Back in 2007, I met a young man (at the time) who was so magnetic, full of life, energy, and most of all love. I've never met anyone quite like him, especially among the musicians/artists in the competitive, egotistically, & at most times, selfish music scene in NYC (at that time-pretty sure it's still the same today). I met him at the Pyramid Club (not sure if it's still around-hope so-it's legendary), he was in his band Velestra, and I was filling in a spot for a couple of guys that eventually became my band mates. Long story short, our bands became friends, at the time, booking show together-on the same bill. 2008-2009 was awesome and I'll never forget it. We all used to play at the infamous Lucky Cheng's Fortune Cookie Lounge a lot and as he put it, those were "great times" -he was everyone's biggest fan. Then, as both of the bands we were in broke apart, he and I fell out of touch. His favorite spot to eat/drink was at Dallas BBQ and he always would remind me that we had to go on a BBQ's date lol.

On March 25th 2016, he went missing and was found about 8 days later in the Hudson River near the Bronx. It was truly a shock and a heartbreak for everyone who knew him (or even knew of him). My heart continues to go out to his family, friends, and most of all his 4 year-old daughter.

Sometimes I have dreams about people who have passed on (most of whom I had known), and they pass on messages or just literally visit in my dreams. When Jav was found, for days, weeks I kept wondering "what happened?". No one knew who, what, why or most importantly, how. It used to bug me but as time went by, my mind came to some sort of peace on this subject.

Then this morning, earlier today I had this dream:

He seemed so happy, at such serene peace...his laugh, just how I remembered before...He looked extremely youthful though- his face, smoother than a baby's bottom, his cheeks full & chubby. He said " You wanna know what happened? Ok, I'll tell you what happened." Then he told me the full story, laughing and smiling along the way...He mentioned his daughter but it's so irritating that as I went onto other sequences, as soon as I woke up, I couldn't remember a word that he said...Anyway, he seemed to be in such sweet bliss- true nirvana.

I wish our last convo didn't have to be this way...but it was truly an honor.

Para Javier Horta, Para Siempre

For Jav