Curtorim: The Eucharistic celebration for the soul of music maestro Emiliano da Cruz on his first death anniversary was held at St Alex Church, Curtorim, where his son, Zubin, thanked the people for gracing the occasion.
“The music my father played was out of the world and it is difficult to keep that alive, and losing him is a big loss,” said Zubin.
Emiliano’s family offered a Mass at the church on Monday. Several friends and well-wishers of the musical legend offered their sympathies to his family. His family, friends and villagers of Curtorim gathered in large numbers for the mass, which was followed by prayers and later blessing of the grave.
Speaking to Herald, Zubin said, “My dad belonged to a certain era, which was dominated by Portuguese and also had blends of Latin. My dad was full of these musical influences in the melodies he played. Sadly, as these musicians leave, it is getting difficult to keep it alive. There are very few who play that kind of music, but it is eroding. There is an effort to keep this genre alive, but it is going to take lot of effort.”
He added, “I have taken over his trio and I have a band and handle his legacy. But people do miss him and they tell it to me.”
Agostinho da Cruz, Emiliano’s brother, said, “Most of them are fooling the crowd and cheating the public by using pen drives. There are some other musicians who play Latin American music, but Emiliano knew what people want and connected to them. He was uniquely fantastic.”
He added, “The time has changed though and the people’s choice of music has also changed. Hence, for Latin American and Portuguese music to survive, it will take lots of effort.”
Emiliano passed away peacefully in Margao on May 15 last year at the age of 70, leaving behind a legacy of music and his band, the Caballeros (translated as Gentlemen/ Knights in Spanish), a few weeks after he had released his seventh music album, Latin Romance.
Related report on Herald Cafe
