My Way to Santiago de Compostela: The Best Job of My Life!

Wow... The best job I've ever had, and here's why... I think those of you who know me here at Hive already know the answer to that question; and the truth is, if there's anyone who's genuinely in love with what they're doing to make a living right now, that's me. I don't know if it's because of how special it is or how hard I had to work to get it, and even though it’s not a perfect job (according to my fellow musicians who complain about everything), being part of my country’s national choir is something that fulfills me, that has given me experiences I never imagined I’d have, and that’s on a whole other level compared to every other job I had before turning 30 and boy, have I worked in my life...

The video and the photos I’m sharing above is an example of what we do, took place on a day like today, in March 2024, the path I chose for my life, one that has been with me for nearly nine years now. There we are, singing in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, a place I’d longed to visit since childhood and a beautiful opportunity that my work has afforded me. The piece is called O Vos Omnes, by the composer Pablo Casals, an artist I’ve listened to since my teenage years. I mention this because joining this choral group was a dream for me, but it’s been a dream that has helped me fulfill other dreams, as a musician, as a Catholic, and as a man in love. My work has changed my life forever.

I’ve had four jobs before this one, though I’m not sure if the first one counts. As a teenager, I worked at a church—not something as impressive as the European architecture you can see in these photos, but a large church in Maracay, my hometown. There I helped the nuns during Mass and had to clean everything up afterward, all while I was studying, but I had my own money to buy records of my favorite music. Then, like many in my country, I started working at McDonald’s as soon as I turned eighteen. I was there for three and a half years, and you know how it is—you do everything, literally “EVERYTHING”!!! When I graduated with a degree in computer science, things improved a bit. I worked at a government administrative agency, and although I had my own office and was doing very well in my job, you know that public administration in Venezuela is a mess. Plus, my dream of making a living from music—which I had been gradually getting back into in the afternoons and on weekends—began to weigh on me. And by the time I turned 25, I made the most momentous decision of my life: to move to another city to become a musician. In fact, I specifically wanted to sing in this choir...

But when I arrived in the capital, the hardest part began. I wanted to make it to the big leagues, but I wasn’t ready… My dad warned me before I moved, but I didn’t listen to him. I thought that singing well was enough, but music is serious business—it’s not just about singing. I almost gave up right at the start, but the woman who is now my wife was my biggest support, just as I was for her at that time. I met my girlfriend through music; we were both aspiring singers in this group, living in the same dorm, in different rooms. She joined the choir quickly, in just a matter of months, but it took me four years to make it, right when I turned 29. I learned to live on my own, started college, and took another terrible job as a call center operator—a part-time job that at least allowed me to study. Oh, and I also sang in smaller, unpaid groups, just so I wouldn’t lose my choral singing practice. My schedule was really packed for four years, while my “friend” and roommate got to visit countries like France, Italy, Portugal, and Austria on choir tours.

I’ve always said that 2016 was Venezuela’s worst year, and it was also the worst year of my life—until my dad passed away in 2023, and now we have a new record holder. But I was really about to give up; I was skinny, not because I was working out, but because I didn’t have enough to eat. I tried not to break down; I had to support Jhoxiris during the crisis, but at that time the choir still didn’t have a salary for all the singers, and she didn’t have one either. It was an experimental project that kept taking shape, but the tours did bring in substantial income for everyone. At 28, my parents were still sending me some money, and I’d get some leftover groceries here—it was a terrible time, and yet I endured it. But in 2017, auditions for new singers opened up again, and on the day it was my turn, I had second thoughts on the way there and told my friend I hadn’t gone... Something was telling me again that I wouldn’t make the cut, that I wasn’t good enough for that job, and a couple of days later, they called in the stragglers. That’s when I confessed to Jhoxiris that I hadn’t gone to the first audition, and I broke down and cried, cried, cried with so much pain that day...

I don’t know why they added an extra day to give irresponsible people who didn’t show up on their scheduled day another chance, but my now-wife practically dragged me—as if I were chained to her—to that audition, and with my spirits really low, I sang for the judges and went through all the other tests they had us do. Those results took almost two months because there were riots in Venezuela again that were disrupting the normal functioning of institutions, and since I had lost hope, I swear I was on the verge of signing with a call center company that offered me stability—a permanent position they wouldn’t move me from for several months—and it was in insurance sales. Jhoxiris kept telling me not to sign, she insisted a lot, and later I found out that she already knew I had the spot secured in the choir, but she couldn’t tell me until I received the email. Suddenly my life changed: she and I kissed for the first time, I received the email saying I’d been selected to join the choir, the quality of the music I was making improved overnight with my first rehearsal—which was with a guest international conductor—and in less than a month I earned my first decent salary in my entire life; that very year, they finished professionalizing all the singers.

I waited 29 years to start living the life I’d always imagined, but I’m happy to say that I never lost sight of my goal, and I’m not one to settle—I know that things can always get better if you want them to. For now, I’m still working on myself, on my skills and knowledge, because everything depends on that—along with a positive attitude. I think that’s why this job is so meaningful to me and is the best I’ve ever had, because it was something I sweated, cried, and pursued for years. They turned me down three times, which means they really saw something in me on that fourth try. The country was still in bad shape, you know how that ended, but then came my illness in 2019, the pandemic in 2020, and my dad’s accident and death in 2023, but I never completely lost hope; the music itself and this job helped keep me going, and suddenly in 2024, international tours resumed, adding even more joy to being part of this project.

The concert at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain was the choir’s best concert since I joined, and that’s something all of us who were part of that trip agree on. The cathedral, the impressive audience, the sound quality, and even our uniforms—everything, everything was a dream come true. That day, tears welled up in my eyes once again, but this time they were tears of happiness—a happiness that came into my life after the greatest pain—and I dare say that I’ve carried that energy with me ever since, even on bad days. Not everyone can rely on their work to feel better, and that’s why I say this is the best job of my life. My days are spent amidst the most sublime melodies; they’re like sung prayers, and if you perform them from the soul, you’re able to live in peace 🙏