Our Fake Environment

Yesterday I went with my family for a walk to the Retiro park in Madrid.

We fed the fish in the great pond, visited the peacock reservoir inside the park, and found a beautiful intact peacock feather which we brought home (my daughter says it´s a magic feather), we saw some goose ducklings eating bugs while their parents kept people (and peacocks) away, we went to one of the many children play areas, we had a cup of coffee…

Fortunately, we live close to the park, just ten minutes by foot.

This is a real luxury; living in the center of a big city and having such a wide green space to stroll around.

It made me think of how humans have evolved to live in an artificial environment. If you think about it, we live with all sorts of commodities that facilitate our lives in ways that a few thousand, hundred, or even a dozen years ago we didn´t have.

Things like chairs, tables, beds, air conditioning machines, heaters, shampoos, showers, computers, supermarkets, refrigerators, beds, apartment houses, etc. You get the idea.

None of those existed in the jungels, plains, mountains, or any other places where humanity has evolved for the greatest part of its existence.

Having a park like the Parque del Retiro in the middle of a huge city is a significant step towards putting humans in touch with part of their natural environment… without natural predators around to prey on us.

Long ago, I composed a piece while walking around this park. Yesterday I shared its most recent version but today I´m sharing with you its original version, the one that I premiered just one month after composing it in 2014.

The name of the piece is Milonga Retiro, and you can listen to it here: Milonga Retiro, the original version for Quintet.

If you want to make a comparison, just for fun, you can listen to the most recent version which is less loud but very special in its own way. I released it this Friday and you can listen to it by clicking here.

Have a great Sunday, hopefully strolling in some green area and getting some fresh air.

Claudio.