Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexa De los Ángeles. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alexa , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I don’t know if saying that I found my purpose is completely accurate, since most of the times I feel it’s my purpose who finds me, specially in those moments when I’ve decided to go in a certain direction, but I start to feel lost and bitter, I start to feel like what I’m doing it’s not worth it -even if that thing could lead me to what people call success. That’s when something happens and I get the chance to always come back to what feels soft and brings me joy, because it fulfills my deepest needs. It feels like finding the way back home.
That “home” happens to be my purpose, what I’m meant to be doing with my life.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a musician and a teacher. I’m from Cartagena, Colombia, and I’ve been in the USA for almost three years. I play piano, guitar, bass and sing. Currently I’m working on my solo project, I also play with Loser Company and other bands from Los Angeles area. I teach Spanish and work as a tutor of Math and English for immigrant kids that recently came to the United States from different countries in Latin America.
Following the idea of finding my purpose, I’d say I’ve been lucky, because my purpose is what I do career wise. Music is a powerful way to bring joy and peace to people’s lives, mine in the first place and then to the people that listen to me or see me performing. Sometimes it feels hard to keep doing it, because of the expectations or the desire for “success”, but then, I ask myself “what is success”, and the answers I find within help me to see that I’m not that far from it. Music is my profession, it has supported me since I was born -both my parents are musicians-, so why should I doubt it’s the right thing to do?
I’m a musician and a teacher. I’m from Cartagena, Colombia, and I’ve been in the USA for almost three years. I play piano, guitar, bass and sing. Currently I’m working on my solo project, I also play with Loser Company and other bands from the Los Angeles area. I teach Spanish and work as a tutor of Math and English for immigrant kids that recently came to the United States from different countries in Latin America.
Following the idea of finding my purpose, I’d say I’ve been lucky, because my purpose is what I do for a living. Music is a powerful way to bring joy and peace to people’s lives, mine in the first place and then to the people that listen to me or see me performing. Sometimes it feels hard to keep doing it, because of the expectations or the desire for “success”, but then, I ask myself “what is success”, and the answers I find within, help me see that I’m not that far from it. Music is my profession, it has supported me since I was born -both my parents are musicians-, so why should I doubt it’s the right thing to do?
On the other hand, teaching is what has made me a better person. I worked as a music teacher for 14 years, and it totally changed who I was. It challenged me, it made me review the way I approached people and life, it allowed me to open my heart to my students and share the good inside of me, and eventually, it led me to accept my dream of doing music outside of the comfort of a classroom, which is what I’m doing right now.
Now, after trying different things for a “day job” -we all know how expensive is to survive as artists in Los Angeles-, Life showed me that nothing worked better for me than teaching, with the difference that I’m not teaching music anymore, but other subjects I happen to also be passionate about and that have been invaluable tools in my life: Languages and Math. Isn’t that great?
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I’m not sure about which category this will fit in, but I’ll say perseverance, consistency and patience.
I’ll define perseverance as the art of being stubborn and not giving up until you get what you want. It’s because of my perseverance that I learned to play every single piano piece I know. It’s because of it that I overcome the obstacles that come in my way, not that I don’t pause and take breaks, but I always tell myself that I’m not done yet, and I go back to my journey.
Consistency is hard because it means that we choose to do what we have to do before what we’d like to do in order to achieve a goal. So for example, if I have to choose between going to a rehearsal or staying home sleeping – I love to sleep-, consistency tells me to put the rehearsal first, because I’m trying to make a living from music, right? Consistency also means to show up for ourselves and our dreams, no matter the circumstances (weather, distance to commute, time of the day), if we really want something, we gotta do what we gotta do.
Finally, patience, because the best things take their time to come. If I plant a tulip, I know it won’t bloom on the next day, I know I’ll have to wait for it to be ready and in the meantime, I’ll take care of it, give it the water, light, air, soil needed for it to grow in the best way possible, and all of that takes time. Well, I think it’s pretty much the same thing with our goals, we need to give them what they need to materialize, do our job and let time do his.
I want to add that all of this needs to be nourished with lots of joy. We need to enjoy our processes, so we can enjoy the results, if not, everything we do will feel like an endless road, that at the end of the day will lead us nowhere, and the next step will be to just quit. So, Perseverance, Consistency, Patience with the seasoning of Joy.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My parents are two passionate people who live life the best way they can, following their purposes and bringing lots of joy to this world. They met doing music, and that’s the biggest gift they gave me: music. My mom (Velia Jirado) currently works as a teacher and my dad (Alexis Lozano) has a huge salsa band that tours all around the world. They are the examples I still follow, and what keeps me grounded and inspired at the same time. I’m thankful and proud of them.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladelosangeles/
Image Credits
1st photo credit: Schuyler Dorsey 2nd photo: Michelle Shiers
