How serendipity took me on stage for my first-ever Live Concert
And how following the signs led to meeting a brother from a previous life
All right, dear friends, moving homes has been done, summer is slowly leaving the room, writing season starts ;)
This edition I’m sharing a truly remarkable story with you that happened to me this year. If you don’t believe that life has a path laid out for you, I’m sure you will after reading the story below.
I’m sure you know those moments, when you think of someone just seconds before they call, when the same stranger keeps appearing in your path over weeks, or when you learn a new word and suddenly see it everywhere.
They could be labeled as coincidences, but often they feel loaded with meaning because they somehow break the ordinary flow of routines.
Mysterious threads that tie life together in ways we can’t always explain, part of a larger web of cause, effect, timing and connection.
Ok, enough intro, you get it.
It’s May 2024 and a man by the name Eduardo Castillo sends me a DM commenting on a recent story I photographed in Mozambique.
We immediately connect and have a lovely conversation.
Only to find out immediately after our first chat, that I was listening to his music during my time in Mozambique, just days before we connected. Odd.
In the weeks that follow, we continue our conversation, and dream up ways we could collaborate, how we would blend music & photography into a story-telling vehicle that inspires action and creates change.
Meanwhile, the universe keeps playing tricks on us.
It’s June 2024. I’m heading off on an assignment in the Arctic Circle, and believe it or not, Eduardo happens to be on a ship in the exact same region.
What are the odds of a Venezuelan and a Dutchman bumping into each other at the freaking North Pole, in the very same week?
Odd.
Both caught up in our own agendas, there was no chance to switch ships, but miraculously, without any prior comms - due the complete absence of phone reception in the region - we spotted each other on deck.
Upon our return, we kept in touch. Both fathers of a daughter, we chat about how fatherhood essentially is the purest form of activism.
We have a lot in common.
And figure out we both dream big.
Slowly, a plan is coming together.
We schedule our first joint concert. Mexico City will be the stage, closing Mexico City Art Week, on February 9, 2025. One of the most eclectic weeks in one of the most buzzing cities on earth. Promising.
In the weeks that follow, we work on a concept for a 3-hour-long live show that blends both of our worlds, Eduardo’s music, and my photography. With the ultimate goal to dissolve barriers, to invoke a profound sense of empathy for our planet and each other, and ultimately, to create tangible action.
We decide that proceeds from our show go to LADLE, a sanctuary in Tulum where children are given space to grow, play and learn.
We dream up scenarios in which this first show in Mexico will be the start of something bigger. I’m excited. For obvious reasons.
A few days before our concert takes places, I am rounding up a 4-week-long intense visit to Kumbh Mela Festival in India, the largest religious gathering of humans on earth and one of the most humbling and spiritual experiences of my life.
I’m exhausted and dying to go home, holding my daughter and wife. But something deep inside told me weeks ago, this opportunity to perform together with Eduardo live on stage in Mexico, could be the start of something bigger.
And so, I started the long journey from India with the first leg being a short flight from Prayagraj airport, in Central India to Delhi.
On board, I’m flicking through some videos on my phone, reliving all the highlights.
Apparently, a woman sitting behind me recognizes some of the videos through a crack in the seat. When getting off the plane, she starts a conversation and shares being a long-standing admirer of my work. Wow.
What are the odds? Coming from a festival with 200 million visitors.
While waiting for our luggage we continue chatting and I share that I’m on my way to Mexico, to meet a friend named Eduardo.
Surprisingly, she tells me she also has a friend named Eduardo living in Mexico. Considering how many Eduardos live in Mexico, I hadn’t thought much of it, until I explain to her I’ll be sharing my photography with him on stage, while he accompanies the visuals with his music.
It seems, we are talking about the same Eduardo. And the lady sitting behind me on a plane in Central India, is a dear friend of him. Give me a break.
It was as if the universe had conspired to bring us together. The odds of this happening? One in 200 million, I did the math.
Another example in a sequence of events, that showed me I had made the right decision. This long detour on my way home from India, was serving a bigger purpose.
Not yet knowing, this first concert, would mark the beginning of a truly special friendship and a world of collaboration.
It’s February 9, 2025. Minutes before we hit the stage, the lights dim and the crowd’s energy fills the room. The lobby of the former Antigua hotel Reforma is buzzing, temperature is rising. Close to 1000 people have gathered.
I wasn’t really prepared for what was to come.
Highly recommend to watch below video (preferably with good audio):
Seconds before our show starts, there’s a moment of silence. In that moment, the crowd becomes one, and the first beats start to flow through the space, like the primal pulse of the earth itself.
The entire space becomes an organism, synchronized with every beat, every melody and chord. The dance, the rhythm, it’s more than sound; it’s an inevitable human connection.
Various artists, and musicians, most of them local Mexicans, are invited by Eduardo, performing live on stage, while my work is displayed on massive 360 screens.
The degree of human connection that is felt in the room, is something I haven’t really felt before.
Eduardo speaks about the Overview Effect, the realisation of Earth’s fragility and the unity of its inhabitants. A symphony of sounds that becomes a universal narrative that encapsulates what it means to be human. The goal of our performance is to engender a collective experience akin to the cognitive shift described by astronauts, when they enter space.
I can feel it. Everyone can feel it.
After 4 weeks in India, the gate to my soul is wide open. Being in this space and seeing all elements come together hits me.
For me personally, art has always been a vessel for something deeper; impact, legacy, and the responsibility to give back. The soothing & healing power of art has always carried me through dark times and it’s been a long-standing dream to using my work and my voice as a vessel to give back to people.
Eduardo invites me on stage to speak about that feeling and to share my personal story.
A moment I will never forget.
Long after returning home from Mexico, that feeling of human connection is still buzzing in my heart and my soul.
Coincidences are often whispers from the world, nudging you toward a path you might not have noticed. Learn to pause, listen, and trust them, not as fate dictating your life, but as gentle guides reminding you that the universe is always paying attention.
A few weeks after Mexico City, our second show took place in LA.
We’re currently working on new plans. Keep an eye out on the show agenda.
A new friendship is born.
One you’ll be hearing more about in the years to come.
Love,
Pie
Where Else Can You Find Me?
Website: www.pieaerts.com
Instagram: @BecausePeopleMatter & @PieAerts
Let’s build something meaningful together.
Beautifully moving.
I LOVE THIS!