The soundtrack of my life

San Sebastián, that amazing little city in the north of Spain that has recently been making it into the top rankings of cities to visit.  From the National Geographic magazine to the Financial Times, everyone wants to tell the world about this magical city.  My magical city.

San Sebastián has many attractions, some of which have already been written about.  Yes, we might have the highest rate of Michelin star restaurants per square meter, we might have an amazing pintxo scene (don’t use the word tapas, if you do, you might get kicked out of the region), we might be one of the world’s best 20 surf towns, but what is really one of the biggest attractions of the city is its amazing cultural offer.

Not only do we have many big cultural events, such as the Jazz Festival or the International Film Festival, but San Sebastián is also the epicenter of what was called the Donosti Sound.  The sound of San Sebastián.  That soft melodic pop that emerged back in the 90’s and that had such an impact in the underground music scene in Spain, mainly dominated by grunge and indie rock at the time, with their unpretentious attitudes and their sounds a little melancholic and a little naïve…

I recently came across some of my old music that I hadn’t listened to for years and realized that I still fall in love with it a little more each time I put it on.

A band I have been listening to a lot again lately is La Buena Vida.  Despite it not existing anymore (although their members are still actively in the music scene with other projects such as AMA) their music will live with us forever.  It's hard to choose one song or even one album, it's just too hard...  

Choose La Calle del Carmen, for example, and I can picture myself driving into Madrid on a Spring day with perfect sunrise, one of those crispy mornings with a blue sky and the Kio Towers in the distance. 

Or Un Actor Mexicano, the one that always (always!) pops up when I’m cycling to the beach along the Urumea river, the smell of the salty water, the warmth in the skin... The feel of the summer.

Despite living far away, San Sebastián will always be my magical place, and its sound the soundtrack of my life.

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