Driving in a car on a highway, what music would you love to turn up loud to play and hear. Write about the experience.
Sixteen years old, a summer in Mexico, I was studying Spanish, and learning about the world. I felt at home there among the throng of people. In the public market I fell in love with the sounds, smells, the people and Mariachi music of Guadalajara. It was my first time traveling independently, on a jet plane, except for five other students. We split up on arriving and I lived with a Mexican family of four. Far away from our small town atmosphere, we were to speak Spanish all the time; we learned quickly. One Sunday afternoon, we girls went to see the movie "Rome Adventure" with Troy Donahue and Susanne Pleshette. The film was dubbed in Spanish with English subtitles. The couple fall in love while traveling Italy's countryside via motorbike. I will never forget how romantic it was. At that time in my life it left a deep impact. First love and all of that. And the song they played in the movie was "Al Di La". Hopelessly I carried the song with me as I traveled back home. It played on the radio all that summer long in '63. I always turned the volume up when driving in the car and it played. To this day, it sends shivers up my back.
His candelabra
in tow, we listened to our
new song holding hands
I spent six months studying conversational Spanish in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and stayed with a family in 1972. Although it wasn't part of a school program, it may have been similar to your experiences. I vaguely remember Al Di La. It is a beautiful song.
ReplyDeleteUnforgettable, like yours no doubt.;)
DeleteWhat a wonderful memory and such a beautiful song. I remember it well. I remember the movie too. My too teenaged aunts snuck away from home and took me as an excuse to go see it. The haiku at the end is lovely as well.
ReplyDeleteI think that there is music that will jog those memories for us all... a wonderful memory of learning languages and seeing something new.
ReplyDeleteoh wow - that sounds like an amazing time - and i totally understand how a song can transfer us right back to a specific time or moment
ReplyDelete