Dedicated to the fallen independence fighters of Boriken and to those who continue to fight for the freedom of Puerto Rico from colonialism. more

After years of sitting idle, I’ve finally set the release date for “I Need a Vacation”, April 26, 2025. A special date because it’s also my birthday. I’ve always considered “I Need a Vacation” my first “baby” when it comes to songwriting, so it only felt right that we share the same birthday. But I didn’t always listen to country music, in fact, I didn’t even know what it was. I was born in the Dominican Republic and learned English while growing up on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. One day, while hanging out with my friend Creston at the Tradewinds Apartments, he asked me if I liked country music. I told him I had never heard it before. Creston ran up to his apartment and came back with a six-pack of beer, a little portable CD player, and the Alan Jackson’s album A Lot About Livin’ (And a Little ’Bout Love). The moment he hit play, I fell in love with the music. I always say that Creston and Alan Jackson are the reason I listen to country music today. Creston for introducing country music to me, Alan Jackson for making it so easy to fall in love with the music and his incredible songs. After that day, I went to work and asked my friend Doug, who was from Texas and owned the restaurant where I worked, to make me a list of the best country songs he knew. I wanted to download them so we could have more music to play. Later that week, I returned with a playlist, and from then on, we would blast those country songs every night while working in the kitchen. Fast forward to 2006, I wrote a country song about my grandfather called “That Old GrandPapa.” Technology wasn’t what it is today, so I wrote the lyrics, mailed them to a company in Nashville, and a few months later, they sent me a CD with the finished song. That experience lit a spark in me. A little while later, I was riding the train from Newburyport to Boston. I looked around at the tired faces of the people on board and thought, “These folks need a vacation.” That moment stuck with me, and I started humming what would become the hook: “I Need a Vacation.” By the time I got off the train, I had the early bones of a chorus. Over the years, I’ve changed the lyrics and added new verses, but the title always stayed the same. Once I felt the song was ready, I tried to get it into the right hands. Growing up on St. John, I knew Kenny Chesney visited the island often and even had a house there. I sent the lyrics to people I knew who had connections to him, hoping they might pass it along. But nothing came of it. In April 22, 2017, my ex-wife Nicole (mother of my three beautiful daughters) and I went to see Alan Jackson at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, RI (for my birthday). I brought a printed copy of “I Need a Vacation,” along with a letter, and tucked them into an envelope. We had great seats close to the stage, but I didn’t have the nerve to hand it to him. At the end of the show, while he was thanking the crowd, Nicole took the envelope from me and approached the stage. He looked at her and asked, “Is this for me?” then took it with him as he walked off. A few months later, I received a legal letter with my lyrics returned inside. They kindly explained that, for legal reasons, they couldn’t accept unsolicited lyrics, but they did give me a contact for a music company in Nashville. That was a small spark of hope. Time passed, and the dream of hearing a country artist sing “I Need a Vacation” was put on hold, until a friend told me about Suno, a music production app. Unlike in 2006, when I waited months for a CD, this time I uploaded my lyrics, and the app produced a finished song almost instantly. Now that the lyrics finally have a voice, I’m hoping once again to get my “baby” into the hands of a country music artist. My dream? To hear one of my favorite country music artist, Alan Jackson, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, or Zac Brown perform it on stage. A duet would be epic. All four? That would be reaching for the stars… literally. They say never give up on your dreams. I’m just here, keeping mine alive. - Mastered by mixea.commore

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