Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Henry Aponte. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Henry, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

I have been teaching how to play the piano, violin, cello and voice for about 10 years. I teach students of all ages, cultural backgrounds, including those with learning disabilities. One day a student, a girl who has autism, gave me drawings of beautiful birds with very realistic details and forms. I asked her the reason she likes birds with so much passion as reflected in her work, and she answered me “because they all can fly and they are free when they fly”. I framed the drawings she gave me and keep it next to our classroom piano. This girl showed me that when it comes to learning anyone can succeed despite obstacles and undesired situations.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started to sell used items at the flea market to help myself during an economic hardship. That included few music instruments I had collected in the past. People seemed to like the selection I had on display and soon I had customers requesting more instruments, accessories and repairs. In matter of weeks, I had built a reputation and significant number of customers that allow me to rent a formal commercial space from where I conducted my business. I named The Music Studio my place of work and was established on Jan 2007.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is to help musicians and music enthusiast to find the best gear according to their budget, music styles and promote cultural bridges between our communities since I operate at the San Diego- Tijuana border.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

Covid had impacted the way I used to conduct business, For about three moths the store had to be closed and I still had to pay rent and other bills which led me to find other ways to generate income. I turned my business online and found it was a great help during this odd times.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: The music studio sy

Image Credits
Ana Santos