Anyone who was at Jamtigua, the music festival in Guatemala last May, knows that it created a kind of instant family of friends. We had an impromptu reunion last weekend–on Friday, Rob called to say “Magda is coming to the States in two days…can you come to my house in Connecticut on Sunday?” So Sunday morning, Motorcycle Dave, Shankbone Dan, Nikkia and I headed up the Merritt Parkway. We were going to surprise Magda, our Guatemalan friend who was coming for the first time and was meeting Rob’s family for the first time too…we figured it might be nice for her to see some familiar faces.

Indeed, Magda started crying when we showed up on the porch with two dozen yellow roses. It was amazing to see her, and equally amazing to see her see America for the first time. She was particularly blown away by mailboxes, fire hydrants, and white picket fences, insisting that Rob took pictures of her beside every white picket fence they passed. We all ate great food cooked by Rob’s family, and hung around talking with his family friends.

But what does this have to do with Mi Viejo San Juan? Well, some of Rob’s close family friends are Puerto Rican. And one of them, Freddy, actually had a cuatro (a beautiful instrument kind of between a guitar and a mandolin) from PR, and also his guitar. He also brought some Spanish songbooks, and Magda sat down and went through, singing her favorite songs with Freddy’s accompaniment. It was great to hear her singing songs she had grown up with.

Then another friend came with her beautiful 80-year-old mother, Senora Flori (I think), who still lives in PR. And I was lucky enough to sit at the kitchen table with the two of them, as Senora Flori requested classic songs and Freddy played and sang them for her, and I played along on my fiddle. And now I am eager to learn all these old Puerto Rican songs…starting with “Mi Viejo San Juan.” Funny how something you’ve never heard can stick in your head so fast. And welcome to the States, Magda!!!