Daniela is a 2013 Latin Grammy Nominee for Best Folk Album as the violinist for Gaêlica and a proud orchestra conductor and violin mentor at the Miami Music Project.
Daniela Padron
WITH THE BREAK OF DAWN ABOUT 30 YEARS AGO...
Olga, my mom, made a quick stop by the kitchen to grab her usual coffee before heading to an old piano, fully covered in miniature sculptures of the Baby Jesus in the Manger. She sat to practice for hours, completely
unaware that the baby she was carrying in her womb would become as fond of music as she was.
Growing up with the smell of arepas, the road trips through Venezuela with my dad, Paciano, on the wheel and awed by the intimate connection between my mom and her piano; I took my first Violin lesson when I was 4; discovering shortly after, one of the simplest yet most remarkable pieces of my life: The Minuet in G major by J.S. Bach.
Twenty years later, Manuel (my husband) and I made the heartbreaking decision of leaving our country, joining thousands of other Venezuelans looking for a better life in other lands. Today, I pay tribute to my roots by merging the best flavors of an ever-striving country, with the one composer that takes me back to the best moments of my childhood, to my mother’s coffee, to her old piano, to the deep love of God and my eternal gratitude to HIM.
