Saturday Stories
April 21, 2018
Franciso knew he'd marry Aurora when they met when they were eight. It was one of the few times he felt what it was like to be happy.
The boy had already lost so much in his young life – not knowing he would soon lose everything else.
They were in the forest where they saw the bodies of six people dumped in a mass grave, victims of extrajudicial killings under the regime of a psychopath.
Francisco was carrying his guitar, as always, and Aurora asked him to play. "For you?" he asked. The girl looked towards the grave and said: "For them..."
He played "Maalaala Mo Kaya," a beautiful melody by Filipino composer Constancio de Guzman. His teacher, El Maestro, said it was "sad enough to make the phonograph needle melt."
I've just read "The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto" by my beloved Mitch Albom for the seventh time – and I still cried at three key moments in this amazing story.
Once or twice in a lifetime, we come across a character who would permanently change how we see our entire life. We seem to be meeting him for the first time, but he has always been a part of our soul, just waiting for us to reunite after all those years.
I love Frankie Presto, so I was deeply moved by what happened to Baffa, whom he called "Papa," and the hairless dog who saved him in the river. I'm still shocked from the revelation under the statue of Francisco Tarrega, the legendary Spanish guitarist.
I can never forget the night he was born, hidden in a burning church. His mother was humming "Lagrima," the haunting melody composed by Tarrega. When I first heard "Lagrima," it felt like coming home.
It was the first music he heard – and the last time he would hear his mother's voice.
And I found myself in tears when El Maestro carried the young Frankie in his arms for the first and last time, and by what happened at the hospital in New Orleans during the hurricane, and the ending – when the sixth and last magic string came to life.
We all join a band in our lives. Some will change us forever.
Photo courtesy of AudioFileMagazine.com
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