{"id":1463,"date":"2010-02-10T14:57:49","date_gmt":"2010-02-10T21:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/?p=1463"},"modified":"2010-04-27T10:42:56","modified_gmt":"2010-04-27T17:42:56","slug":"the-journey-of-a-blind-musician-from-zacatecoluca-to-sf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/en\/the-journey-of-a-blind-musician-from-zacatecoluca-to-sf\/","title":{"rendered":"The journey of a blind musician from Zacatecoluca to SF"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Marcos Alvarez, 55, plays for passers-by at the corner of San Francisco's 24th St. Bart Station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Every day, at a corner of San Francisco\u2019s 24th St. Bart station, a blind man infuses the walkways with tunes of love, hope and nostalgia. With a keyboard, a chair and a cane by his side, Marcos Alvarez, 55 \u2014also known as \u201cthe dreamer\u201d\u2014serenades the Mission District hoping to capture any ear willing to listen.<\/p>\n

Locals walk by and sing along, some drop money into the small yellow bucket at his side, and once in a while, someone tells him to take his music elsewhere, but he never goes unnoticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe story of my life is engraved in each one of my songs,\u201d said Alvarez.<\/p>\n

He is a poet, a composer, a musician and wanderer, who traversed Central and North America from 1969 and 1992 until he finally arrived in the U.S. He hasn\u2019t left since. His scars tell stories of near death encounters inconceivable to most.<\/p>\n

When he was a child, he recounts waking up in the middle of the night to someone violently dragging him by the neck. Someone had set his house on fire. A neighbor had braved the flames to save his life.<\/p>\n

Years later, he was caught up amid the civil war in El Salvador. Stray bullets from a nearby gunfight hit him in the side and the resulting wounds almost killed him.<\/p>\n

One bullet barely missed his heart and hit him in the left side of his chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI laid on the street unconscious while a policeman declared me dead, like the others around me. Then I woke up and with all my strength managed to lift up my arm,\u201d said Alvarez. The policeman saw him and dropped him off at a nearby hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knows why I\u2019m still alive?\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

But neither of those incidents, nor a skull-breaking assault in Mexico, a near execution, car accidents, heart attacks, glaucoma or diabetes have stopped him from composing, singing and pursuing his dream. His compositions and perspective on life are rooted in these experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI dream of my songs being played and sung by talented artists, and if I ever make money I want to use the funds to help blind people in need so they don\u2019t have to go through what I went through,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Alvarez was born to a family of farmers in Zacatecoluca, El Salvador.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Marcos Alvarez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At age 9, he ran away from his dysfunctional home and was adopted by his grandmother.<\/p>\n

Alvarez wrote his first song at the age of 14 and dedicated it to his mother hoping to win her appreciation. At age 17, he wrote a song to his country (Tierra Bendita y Querida or Blessed and Beloved Land) and to his people (Mi Patria or My Land). By age 26, he had learned to play the guitar, the accordion and the piano.<\/p>\n

Alvarez began making a living playing in cafetas\u2014Salvadoran slang for coffee houses\u2014and street corners in El Salvador and then throughout Central America. He sang about the happiness and pain love brought him along the way and shared sorrowful words about the land that saw him grow.<\/p>\n

Alvarez was born blind, but he grew older\u2014through a series of his grandmother\u2019s unconventional treatments with water and salt\u2014he was able to see shadows and colors from a close proximity.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the limited eyesight he had didn\u2019t last. Glaucoma\u2014an eye condition that leads to damage to the optic nerve (the nerve that transmits information from the eye to the brain) and the second leading cause of blindness in the world\u2014would claim the shadows and colors he coveted.<\/p>\n

His first cornea transplant\u2014in 1994\u2014left him blind once again. It was then, when Alvarez hit rock bottom and attempted to end his life: an event he recounts as the dumbest move he has ever made.<\/p>\n

He went to a restaurant, filled his stomach and drank enough to minimize hesitation. Before leaving, a waiter saw him slip a knife inside his sleeve and called the police. The cop followed him to an alley, where Alvarez pulled out the knife and slit the vein on the left side of his neck. He credits the waiter and cop for having saved his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was at the brink of death again, but this time, from pure sadness. I didn\u2019t have a family or friends by my side,\u201d Alvarez said.<\/p>\n

In 2003, he underwent a second transplant that allowed him to see again for a year: unfortunately, he did not heal properly. One last surgery would follow in 2006, but glaucoma-related complications were\u2014once more\u2014claim his eyesight.<\/p>\n

After three unsuccessful cornea transplants and interventions to treat his glaucoma, Alvarez abandoned any hope of ever seeing again. All he sees is white.<\/p>\n

