Bendita La Luz

I just added this song to our playlist because I have always loved it. Latin music strikes a chord somewhere inside me that is so satisfying. It reminds me of wonderful things, like dancing with my Danilo. Since our first three dates involved latin dancing and I was pretty well head over heels by that point, you could say latin music had a hand in our falling in love. When I was first learning Spanish, my friend Marlene gave me some CDs to listen to. As I began to understand the words, I grew to have an appreciation for the beautiful way you can say things in Spanish. This song is no exception. The words touch me deeply because they echo feelings I have for my sweet husband. So as you log on to our blog and the raspy latino voice starts singing with an acoustic guitar, know that this is what he is saying, and see if it gives you goosebumps, too!

Blessed be the place, and the reason for being there
Blessed be the coincidence
Blessed be the clock that put us there at the same time
Blessed be your presence

Blessed be God for having our ways cross
And for removing me from the loneliness that had been my destiny.

Blessed be the light
Blessed be the light of your glance that reaches my soul.

(Bendito el lugar, y el motivo de estar ahí,
Bendita la coincidencia,

Bendito el reloj, que nos puso puntual ahí,
Bendita sea tu, presencia.

Bendito Dios por encontrarnos, en el camino,
Y de quitarme esta soledad, de mi destino.

Bendita la luz, bendita la luz de tu mirada,
Bendita la luz, bendita la luz de tu mirada,
Desde el alma.)

The main idea is, he is grateful for all the events that came together so that their paths would cross. A lot of the emotion gets lost in the translation. Just trust me that these are beautiful words!

I have a husband named Danilo

In case you haven't met my husband, I'd like to a minute to introduce you! For some reason, I really fell in love with Spanish while I was in college. I jumped into a beginner's Spanish class and advanced each semester until I had a minor. I met my sweet friend Marlene from Chile during this time. We had a lot of fun together and she knew as much English as I knew Spanish. I know spending time with her helped me a lot. When all was said and done, I was fairly fluent in Spanish and didn't really know why I'd done it!! I began attending a Spanish branch in the area to keep up the language and after several invitations, I finally began attending their young single adult activities. It was at a fireside where Danilo approached me and asked me where I'd learned Spanish. Had I served a mission? he asked. I was flattered and after a few phone conversations and a Saturday night latin dancing date, I was pretty well whooped. Danilo was born in Italy. His parents were Chilean and returned to Chile when he was eight months old. He lived there until he was 13 and then his family moved to Miami. He spent his jr. high and high school years there and moved to Salt Lake at 19. He worked and played and decided something was missing, and that's how he ended up on a mission to Orlando at age 26. I came into the picture five months after he got home and I've been grateful we bumped into each other ever since. He speaks fluent English with a darn cute accent.