No La Pare

No La Pare by Mon Carrillo y Su Sexteto

For almost two years, I worked from home for the Boston office while we figured out if a business undertaking would finally take off and thus whether we’d call Baltimore our permanent home. For those unhappy with the rigidness of an office setting, working from home can be more challenging than people often imagine. Since your only connection with the working world is through a virtual reality of phone and chat conversations, you’re in a continuous struggle with focus and motivation. Although this struggle is present in an office setting, working from home takes you under the radar, which can prove troublesome for busy bees unaccustomed to this lonely life style.

Salsa clasica helped me adjust to the solitude of Virtual Walt. I set up my new flexible work arrangement in the little dungeon we often referred to as our basement where I blasted salsa all day while building fancy excel spreadsheets. With just me and a Dell laptop battling the often 60 to 70 hour work weeks, salsa clasica was my constant companion. I no longer had the coffee break escapes with the fellas at the office to help alleviate the monotony. Instead, my breaks were dozing off, legs raised, feet crossed on a faded black love seat I treated like my exclusive salsa hammock, listening to the countless playlists living in my iTunes.

During one of these mid-day salsa getaways I first heard No La Pare by Mon Carrillo y Su Sexteto. DJ El Cumbanchero placed it in the middle of his set for the Nick Aguirre’s Salsa Dura Show and oh boy did it knock my socks off, pulled me right up off that couch. No La Pare instantly turned the more half than finished basement into my personal dance studio. Often when I’d have a breakthrough “aha” moment, a solution to a problem I had been working on all day, out of excitement I’d spontaneously dance on the cheap rust brown carpet to whatever salsa clasica song filtered the dusty air. I was lucky to be free from the office norms as the only heat present was from a moody space heater that often forced me to dance out of necessity.

This home confinement is likely where I developed the compulsiveness towards songs such as No La Pare. I listened to this song so often that I’m convinced I drove DJ Travieso crazy with constant “this song is so dope” instant messages. Before I knew it, iTunes had registered me listening to the song 93 times, which prompted the idea for the “93 and Counting” mix composed of songs that couldn’t escape the repeat button. I’m sure that would have driven anyone in an office setting bonkers. However, the musical backdrop aided my focus, liberating me from the burden of a deadline.

These busy season hours and the shack of a home office I had built regularly took me down the cabin fever path. Whether it was the long hours or the corporate games I found myself taking part in, I did my fair share of complaining throughout my accounting career. However, whenever I would grumble over work, particularly when doing so from home, I would remedy my dissatisfaction with some kickass salsa. It always seemed to get me through the work day. I was floating above dense waters with my musical companion, living the moment without a care as to whether tax accounting was really my calling. I left the past and future aside to feel salsa guide me through the task at hand. The solitude of my cave transformed salsa from a main distraction to a conduit for motivation, curing my work related frustration, even if for only brief periods. As I reflect on busy seasons in Baltimore, I was in the zone with songs like No La Pare. Time flew by as though I were having fun.

Peace
DJ Walt