what it felt to share a live experience with a bunch of strangers. This concert proved how important that was to the human experience. Here we were amidst a sea of strangers, most of whom spoke Spanish and seem to know the lyric of every song, sharing the delight of music. People were so kind and typing into my daughter's phone any song title she had not heard before, or just being polite not blocking the view and being sensitive to each other.

Doris Anahi in her opening act talked about how blessed it is to be from two cultures and that was a feeling my daughter totally understood. When she creates music she borrows the best from her two cultures and to hear such strong, thinking, feeling, emotional young female voices was life-affirming for her. Thank you Silvana Estrada for giving my daughter and I an experience that is firmly etched in our shared memories!