San Francisco
MUSIC Information:
- California Sessions
- C Major / A minor
- 36 Measures
- Cello and Piano
- 3:04 min
- 3 Pages
I suppose in about a fortnight or so, we shall be told that he has been seen in San Francisco. It’s an odd thing, but everyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco. It must be a delightful city, and possess all the attractions of the next world.” — The Picture of Dorian Gray by Wilde
IN FOR A TREAT
When I first moved to San Francisco, I really did not know I was in for a treat; everything seemed brand new, bigger, brighter and faster. I was twenty five years old. I did not know what to expect from this remarkably city with such an awful name, but as soon as I step out of the plane, I felt the magic in the air. They said Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, but they are wrong, surely because, perhaps, they have never been in San Francisco before.
San Francisco is a city packed with history, culture, landmarks, and beautiful people. Its development and rapid growth, is directly tight to the Gold Rush and since 1849, is one of the most important cities in the United States. The list of places to visit are endless. I couldn't resist not to mention some of the most well known.
Alcatraz Island
Golden Gate Bridge
Lombard Street
Fisherman's Wharf
Chinatown
Coit Tower
Union Saquare
Palace of Fine Arts
STORIES TO TELL
It is almost intoxicating to know I had possibly walked on the same streets as Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, or Isabel Allende; just to mention a few of my favorite writers. I can think of a few great painters also, but Margaret Keane has a special place in my book, she was a painter that I like very much, with an incredibly life story to tell, her studio still is open on Geary Street.
The City has a way of collecting moments and memories, even for those of us who arrived later. Today, it only takes a click to uncover them. I recently discover FoundSF website. The variety of articles available in their website increases often, and the stories of real people are a delight to be cheer for generations to come.
There is another story I read a while back that comes to mind, that of Julia Child while eating at Tu Lan, a Vietnamese restaurant on 6th Sreet, between Market and Mission Street, a neighborhood that is not exactly a place where I want to take my mom for an outing. The restaurant is still open for business and has excellent reviews.
HOLLYWOOD IN S.F.
There's been so many movies and TV sitcoms taken place in San Francisco, so many indeed, that at times, it almost felt as if Hollywood had moved into the neighborhood. The rapid transformation that took place in the city since the year 1849, and its unique architecture had made S.Francis an extremely photogenic place that is impossible for Hollywood to ignore. They had taken advantage of its beauty for their production projects.
The San Francisco City Hall was the place where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio chose to get married. Even though, I am not a fan of Monroe nor DiMaggio, I cannot denied, once stepping in that building, and recreating a mental picture of their ceremony that took place on January 14th 1954, was very moving. Visiting the majestic building is quiet an experience, its beauty consist on the fact that is neither modern, nor old and yet, it is in some way both.
But tragedy is also part of the history of San Francisco, and 28 years after Monroe and DiMaggio married, Harvey Milk, a Member of the San Francisco board of Supervisors, was assassinated inside the same building where the famous couple married.
MORE LANDMARKS
The Golden Gate Bridge is, among all land marks in the city, the most iconic. Those who know, I'm sure would agreed about the complexity of its history, and the amazing engineering details that made it possible to build. Open to the public in 1937, and after decades of planning, people were finally able to used it, while at the same time able to admired it.
As everything in S.F., the bridge has a dark, tragic side. Despite its beauty or because of it, people had used it to jump into the freezing waters of the bay to end their existence, making it a deathly tool, forcing authorities to install a net underneath of it, to prevent such calamities.
The Painted Ladies are a favorite of the tourists and locals alike, located just across from Alamo Square. These Victorian-Edwardian style homes give a dignifying sense of peace. Their popularity matches that of Lombard Street, which according to available data, closed to seven million people visit each year the winding street.
Golden Gate Park is another favorite destination hard to ignore, the massive area where it stands, holds events and concerts for the whole family all year round. People can visit museums and gardens, and I know most visitors are surprise, as much as I was, to learn that there is an area where a number of bison have resided in the park since 1891.
WONDERFUL SURPRISES
I remember exploring the city from North to South to East to West, allowing myself to be part of it by getting a more intimate perspective of the people and the places I visited. S.Francisco is filled with wonderful surprises: Faults and virtues, all mixed at an exact proportion.
In one of my adventures, I discovered one day: Beach Blanket Babylon, a show so deep-rooted in the city’s culture that the S.F. Chronicle called it a true treasure so ingrained alongside the Golden Gate Bridge and cable cars. It is no longer in production unfortunately, but I had the honor to had seen it three or four times.
A CHAPTER
I wrote a piece of music called San Francisco, not as a dedication, nor as an inspiration from the city itself, but as a vivid chapter of my life lived within it. That time left a mark so deep that they reshaped the way I perceive the world - how I listen, how I wait, how I allow things to unfold and happen.
The music carries fragments of wonder from those moments. Written in the key of C Major, it tries to mirror the city's clarity. Like The Golden City itself, the piece opens a door to a world where possibility feels endless, where both, melody and harmony together suggest a destination, or perhaps a specific place I visited and still carry with me.
HORRIBLE NAME
Each street, each building, every person in San Francisco becomes a piece of its history, and with each story, there is a profound inspiration that makes me feel, when I reflect upon these stories, as if they are part of my own.
No matter where I was, I was always able to find something that made me feel at large. I lived there for a year, but after that, even as a visitor, the city was an open place where I felt welcome. All those wonderful feelings still linger in me when I think of San Francisco; frankly, an exceptional beautiful city, despite its horrible name.