Music & Me

Hi all!

I'm Maria Gonzalez Taborda and I'm going to be one of your classmates in this class. 

To start, I'm going to tell you a little bit about myself so that you have an idea of who I am and where I come from. I was born in Colombia and lived there until I was 15. When I was 15, my parents decided to start a new life in a new place, and that's how I got here. I have been living here in Spartanburg for three years and a half now but I'm not going to lie, I'm still getting used to it. I'm a Freshman and I'm planning to major in Psychology and Hispanic Studies but you never know, that may change in the future.  

I live with my parents and my little sister who is not so little anymore, she is 13 now, and the rest of my family lives in Colombia. My first language is Spanish and I'm working on improving my English every day, but it has been a little difficult to learn a new language, to be honest. I'm a proud Latina, I love my country, my culture, its food, its music and I love being able to speak Spanish. Music is a big part of my life, I grew up listening to Colombian music, and to this day that is something that represents me. I like many genres of music, I feel I'm an open-minded person in that sense but for some reason, I have a preference for the music that is in Spanish. 

Let me share with you a little bit about the music that I like and usually listen to:

1. My current go to 

One of my favorite musical artists at the moment is Carolina Giraldo, known professionally as Karol G. She is a Colombian singer and songwriter who stands out in the Reggaeton genre. She started her career singing Pop in Spanish but then her career took a turn and today most of her music is reggaeton. She is the most famous woman in the genre and her songs are on the top lists of many music apps. She has also performed at Coachella and Tomorrowland, where she has represented Latin Culture and its music with pride. 

2. My meaningful song 

This song is really important and special to me, because it was the song my mom dedicated to me the day I was born. Of course, when I was little I didn't understand its meaning but now that I am older, it is one of my favorite songs. Every time I listen to this song, I think of my mom and how much she means to me. This song has my heart because it was dedicated to me by one of the most important people in life and it's a song that will be with me forever.

3. Music I don't really connect with 

As I mentioned before, I don't listen to a lot of music in English. Which makes it a little more difficult to connect with this type of music. One of the genres I have always had a hard time connecting with has been Rock. I just don't understand it and I feel that is not a genre made for me, however, I respect it and think it is an interesting genre.