I started playing violin as a three-year-old. My first experience was the world of classical music, practicing long hours under strict professors and slowly developing technique.

As a teenager, I started to learn guitar. I wanted to have more fun with music and the guitar was the perfect vehicle for that. It opened the doors of folk and popular music, and allowed me to start using my voice. I think music found me, and I was lucky to have parents and teachers who understood its value.

I would love to be an accomplished pianist! It is such a versatile instrument, and a powerhouse when it comes to composing and music production. I learned the basics many years ago, but I’d love to master it.

Then again, I am usually tapping my fingers on every possible surface and I enjoy complex rhythms, so perhaps entering the world of percussion — with its amazing diversity of instruments — would be a lot of fun as well.

For the mind: Chess and good literature, particularly the classics. For the soul: Vipassana meditation. For the body: Karate and boxing.

From the vast, infinite darkness behind our eyes; the realm of all cosmoses and all possibilities.
In order to access it, we must strike a balanced combination of hard work — learning our craft with discipline — and time away from music, simply living and experiencing the world. Life will give us the message, but hard work and commitment are the tools that we need to translate it and turn it into reality.

I am convinced that we are meant to be creative beings, and I also believe that the essence of human nature is good and compassionate (in spite of the overwhelming amount of evidence pointing to the contrary).

Therefore, I would choose to be an artist inanother discipline, a sculptor, perhaps. And if you consider that answer as getting off the hook too easily, I would choose to be a scientist, maybe an astronomer (Carl Sagan was a personal hero). After all, if you remove money from the equation, only arts and science continue to have a meaningful purpose, because they are professions that don’t rely on money as an external motivation. Rather, they constitute the reward in and of themselves: creation and discovery.

Yes, it can. But as long as we keep thinking of it as business and entertainment, it will not happen. Music can save the world because the world is made of music. I am not using a metaphor here! Whenever you travel to a different country where you don’t speak the local language, you start pondering how helpful it would be to understand everything around you; how much depth it would add to your experience and to your knowledge.

Well, the language of our universe is music (vibration). To study music is to learn the ABCs that can give us wisdom, meaning and understanding in our lives. Today, we use music as a product and as entertainment, because we are ignorant and have forgotten its magic. But I am an optimist who believes that little by little we will begin to remember and to comprehend the true depth of music, and the essential role it plays in shaping our minds, our hearts, and our society.

I enjoy the process of making music more than listening to it. Besides, these days it’s hard to find something worth listening to. But on the rare occasions when I do, I lean more towards individual songs and compositions, rather than artists as a whole. There are many pieces that I consider fantastic — too many to list here! — but I am terrible at remembering names. Not to avoid the question, I consulted the web to gather the details of a few pieces that I could listen to anytime: Silvio Rodriguez - “La Maza” and “Sueño de una Noche de Verano”; Stevie Wonder - “Sir Duke” and “Superstition”; The Cranberries - “Animal Instinct”; Alanis Morissette - “You Oughta Know”; Mendelssohn - “Violin Concerto No.2 in E Minor, Op. 64 (Third Movement)”; and Astor Piazzolla - “Escualo”.

This is such an unfair question! How could you choose between two elegant, decadent, and delicious things? I refuse to make a choice here...the consequences would be too dire.

If I am in a country with a strong coffee-drinking tradition, I will have it the local way. In Mexico, I enjoy café de olla, made in a clay pot with cinnamon, clove, and panela (unrefined cane sugar). Otherwise, I'll take it with a dash of whole milk, no sugar, and — if I’m lucky — a quiet morning.

A wolf, of course! Not only does it match my name (in Spanish), but I also admire their teamwork, loyalty, and fierceness.

Yes, quite a few! I had the wonderful opportunity of recording with Bruce Springsteen on three occasions; Western Stars, Tracks II: The Lost Albums, and for a yet unreleased album last spring (2025). Many years ago, I met Dolly Parton and performed “9 to 5” with her in Dollywood. I was also part of the Grammy-winning album Fandango At The Wall in New York, where I performed alongside Grammy-winners — and role models — Arturo O’Farrill and Antonio Sanchez. For the 2008 holiday season, I found myself in Broadway’s New Victory Theater, singing side by side with Disney Channel star Dan Zanes. On another occasion, I ran into Mexican actor and comedian Eugenio Derbez in Washington D.C., and I was once interviewed by Latin superstar Thalia on her radio show. Last but not least, I performed “Happy Birthday” for Sarah Jessica Parker during a surprise party organized by Oscar de la Renta.

Home-made popcorn, using 50% vegetable oil and 50% butter, accompanied with a dipping sauce made with fresh lime juice, soy sauce, salt, and Mexican spicy salsa Valentina. Try it!

