Nota: Este artículo puede parecer escrito vanidosamente. Sin embargo, para hablar de un tema tan universalmente impactante como éste, siempre es mejor hacerlo de la manera más personal posible. Para aquellos mencionados en este escrito: por favor no se sientan ofendidos. Considérenlo un simple recuento de los sentimientos más profundos que generó el fallecimiento de Michael Jackson en mí, y acéptenlo como un humilde regalo de un fanático a otro.
Note: This article may seem vainly written. However, in order to speak about an issue as universally shocking as this one, it is always better to do so in the most personal way possible. To those mentioned in this work: please do not feel offended. Consider this a simple retelling of the deepest feelings generated by Michael Jackson's death and me, and accept it as a humble gift from one fan to another.
In Memoriam: Michael Jackson (1958-2009)
June 25th, 2009. 4:30 pm. I'm getting ready for a photo shoot for Jet Set magazine that is to take place in half an hour. A message from my mother: "Michael Jackson is in hospital." Not an uncommon thing for a man who slept in a hyperbaric chamber, among many things. That is what crosses my mind at that exact moment.
6 pm. Still at the shoot and getting ready to leave again. Minutes later, i'm on my way home with my image consultant Sonia Márquez, who gets a message on her cellphone: "Michael Jackson is dying." 6:30 pm. I'm at home. I turn on the TV. One minute later, Michael Jackson is pronounced dead. Images and questions immediately surround me. Why? How? Wasn't he rehearsing for fifty unprecedented concerts? I sit still for an hour. I cry. I'm invited to a party which I refuse to attend, at the displeasure of many. I officially mourn his death.
About two hours later, I get a phone call from a friend, Paola Ovalle, who works at Caracol TV. Instant flashback: March 2009. Michael has announced ten concerts at London's O2 Arena, which will soon become fifty and will sell out in three days. I'm one of those people who can honestly say they know what it feels like to see Michael live, as I had the pleasure and privilege of attending his now classic 30th Anniversary Celebration at Madison Square Garden. At this precise moment, i'm hosting and directing a series of musical soireés titled Dopolavoro at the restaurant La Famiglia. I immediately decide to do one in honor of Michael Jackson, knowing that a genius has just announced his comeback to the stage. Paola attends this one, and immediately approaches me to ask me if I would be interested in collaborating on an MJ special that she is producing. I say yes. On June 25th, Paola is the one who asks me to appear the very next morning on Caracol's 7 am news show, talking about Michael Jackson. I immediately agree.
7:30 am, June 26th. I'm on the show, talking about what it feels to have gone to a Michael Jackson show, next to Vanessa Mendoza, who talks about her visit to the Neverland Ranch. Before I head back home, the producers ask me for another interview for the midday news show, this time at my home, with my music and DVD collection. I say yes and tell them to come at 11 am. 8:30 am. RCN, the competition, wants me on their own news show. 10 am is the time at which they agree to come.
10:30 am. No sign of RCN. 10:35. They arrive. Knowing that in minutes the rival will be there, I order the doorman not to let them in until RCN has left. The interview begins. 10:40 am. Caracol arrives. Bad luck as they will have to wait for another hour. 11:40 am. RCN has left and I tell Caracol to come up. I apologize for the lateness without going into any details. The interview begins. 12:30. They're done. Finally I can get some lunch...or so I think. 12:31. Phonecall from my father. Yamid Amat, a very important journalist from my country, has asked Eva Rey to interview me for CMY'S 10 pm news show. Can they come in half an hour? I say yes. 1 pm. She's there. This is a fast one. At 1:20, she's done. Lunchtime. Again, i'm to be interrupted.
1:30 pm. Call from Caras magazine, wanting an interview. I gently ask them to call me back in an hour. 1: 31 pm. Call from LA X 103.9 FM, the station which has signed an agreement with me that is supposed to start in August, asking me to participate in an MJ forum at 4 pm. I agree. So my comeback to the radio business has been moved in a way.
