By José Dominguez, January 28, 2021 — I finished my high school studies at the age of 17 at the Jesuit school named Instituto Regional de Chihuahua. After 3 years of secondary studies and 2 years of high school, I was prepared to attend my graduation ball with the rest of my friends.
It was summer night and lots of people were there among schoolmates and relatives that were accommodated in the interior of the hall. The dance floor was surrounded, not by tables but by grass and trees, and the stars were shining since there was not a single cloud in the sky. Since I arrived, I was sure that something nice was going to happen. It was my night.
Immediately I noticed the presence of Josefina. Josefina was Federico’s sister, one of my buddies. When I visited his home I had a chance to meet her. But I was not totally aware of her presence since she was always dressed in a school uniform which concealed most of her attributes. But now she was radiantly dressed for the party. Uncandidly, I thought she was dressed gracefully for me, only for me. I didn’t look at the other girls, I fixated my eyes on her loudly smiling face and her natural manners. Without thinking twice, I invited her to dance and we danced for a long time. We were really having fun; I was sure of that. My frustration came when at the last part of the party, it was not possible to continue with her since another guy from the school was faster than me to invite her and she accepted before I arrived. [As] annoyed I was, at least I had obtained from her a date in her house. It was great since I had her telephone number so I arranged our encounter.
When the day came, she was prepared. No more school uniform as [she wore] the previous times. She was lovely, simply dressed. Her face was always embellished by her smile. Then invited me to the living room. The place was not totally lit up. The most important illumination came from a little piano bulb that glowed over the keyboard and shined enough to sketch the black piano placed near the wall. She told me, “I want you to hear what I have prepared, it’s a simple Cuban song from Ernesto Lecuona and it’s named “Comparsa.” I hope you like it!” Then, she sat positioning her hands over the keys. I was seated on the floor and looked at how her face was completely exposed so I could follow her movements. She didn’t begin immediately. After two or three breaths, her left hand began touching softly the white and black rectangles.
In the beginning, the touch was very smooth and lilting. Nothing loud at all but clear and noticeable. The rhythm was set slow, not intrusive. Then with her right hand began to play the melodious notes at the same volume level. Each time she increased the speed and volume of the rhythm. Symmetrically, the melody became more evident and joyful. Josefina kept her eyes closed when the tempo was smooth. When the melody became intense it seemed like sparkles shined in her eyes. Increasingly, the song became festive and she followed the song with slight body movements. In a way, it was melancholic music but at the same time, it reflected the passionate sensitivity of those tropical lands where lines, songs, and feelings are on the surface of the skin.
The piano was also impacted by the crescendo and palpitated at her strokes. The atmosphere of the room was filled with notes confused harmonically in the loud finale where you easily imagine drums, timbals, maracas, guiros, guitars, and people dancing. The outcome of my date was not so important as the musical performance was. Nothing happened between Josefina and I. After several encounters, each one [went] a different way. But the main thing was the magic of the music became permanent. The spell filled up those moments with flying notes from the Cuban tropical jungle.