Rita is a magical woman I met in Acapulco. By magical, I mean exactly that - she is a medium, and can perceive innumerable connections between media which others simply cannot. Her gift is mostly centered in her sense of touch - she is currently a masseuse working in Playa Barra de Coyuca, near Acapulco, Mexico, which is also a very special place.

I want to make this distinction very clear: it is not a special place because I went there - I went there because it is a special place. And if you met Rita, you too would understand her eyes were the most striking I have witnessed. I saw eyes that I know have a certain proximity, familiarity, to the borders of life and death. I really hope she's there the next time I visit.

Rita's life is almost entirely unknown to me, but what little I know is that she worked as a midwife for most of it, where she was able to put her magic touch to good use. She told me that her touch brought pregnancy to women who had been by doctors that told they were infertile and would never conceive.

And yet another distinction must be made: Mexicans, especially those in the tourism/service industry are well known to play up their strengths and fib about the products they offer. The distinction is that Rita is not Mexcian; she is Indigenous Mexican, and although she never told us outright, my Mom was sure of this from the dialect she spoke, and the fact that she and I both noticed uncanny improvements in our backs after Rita's massage.

Her fingers dug into me with supernatural strength, searching my body for rigidness I could never have found myself. It hurt unforgettably, especially in my abdomen. Literally burning - and I thought - oh, that's why I came here, not just to Playa Barra, but here - right where Rita would find me. I really hope I see her again one day.

I felt, and still feel, an undeniable connection with this memory. I thought "this must be what people mean when they say they feel 'reborn'. I knew when I got home, that this experience (coupled with several others) was necessary to fix what was wrong. And I was very glad, and it finally made sense why I hadn't made this album with all these old songs for all these years.

Do things ever make so much sense that you want to start crying? That is how Rita made me feel. Her fingers in my abdomen will be the last thing I think about before I die, that she left me with such a sensation as to guide me to the next life.

Anyways, I am convinced Rita and I were meant to cross paths. and even if we weren't, I am eternally gratefully that we did.


PS: I didn't feel like taking a photo of or with Rita, but this is a photo of the main arrival point at the Barra (sandbar) where she resided. I have lots more to say about her, but I will cap it for now, and probably recount it all somewhere else, in a voice recording.