Singing for life with Maestro Gerardo Guevara

I sing because there is no other way to share my feelings with such freedom. Some people say that singing is hard; others say that singing is easy. I like to think that the transformation of air into melodies is a miracle supported by our soul. The singing voice can communicate love, hate, and everything in between. It requires discipline to practice devoutly and efficiently to learn rhythm, melodies, harmony, and the words that connect all the ideas a composer poured into the song.

In 2016, I travelled to Guayaquil. I was preparing for my long-awaited trip to move to the United States of America to pursue a Master of Music in Voice Performance at the University of Idaho. I visited Maestro Gerardo Guevara, a composer, choir director, and more, at his home in Guayaquil, upon the recommendation of Dr. Alex Alarcón, a pianist at the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional del Ecuador and the Conservatorio Nacional del Ecuador.

I thanked Maestro Guevara for being a leading figure in music in my home country, Ecuador. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to meet the composer of most of the vocal and choral music I grew up singing. In particular, I love performing these: "Me Recordarás en el Agua" and "Despedida." I asked him about Despedida, and he candidly told me that he was feeling nostalgic about leaving Ecuador to study in France, and therefore, he composed Despedida.

Life is a wonderful journey. One day, I was concerned about moving from Ecuador to the U.S. Now it has been nine years since my visit to Maestro Guevara. I treasure his wise words of encouragement and the picture we took with his wife, Maria Jaramillo, that afternoon.