Give equal importance to those who praise your work, and to those who criticize it. Always remain humble and authentic. Live every day aware of your mortality, befriend death as the most powerful reminder of what truly matters.

It all happened very suddenly, one summery morning, when I was 3 years old. Cats: The Musical had just toured my city and there was a news report about it playing on the TV in the living room, where I was doing some very important 3-year-old business. They played an excerpt from the musical — “Memory”, for those familiar with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s work — and I liked it so much, that I ran into the kitchen to ask the source of all worldly wisdom, my parents, what that song was. To their surprise, I sang back the whole 1-minute fragment just as it had played on the news. They knew I had only heard it once, so they decided that my musical ability was something worth investigating!

I’ve always been attracted to percussion. Of course, if you are of the school of thought which argues that piano is a percussive instrument, you could say that I already play percussion. Yet, I mean percussion in a purer sense. Whenever I see an orchestral performance, it seems to me that the percussion section is having the most fun! I’ve even taken a few Afro-Latin Percussion workshops in my attempt to bridge the gap. As of late, I’ve also been dreaming of taking up banjo or bandoneon, and conquering the harmonica at last!

I’m a foodie and, as a collateral of that, I really enjoy cooking. I love a good crime or horror novel, like Thomas Harris or Jo Nesbo. I also have a fairly strong addiction to sci-fi movies; I’ve watched the entire Alien franchise four times, and I’m ready to do it again! I like spending time outside, discovering new places, and I have ample interest in fitness and wellness.

From the world. It can be something concrete — an idea from a book or a movie; a recent trip; the unique syntax of a phrase heard on the subway. Other times it’s more abstract, little bits that have promise but no clear path of development just yet; like a musical motif or a word that has a particular ring to it. So I let them sit there, in the mental space, and see what becomes of them later on.

I’m keen on science and for the longest time after high school, I considered a bachelor’s in molecular biology. I believe I’d be fairly happy being a scientist or a surgeon.

Alternatively, I’d love to be a chef or a baker. Food is such an important part of our lives! But just like with music, the way in which it’s prepared — and the intention behind it! — can make all the difference.

Like many grandiose questions, I believe it has a “yes” and a “no” answer.
Yes, music can save the world, because it has the capacity to inspire, to leave us pondering complex questions, and thus prompt change - big or small.

No, because music itself will not bring the change about. The artist puts in the intention; the listener, if receptive, takes it in. But, given the subjectivity of art, there’s no guarantee that the listener will 100% understand the artist’s intention, let alone act upon it. As artists, I don’t think we can avoid creating art in response to what’s happening in the world, but I don’t believe we do it with the intention of “saving the world”. We create art as a means of setting off a beacon that attracts like-minded people. And if we have a common sense of unity within our ideas and beliefs, we are a community. And a community is able to withstand any difficulty and maybe even bring positive change to the world.

It non-negotiably must contain some rock and heavy metal, — like KISS, Van Halen, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, or Slipknot, — and it will all be violently mixed with some French chanson, Latin music, and hip-hop.

I’d say dessert. Primarily, because it gives you a chance of experiencing a completely different flavor profile from the main dish — something savory, followed by something sweet. However! In a large group setting, say 4+ people, an appetizer provides an opportunity to try many different things; granted everyone takes one and everyone shares. So there’s no single answer for me! It depends on the occasion.

Black! With no room for anything. The only hot beverage that can sway me from my path of caffeine purity is a mint mocha.

I would like to be a lynx! In particular, one living in colder regions. I imagine it would be rather exciting to be able to explore snowy plains and forests more effectively. I also admire their agility and speed.

Yes! I’ve met Hugh Grant on the train to St. Petersburg. But I’m ashamed to say that I was completely oblivious to the fact that it was him. Everyone — but me! — seemed to have realized that we were in the presence of the great British actor. He kept walking through my coach car again and again, and eventually it dawned on me as well. I wonder if I could’ve spared him a few laps around the train if I were more attentive from the get-go.

Freshly popped popcorn! Maybe with something sweet mixed in, like M&Ms, for the ultimate sweet and salty snack.

“Stick to your guns!” As muttered by an elderly 70-something gentleman, who used to be a biker and a rock guitarist, but now found himself living in a quaint village town, relentlessly missing the city life.

Having lived a long life, I’m sure that he placed several meanings into that phrase. And, I believe, there are many more that could be derived from this single exclamation. I consider it a valuable piece of advice, partly, due to its ubiquitous quality, but mainly, because it reminds you to always listen to and respect your inner truth, and to hold your ground.