2:15 pm. Caras is already calling back. I tell them that an hour is an hour and not 45 minutes. They simply have to wait. 2:30. I call them and a half-hour interview takes place. The questions range from "What was it like to see Michael Jackson in concert?" to "Did you ever meet him?". 3 pm, I tell them I must hang up.
4 pm. Forum time at LA X. To give them a taste of what to expect, I come in with my entire collection, which you'll only find when I'm around. Five editions of the Thriller album (original 1982 vinyl, first CD edition, 2001 Special CD Edition, 2008 25th Anniversary edition on both vinyl and CD), three of Bad (original 1987 CD and Vinyl, 2001 Special CD edition), three of Off The Wall (1979 vinyl, first CD edition and 2001 special edition), three of Dangerous (the standard 1991 CD, a collector's edition and first printing of the original 1991 CD, and the 2001 special edition CD), two of Invincible (2001 CD and vinyl), two of HISTory (1995 Double-CD and vinyl set), etc. Add to that: Japanese-imported remix CDs, the 2004 Ultimate Collection box set, vinyl singles (at both 45 and 33 and 1/2 rpm speeds), the only official Michael Jackson live album (recorded with the Jacksons in 1981), and the very first album with Michael's name on it, Diana Ross Presents The Jackson Five ... just to name a few. This is supposed to be a five-man show that goes until 8 pm, but by 6:30, i'm already alone. And i'm not scared about the following hour and a half. I could talk about Michael Jackson forever. The show is an instant success. Finally I can rest ... for a few hours.
10 am, June 27th. Call from Mariangela Rubbini, director of Shock magazine, wanting an article on Michael for a special edition. I tell her that it should be about the concert I attended. She says no. Sandro Romero Rey, who saw a Dangerous Tour show in 1992, wants to write that one. That show might have featured Michael, but my show featured him and the following treats: the Jacksons reunion, a Michael solo set, and special guests Liza Minnelli, Gloria Estefan, Stevie Wonder, James Ingram, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Britney Spears, Marlon Brando, Slash, Usher, Al Jarreau, etc. AND it happened in New York, right before 9/11. I finally get the authorization and the magazine comes out in a way that to me, resembles an italian meal. Appetizer: Alejandro Marín's article on how Michael impacted his life, Pasta: Sandro's article, which is now somewhat more analytical on Michael's career (in a way, the article they originally wanted ME to write), and the fish: my article.
Sometime around September. I get another call from Mariangela, this time asking me to participate at the annual Premios Shock De La Música (Shock Music Awards), presenting a tribute to Michael from the groups Systema Solar, Bomba Estéreo and Chocquibtown. I immediately agree to it, and on October 7th, at Bogotá's Palacio De Los Deportes (in English, "sports palace"), the actress Maria José Martínez and I present the mentioned segment.
For months now, i've tried to figure out the one reason why everyone has wanted me to participate in the celebrations of Michael Jackson's legacy. I still can't find one simple answer and I don't want to. But the following text, written by myself and published several times after Michael's passing may give you a clue or two:
THE WAY YOU MADE US FEEL ( A FEW WORDS FOR MICHAEL JACKSON)
You made the world want to scream,
And you made them beat it,
With shiny gloves and Billie Jeans,
You asked us "Can You Feel It?".
You taught us our A-B-C's and our Do-Re-Mi's,
You rocked our world,
We rocked with you,
And still we just can't stop loving you.
You were a thriller,
And a dangerous one at that,
Cause after all, you made us bad,
And you gave us all you had.
We will always remember the time,
When we first heard you,
When you taught us that we are the world
And that we must heal it.
That was the way you made us feel,
You made us shake our body down to the ground,
You made us blame it on the boogie,
And you made us dancing machines.
We never got enough,
You were simply off-the-wall.
With this said, I conclude: I never can say goodbye but you were gone too soon.
And a year later, such is still the truth.
P.S. To this day, everytime I get a call from an unknown number, there are three options: A) Someone who dialed the wrong number, B) Someone who I haven't seen in a long time, calling to offer condolences on Michael's death, and C) Someone who wants me to share my knowledge and passion for Michael's work. I'm glad to say that in most cases it's either B, C or both.
Copyright 2010 Emilio Sánchez Enterprises Inc.
