“My great strength is knowing who I am and where I come from, my island.” – Oscar de la Renta
I honestly don’t talk about myself a lot today. So again, my name is Luis Alfaro, and my pronouns are he/him/his. I talk a lot about Soon Hee Newbold and her music that tells stories through a string orchestra. Anyways, I am first-gen in my family, and the pressure is to make sure that I try to make my family proud. It’s a big deal since I’m the first one in my family to go to a huge university like the University of Oklahoma. I come from a house of 12 kids, and I am number 8 in my family. I love my family, and I celebrate my Hispanic culture all the time. I consider myself a no sabo kid which means I never knew how to speak Spanish growing up. I took Spanish both in 8th grade, and my freshmen year of high school. I loved the class, and the teacher that I had was Señora Sanchez. I love how she made the class engaging not only for me but for other students in the class. I was a person that loved Spanish and wished that I took Spanish III in high school. But it’s okay, as long as I love learning Spanish, and my own culture, I forever will respect that so much.
Anyways, to shift gears. I mentioned how earlier I love Soon Hee Newbold. I love how in the string orchestra, she gives every section a melody. Most songs that only involve string orchestras always have the first violin section have the melody. Not only that, she brings other cultures alive in her composing. From her composing Egyptian Legacy, Arabian Dreams, Lion City, etc. They convey Egpyt, the Middle East, and Singapore. One of the songs that she composed is Fantasía Española. She composes of Spanish traditions and the culture itself. I applaud her for cultural appreciating including any culture she ever composed.
Please listen to Fantasía Española while reading About the Music.
About the Music:
Experience the truly colorful traditions of Spanish festivals, from the dramatic costumes to the infamous bullfighting and fascinating dances.
This song alone reminds me of the Disney movie, Coco. Coco is the best Disney movie to portray Hispanic culture positively!! 10/10!!