Meet Nicolas Rocha | Blind musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicolas Rocha and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicolas, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am originally from a town called Salamanca, Guanajuato in Mexico but I was raised in East Los Angeles and have lived there most of my life. I think being an immigrant to this country brings me a different perspective on most things I have encountered. The most important thing I carry, and have carried with me my whole life, is being able to appreciate the people around me and the opportunities given to me. Being grateful for my family and friends and bandmates has enriched my life and I know I am able to learn from every single person that’s ever taken the time to speak with me or have shared any moment with me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
For starters, I am a self-taught musician. I’ve only ever really taken a couple of instrument and music theory classes but for some reason they never stuck with me. I’ve always felt some sort of impostor syndrome but I’ve managed to hold my own, as it were, with other people who were far more skilled than I am. Again, thanks to the people I’ve had around me my whole life, I’ve been able to generate the confidence to keep progressing as a musician and songwriter. Now that I am totally blind, I needed to come up with ways on how to make sure playing my instruments is a bit more familiar to myself . I’ve needed to personalize my basses and guitars in a very specific manner that only really I can understand. I’ve also fool-proofed my amplifier set up so that anybody familiar with my situation can pretty much plug my stuff in and have my sound consistent every time.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I think when people visit Los Angeles they have a certain idea in mind of what the city might be. If it were up to me, I’d certainly want to introduce them to maybe some of how I enjoy my day-to-day life. I’ll invite them over to Placita Olvera so they can take a look at all the shops where and then maybe invite them to El Mercadito in East LA ,where there are even more shops with tons of items for sale as well as more than a handful of great Mexican restaurants. There’s also plenty of Mexican bakeries along the way so I would make sure to definitely hit some of those places up. For example, El Gallo bakery in East LA is perhaps my favorite bakery out here. One final place is a vegan sushi spot that my wife and I enjoy tremendously called Shojin in little Tokyo that is a must try..

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve definitely been very lucky with a great support system. I’d like to dedicate this to my wife, Amy, my family and friends and also a group that’s been very helpful the past few years ever since I went blind. They are called the National Federation of the Blind and have chapters around the country, with resources for anybody who is partially blind or totally blind or might need information on adjusting or readjusting their lives into coping with blindness.

Website: https://thecimmerian.bandcamp.com

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