SOINUAREN BIDAIA (THE ADVENTURE OF AN ACCORDION)

Febuary 11, 2010


All of us the musicians that we throw our heart into a particular instrument, reaching a special bond with him, doubting if that inert being that seems to be an extension of our body doesn’t have life itself. So after countless hours of travel and experiences with him, we begin to name it, and so on. But even as Annie Proulx´s narrates in her book “Accordion Crimes” that thrilled me to see that in her book she mentions one of my songs “Zolloko San Martinak” in where our instrument can become a protagonist of an amazing story. Edna Annie Proulx was born in Connecticut (USA) 1935. After majoring in history, she became a journalist until her appearance in the literary world. Some of her books have received the Pulitzer or the National Book Award. One of her best known novels is Brokeback Mountain but the book that has captivated me is “Accordion Crimes”. Sicily 1890, a craftsman and his son travel to America carrying with him only, his masterpiece a button, ivory and varnished lid accordion. From there on different characters will be appearing, their dreams and their failures, showing us a stark reality of a country in full effervesces. Africans, Polish, Italians, Swedes, Irish, Basque and so on will provide the fuel for a big lie, that of anyone who knows that becoming an American will reach wherever they longed. The price is a change of a name, a language, a culture, at the end, your personal essence. Those who refused to change suffered the consequences but also who did “sell” themselves for the promise of something better spectacularly failed. The real success is based on the inside pride of yourself and not on selling something that does not exist. Bringing out the magic we have within is the real secret of success and our best weapon is the power of our mind to achieve our goals, because the mind, our mind is the only one that can become whatever we want to be.