I love music. I listen to it all the time and I try to enlarge my musical taste whenever I'm given the chance to hear different sounds from artists all around the world.

But that wouldn't be so if it wasn’t for my community, where everything started. My community has passed on to me a passion for music from an early age. But what is a community and which one is mine? I consider it to be all of the people that surround me and that have some sort of influence on me, whether it's my family and friends, my school and neighborhood, or even my city.

First, my family. We are a very musical family, we listen to the records we like on trips or when we have to do household chores. My parents love a wide variety of music that can go from Aretha Franklin's rhythm and blues to earlier pop artists such as Madonna or the band U2. They’ve always encouraged me to listen to new music, whether recently released or classic genres.

However, from a more general perspective, in my city, Madrid, music plays a key role. Spanish culture wouldn’t be the same without music, and this is due to its importance in the identity of this country. Almost every celebration here is based on music. For instance, one of the most important festivities in Madrid is the San Isidro party, and the way we celebrate it is mainly dancing to “chotis” music dressed as “chulapos,” which is the traditional costume in the capital city.

But music is not just a tradition that started a long time ago, it's still important. Currently, there are a lot of Madrilean artists that fuse classical Spanish music with new urban techniques, making a really unique, fresh yet beautiful combination of sounds full of history, proving that a song can be catchy and modern while having complexity, years of culture, and meaningful lyrics behind it.

An example of this new wave of music is the artist C.Tangana, who is a well known Madrilean singer and rapper. He uses flamenco and Spanish folklore elements in his songs, for which he has been awarded nine Latin Grammys. He is extremely inspired by Madrid, which is his hometown. He even named his album after his nickname “El Madrileño,” which translates to “the Madrilean.”

Yet he’s just one of the many up and coming musicians from Madrid, and that is due to the love for music we experience and how important it is for my community in daily life and society. This genuine connection to music takes us to a point where it’s even a part of us and our identity and, in some ways, determines how we relate to each other.