The Emotional Power of Music
Image via Afro Reggae
The image shown is impactful. Without context, the young boys face pulls on my heart strings and makes me hear violin music in my head, invoking a response. The boy’s name is Diego Frazao Torquato. He was 12 years old at the time of this photo and he is from Brazil. The image in and of itself is tear jerking but Diego’s story is even more so. He spent is life in slums of Brazil, deep in poverty and often sick, either with meningitis or pneumonia. But in the midst of this situation he was shown hope by a volunteer coordinator who engaged him with a non-profit known as Afro Reggae. There he was given music lessons and found a knack for the violin. Yet sadly his coordinator was killed, and this photo was taken of Diego as he played at her funeral.
Image via Afro Reggae
Image via Rio Times Online
Even without this heart-breaking story, the photo alone paints a clear picture in the viewers’ minds. The young boy. Young. His youth reflects innocence and purity which makes his presence and emotions more believable and impactful. Boy. His gender also brings interest as it is combined with tears and a shiny violin. Due to typical gender stereotypes it is often uncommon to connect males with tears, such powerful raw emotion. Girls are often more commonly accepted with the arts so the image, showing two boys playing instruments, draws people’s attentions and makes the message more powerful as well. And the message that then seems to be portrayed is the power of music and how it can connect to people, all people.
The boy, known as Diego, is clearly sad and hurting while the boy behind him in the photo seems to be experiencing a mix of emotions, he almost appears to be angry. Without knowing the history of the image the viewer is motivated to see the violins as what caused their emotional trauma, or at least what contributed to their facial expressions. As such, the placement of the violins and the portrayal of the boys, encourages the reader to think of the power of music. Without previously knowing the story, I questioned how these boys who seem to be in common clothes and a common environment had been put in this situation. Seemingly performing together and brought into states of distraught from the music. Bows in hand and tears in eyes, the boys challenged each person who saw their picture to question the influence that music could have.
After looking into the boys story and gaining the context that makes the image even more powerful, I learned about the hope that they convey as they were a part of an organization that used music and relationships to combat poverty and disease in a broken region of the world. Yet sadly I also learned that Diego died of leukemia just shortly after the image was taken. In his short life he still managed to convey a message of hope and the joy that music can bring to people’s lives.