Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Summer 2023 13 SAI Philanries, Inc. (journey). Feeling the energy in the room and knowing that we had an immense support group, knowing that our music was helping others as they let tears fall on the rain slicked ground, it was undoubtedly the outlet and survival method we all needed. We performed in 21 locations, many of which were churches built between the 5th and 18th centuries, as well as albergues and convent ruins. We even performed in smaller groups at different shops, restaurants, or along the trail as we were walking. We touched so many lives throughout our performances and had begun to create a name for ourselves. We had what we called our "groupies", a couple from Canada, a couple from France, a writer from California, and a couple of German nomads. We met many others along the way, but these were the people who stuck by us almost entirely from beginning to end. roughout every performance, they were there and we began to learn their stories, what the Camino meant to them, and why they chose to embark on this spiritual awakening. e french couple we learned had recently lost their baby, and had been very moved by our consistent performances of Child of Wonder by Eric Whitacre, letting the music heal their pain. On July 16th, at the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, built in the 14th century, we dedicated Child of Wonder to Eva. We all cried and knew there was a reason we had all come together. We were brought on the Camino to not only aid in our own healing, but to use the power of music to help others with theirs. As we continued that day, we happened upon the Ruinas del Convento de San Antón, the ruins of a 14th century convent. ere was a performance being held as we got there, and we took pleasure from the beauty of the Renaissance music being performed by such gied performers. You could hear thunder overhead, but no rain had fallen. ere were tens of stray cats everywhere, exploring the grounds as the rest of us enjoyed the music. We asked to perform a piece for them, and to our surprise, we were asked at the conclusion of our performance to come back in the evening to perform again aer their concert. ey got a community of people together to drive and pick us up from our albergue that evening in the next town over, provided home cooked food, and drove us back to the albergue that evening. ere is where we received scallop shells as a thank you, which are commonly carried on your pack throughout the Camino. On another occasion, we were asked to perform with a local cellist who was holding a concert at our albergue the evening we were staying there. ere were locals who heard us perform in one location and drove hundreds of kilometers to hear us perform again. We made an everlasting impact with our voices, and the crowds got larger as we made our way closer and closer to Santiago. Arriving in Santiago, the cathedral was the most beautiful piece of architecture I had ever seen. It represented the milestone that we all made ... 500 miles of literal blood, sweat, and tears to see this magnificent structure and receive our compostela (certificate at the end of the camino). e amount of friends that we had made and relationships we had cultivated with each other, the music we shared, the lessons we learned (never did I think I would learn how to thread and drain a blister), all came down to this moment. I laid there on the ground in the plaza with a couple of my friends and a photo was taken of us. One of our group members was looking up as if he was praising god, excited that we had all made it this far. Another one of our group members was seen wiping her tears away, overcome with emotion from the grandiose moment of the closing of this chapter. And then you see myself and my 2 friends, laying in the plaza with the cathedral looming overhead, at peace with where we were at that moment. e following day, I went back to the plaza to SPAIN continued on page 15

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