Music and Family

Me: What kind of music did you listen to as a child?

Aunt: Well, my mom would take me to the library and I remember that I would check out records from the library. I would listen to all sorts of different things.  I would play any record I had over and over again because we didn't have many records. I think because of that I learned about different kinds of music when I was young. I also remember that my mom would buy records at yard sales. For some reason there were a lot of musicals. So, I grew up listening to South Pacific, and the King and I. I don't remember any other musicals.

Me: How did you listen to the music, what technology did you use?

Aunt: All we had were record players. It would play 45 records and LPs.

Me: Okay, what sort of environment did you listen to music in?

Aunt: Most of the time I listened to music alone. Listened to the radio a lot. I remember I would listen to the radio for a song I liked.  I remember really liking the song called "Band on the Run".  I would listen to the radio all day long waiting for it to come on. It was only later, in high school, that I started listening to music with my friends. I remember that the Eagles “Hotel California” was the first album I ever bought for myself. One of my friends had it too. So then we started to listen to music together.

Me: How did your parents or teachers feel about your music of choice?

Aunt: Oh, wow! My mom was the one who would take me to the libraries to check out records and stuff. My dad was kind of upset because I was listening to Jazz in high school and he didn't like Jazz. He thought that it wasn't good music. He listened to easy listening music. I think he just didn't understand it. He also didn't think too highly of the people who played Jazz. So, he wasn't happy at all with me listening to it. But, my mom was pretty supportive.

Me: Did you play an instrument?

Aunt: Oh yeah! First, I played a violin. I only knew the words violin and piano and you're suppose to write down three different instruments. But, I only knew the names of two different instruments. Fortunately the band guy said if you don't know how to spell "saxophone" you can just spell "sax". I went ahead and wrote sax down as my third choice. I really didn't want to play violin. I wanted to play bass. Whenever I would learn about a larger instrument I would ask to play it. So, I went from violin, to viola, then to cello. I couldn't take it home or anything. I had to practice in the band room. I remember that it had metal knobs on it. Whenever I would pick it up, and bring it upright, the metal knobs would hit me in the head. It hurt. Later on, they didn't have a string program anymore so I had to switch instruments. The choices were trumpet, or saxophone. I didn't think girls could play trumpet back then. So, I played saxophone. I still liked the big instruments. One day I saw this huge case in the band room and I asked the band director what it was. And it turned out to be a beri sax. That's how I wound up playing beri sax in junior high school.

Me: Why do you listen to music?

Aunt: I guess because it's really interesting. Some music just makes me really, really happy. Such as music like "Four Seasons", or the soundtrack from the Bugs Bunny show.  I thought a lot of music was exciting. It just made me feel good. It's fun to listen to. Some music is just plain beautiful. Other times I just like to sing along to the music. Music kind of keeps me company.

Me: Were there certain situations that turned you to a certain type of music?

Aunt: Yeah. In junior high school I had a history teacher who found out that I played beri sax. He said I should listen to Jerry Mulligan. It was really cool to be in the Jazz band. All my friends were listening to Jazz. It was like everybody I knew was playing Jazz. I had some friends who went to the Berkley's School of Music to study Jazz. For a while I was really, really into it.

Me: Were you ever exposed to music outside your own culture?

Aunt:  Jazz was different from my family's culture since we are Costa Rican. My Dad listened to easy listening music. My mom would listen to Costa Rican music every once in a while on Saturdays. That's what she would use to clean to house. I liked to listen to Jazz and Western Classical music. It was very different from the Costa Rican music I grew up with.

Me: Is there anything you can say about Costa Rican music?

Aunt:  Costa Rican music is really, really energetic.What I like are the stories that some of the old Costa Rican folktales tell.  It is usually about falling in love, or how beautiful the women in Costa Rica are. That's pretty much what its about. The other cool thing that I liked was when people would play the Marimba at a Costa Rican party. There would be three, or four people playing on one Marimba. It was really cool. It has a really cool sound. The other really cool thing is that in Costa Rica they still get people to serenade at parties and birthdays. Music and performance is an important part of Costa Rican parties.