Alvarez describes his transition into blindness; \u201cI felt fear when crossing the streets and my entire body would shake. It felt like the cars were coming right at me. I stood on a curb\u2014at a sidewalk corner\u2014and felt as if I was free falling. It was martyrdom and cruel for my nervous system.\u201d<\/p>\n

But amid the choas, Alvarez chose to move forward with his life and aspirations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI convinced myself that I had to overcome this, because I wasn\u2019t born to be defeated by anything. If God, luck or whoever has punished me\u2014whether just or unjust\u2014it\u2019s not under my control. I am tired of begging to be healed. If even God hasn\u2019t heard me, all I have left is to fight for myself however I can,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Alvarez, a blind musician, composer, and poet, has spent his life battling blindness and homelessness in San Francisco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the years that Alvarez has spent battling blindness and homelessness in San Francisco, one thing never changed\u2014blind or not, derelict or not\u2014 his guitar never left his side.<\/p>\n

My Guitar\u2014one of his many songs\u2014reads:<\/p>\n

\u201cEmbracing my guitar, while no one heard my bitter sorrow, the world saw me cry. Embracing my guitar relieved the pain in my soul. Only like this, I found the peace that healed my thousand wounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along the healing process, Alvarez found help.<\/p>\n

Shelter Plus\u2014a program from San Francisco based St. Anthony Foundation that provides over a thousand people with food, clothes, shelter and other basic needs\u2014 helped him get a small Tenderloin studio in 2001.<\/p>\n

Today, he spends most of his time in Hayward at the care of Sarita Cervantes, a close friend who cooks for him, washes and irons his clothes, and provides the warmth of her humble home and friendship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad to be able to help him with basic needs. We help each other because he also contributes with food costs from the money he makes playing music. He\u2019s great company, a wonderful friend, and a very noble man,\u201d said Cervantes.<\/p>\n

He also receives a monthly supply of medications at no cost from Healthy San Francisco, a program that provides affordable and accessible health care services for uninsured residents.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Marcos Alvarez serenades communters at the 24th St. BART Station. Alvarez, a native of El Salvador, once played in coffee houses and on street corners throughout Central America.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMy motivation to get up every morning comes from my need to survive and serve others through my music,\u201d Alvarez said.<\/p>\n

His eclectic music taste is reflected through the 600 songs he has composed: 40 of which are written and printed on a book.<\/p>\n

In one of his most recent songs, Cabalgando or Galloping, he paints a world free of selfishness and hate:<\/p>\n

\u201cGalloping over a fantasy beyond the stars, I went to look for the universe my soul once dreamed: where the lethal poison of selfishness and hate are not accepted; where the air is pure and the water crystal clear; where no one will prepare for war; where no malignant individuals will misuse science for nuclear armament: with no more cynic exploiters contaminating the environment with industrial advance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, his message and his audience don\u2019t always agree.<\/p>\n

Alvarez tells of an experience with a man who angrily accused him of speaking against capitalism. Alvarez simply responded that he was, indeed, speaking against the greed and ramifications of hyper-capitalism.<\/p>\n

On another occasion, a passerby yelled at him, saying that his music was boring and repetitive. Alvarez responded by screaming, \u201cWell how many times have you helped me out? You should be ashamed of barking at me like a dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man said nothing more and continued his way.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, I just can\u2019t stay quite. I feel like I have to take the heavy load off my back and say something,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Alvarez also carries an innate romanticism that emerges through his poetic lyrics.<\/p>\n

He says that most of his inspiration comes from women.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sing to them with great devotion, respect and admiration. They are the best of God\u2019s creation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the obstacles he continues to overcome, Alvarez remains anxious to embrace the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how much time I have left. I want to get my songs out there so that when I am gone, my message will resound through other artists. This is all I desire,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

In one of his latest songs, he claims to be a soul with no owner and well aware of how short life really is. For him, life itself is a dream come to life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every day, at a corner of San Francisco\u2019s 24th St. Bart station, a blind man infuses the walkways with tunes of love, hope and nostalgia. With a keyboard, a chair and a cane by his side, Marcos Alvarez, 55 \u2014also known as \u201cthe dreamer\u201d\u2014serenades the Mission District hoping to capture any ear willing to listen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[188,196,68,192,187,195,105],"coauthors":[18468],"class_list":["post-1463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-bart","tag-civil-war","tag-el-salvador","tag-healthy-san-francisco","tag-marcos-alvarez","tag-music","tag-poetry","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nThe journey of a blind musician from Zacatecoluca to SF - El Tecolote<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Every day, at a corner of San Francisco\u2019s 24th St. Bart station, a blind man infuses the walkways with tunes of love, hope and nostalgia. 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