"In my country the rain does not know how to rain": Stories from the Valencian Flood

Abstract

My Culminating Experience project focuses on the devastating flood that struck the Valencia countryside on October 29, 2024, affecting a total of 84 municipalities, resulting in the loss of 238 lives and the destruction of hundreds of homes across several communities. As someone who comes from one of the affected areas, my personal connection to this tragedy has been the primary motivation behind this project. It seeks to explore the causes of the disaster, examine strategies for improving preparedness and resilience against future floods, and investigate the role of jazz as a tool for healing and coping in the aftermath of catastrophe. Through the lens of global jazz, the project aims to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change and highlight the ways music can foster recovery, reflection, and community resilience during times of climate emergency. I’ve researched the topic by reading scientific papers, books and articles, watching documentaries about the flooding and interviewing jazz personalities that also suffered the catastrophe. I have composed original music that integrates BGJI concepts and explores four central themes: warning and awareness, loss, reconnection and realization, and community. Some of the concepts I applied to my compositions are the idea of darkening and brightening, the usage of tetrachordial theory, and incorporating references from Valencia traditional music and European classical music, and I recorded the music in Studio A at Berklee College of Music. I have composed original music that integrates BGJI concepts and explores four central themes: warning, loss, reconnection and realization, and community. The conclusions of this project are that it is something very telling about human nature the fact that natural catastrophes bring people together like they do. Music can serve as a therapy to healing, and the need to do music can be a response to move the body, release tension and find peace with the instrument and with oneself. A sense of community is essential to alleviate the pain caused by the effects of climate change and to confront these. We have also learned that being rooted and attached to a place are powerful tools of resistance and resilience as they connect us to our social and natural environment. That is why we need cultural expressions, common spaces and quality education that work towards social cohesion and promote cultural diversity, which is already a reality in our global societies.

Publication Date

7-1-2026

Campus

Boston Campus

Keywords

valencia; flood; music therapy; natural catastrophe; community

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