Promesa

The Untold Story

There is no way to talk about this my new work Promesa without talking about my great-grandfather, Luis Rice. Almost half a century ago, he composed a song entitled Valz Esther to profess his undying love for his wife, Esther. He was younger than Esther and because of that, his love was controversial at the time. He had asked for Esther's hand in marriage a total of three times. The third time he was met with a shotgun to chase him away. Nonetheless, he persisted, eventually eloping secretly with his beloved.

Every generation of my family has since known the infamous story of Valz Esther. Luis passed the song down to his son Humberto, and Humberto passed it to his daughter Rebeca, my mother, who passed it down to me. I learned it as a young pianist, and I fell in love.

A recording of Valz Esther with soprano Olivia Gorra and pianist Jim Demster. This recording was a gift to my grandfather after he was named Alumni of the Year by El Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey.

With the first draft I gave my composition teacher, he stopped, looked at me, and said: “You don’t know what you’re doing, do you?” Truth be told, I really didn't. I wanted to make a piece that incorporated my great-grandfather's work, but I didn't want to just reiterate what he had already done in an arrangement. I needed to make it my own. Great artists steal, right? In any case, after about 4 more drafts, I brought the piece to a palatable place for my composition teacher and for myself. It's a passionate piece, and working on it has connected me to my family in many ways.

Creating Promesa