We were lucky to catch up with Rafael Rosa recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rafael, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I never thought of the dream of being a full-time musician, much less making a living out of it. 26 years later here I am! At age 13 I fell in love with music and the guitar by accident so to speak. I am a self taught musician, the luck of having a neighbor with multiple guitars and having him lend me one is the blessing of my life. The music found me more than ever in the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, where it was seemingly everywhere yet, no one could explain to me how it worked. This accident sparked that journey of fascination, devotion and nerd-om of the guitar that you cannot even imagine. I read all the guitar world issues and tried to learn as much as I could about all the important guitarists like Hendrix, SRV, BB King, Robert Johnson Albert King, Muddy Waters, Clapton, Brian May, Freddie King, Chuck Berry, George Harrison, Robert Fripp, Steve Vai, Malmsteem, Holdsworth, Wes Montgomery, Jobim, Joe Pass, Scofield, Metheny, Cerati, Spinetta, Silvio Rodriguez, Paco De Lucia, John Mclaughlin, Al Di Meola, Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi….OMG! You name it! I was hooked! I started playing in local rock bands at 16 and actually making a little bit of money per show. When I started computer engineering school at age 18, I went to the Heiniken JazzFest in Puerto Rico, and saw Chick Corea and Gary Burton play duo. It was fascinating, they were speaking with the music, to each other, to us in the crowd. I quickly dropped out and knew that I was meant to be doing something else . I needed to find out how to speak the language of music. I enrolled in The Inter American University of PR, and quickly started learning as much as I could from the great professors there who were also working pros. After finishing my BA in Popular Music, I made the best decision of my life, I moved to NYC at age 25 and I have never looked back. I love this city and the arts culture it stands for. I have gotten a chance to study and play with some of the best here and learn in the bandstand with the magnitude of amazing musicians. I would not change a thing!

Rafael, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m currently a part of the Faculty at LIU’s ROCNATION School of Music teaching Logic, Ableton, Engineering and Production, as well as mixing it all in with Guitar and Composition of course. I’ve taught at other colleges like NYU, CUNY, Saint John’s University, University of Miami, University of Tampa, USC, Appalachian State to name a few. I play and regularly perform in NYC with different bands and my hometown of San Juan, Puerto Rico with my trio, usually at The Kaffe Haus when I’m there, so be sure to follow me on insta @therafaelrosa woo!

In 2022, after a 10 year delay from Covid (this is my stage joke haha), my second album as a leader “Axiomatic: Music For The People” helped me get named a Fellow for the John Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for Music Composition, becoming only the second Puerto Rican ever in the Music Composition Category to receive this prestigious honor. Axiomatic was also selected in several Film Festivals, including, New York Film Festival, Paris Film Festival, and won Best Song in The London Film Festival all in 2022. I’m currently working on my 3rd release as a leader: “Profe”, an exploration on world rhythms and new textures of groove, set to the speeches of Puerto Rico’s prominent nationalist political professors is set to be released in late 2025. In the meantime, I’m also working with 2 trio projects coming out, one with the DRD Modern Organ Trio and the other with Guitar Trio playing new afro-rican inspired compositions, these are set to be released late 2024 and early 2025.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability to touch other people and make their day somehow just as they make yours. You spend a lot of time working on your craft, sharpening your skills for that one moment of beauty and gratitude. One of my favorites Paco De Lucia would always say – “The stage is the reward”

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

A lot of people do not know I am a type 1 diabetic, since age 22. I am now 39. The reality is I try to be the best possible diabetic at times but it’s very challenging in a very synthetic and unhealthy world. You can’t take a break from it, it’s every day, every meal. A diabetic performs at least 30-40 tasks in addition to what most people do. I plan around this and its hurdles and inconsistencies every day. Hopefully I inspire others to do the same, and not sit around and whine about it. Give the best you can out of yourself and work on your health, you’ll be able to achieve the things you want to achieve. If you have a diabetic friend, give em an extra minute, it’ll be worth it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rafaelrosamusic.com
• Instagram: @therafaelrosa
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRafaelRosa
• Twitter: @therafaelrosa
• Youtube: @therafaelrosamusic
• Other: https://therafaelrosa.bandcamp.com/music

Image Credits

@jazninamarie @niajblu @sr_aza