Witnessing the Birth of a Creative Giant

Songwriter, poet, artist. My sister could do it all

She sat at the edge of the bed holding her Spanish guitar and said “I wrote a song. Would you like to hear it?”

She plucked the low E string and followed that with a triad of high notes that established the rhythm of the composition.

She sang about the pangs of love in an indifferent world. The rhyming chorus had a strong hook that was not easy to forget.

I watched and listened in awe. My adolescent senses told me that I was witnessing the birth of a creative giant. Maria Angelica Ramirez would become just that.

My sister was twenty years my senior, and had been like a mother to me. We developed a strong bond. I became a young uncle to her seven daughters.

The events that followed the writing of her song “Como Una Ola” (Like a Wave) are experiences that were truly unique. They shaped my understanding of the value of creativity.

Goyita — as I affectionately called her — was afflicted by monophobia. She would not leave her home unaccompanied. I became her constant companion.

Following the birth of that first composition, we headed to the home of a musical director.

Goyita did not read or write music. She needed help. We entered a dark dingy space where a large piano took center stage.

She uncased her guitar and played the song for the director. He proceeded to play along on the piano.

He played with one hand. He wrote on musical notation paper with the other, as easily as you and I would write a grocery list.

In what seemed only minutes, not hours, he had transposed the song onto musical staff paper. Once again I was in awe.

A few weeks later, I found myself inside the RCA recording studio in downtown Santiago.

The musical director distributed the sheet music to each musician. They began to rehearse their parts independently from one another. They sounded more like the end of the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” than a coherent orchestra.

The director then took his position on the studio floor. He began to guide the musicians through the arrangement. After a couple of rehearsals, the sound engineer was alerted to begin recording.

In just a couple of takes, the orchestra had laid down the stereo tracks onto tape. Without much fanfare, the musicians packed up their instruments and left.

Goyita stood alone in the studio facing a large microphone and began singing over the recorded tracks.

The record was released some weeks later and the promotional tour began.

Radio interviews, variety show performances, and a fifteen-city tour through Southern Chile followed.

It was on that tour bus that the band’s guitar player allowed me to play his hollow-body Gibson while we traveled. That gesture most likely cemented my guitar-playing efforts.

In 1965 I stood on the wings of the Quinta Vergara Amphitheater and watched my sister win the Viña del Mar International Song Festival with her song Como Una Ola.

The Festival is considered to be the most important musical event in the Americas.

My sister returned in 1975 as one of the finalists in the Festival with her song Yo Sigo Cantando.(I keep singing)

Her immense talent would catapult Goyita into one of Chile’s most celebrated composers and poets.

She released one full album and countless singles. Many international stars recorded her songs. After retirement from the music industry, she became a celebrated poet and visual artist.

My immigration to Canada in 1968 prevented me from witnessing some of the accomplishments of her illustrious career. Yet I have never forgotten the spark that ignited that musical flame.

I have never considered myself to be a portrait photographer but I have always liked the photo that illustrates this story. I shot that photo forty years after the birth of her musical career.

Goyita always possessed a palpable regal intensity. When she entered a room, the fish stopped swimming. Her humanity and softness, however, were never too far behind. I think her portrait reflects that.

Goyita passed away in 2014 after a lengthy battle with dementia. It seemed wrong to me that such a powerful creative mind would be diminished by the loss of cognitive functioning.

Her legacy is strong. She co-founded the Chilean Society for Author’s Rights — which ensures that creators are compensated for their work.

I have been fortunate to have had two incredibly talented sisters, each in their own way contributed to my appreciation of the arts.

I am forever thankful for that.