In Memorium: Peter Alfonso Quesada

My good friend and mentor Peter Quesada died on Sept 6, 2008. He was 73 years old.

Peter was a truly remarkable human being. One of those worldly and kind individuals we all aspire to be someday but will probably never become.

I first met Peter as I was taking one of my usual ten minute walks from my apartment in Thai Town to my car in Los Feliz. I was carrying a garment bag with clothes for an audition, or some such silliness when an elderly Mexican man said "Hello!" from the porch of his apartment complex. I said "Hello" back and then he said

"We don't get many cymbalists around these parts. Good instrument the cymbal. Important."
The best I could offer was a "Huh?".
"Your bag, I thought it was a case for cymbals." So he then asked me what instrument I played.
I cribbed a line from a Beatle and said other than 3-chords on ukulele "I play the fool."

Peter then invited me to sit on the porch with him and talk. I politely declined and said that I had to be off to an audition. "Oh, so you're an actor! I'm an actor myself. It's a good thing to be an actor. Important."

I would continue to see Peter after that, I eventually accepted his offer to sit on the porch with him and talk for a while. Peter was a tremendous storyteller, and he would talk to me about his life. It was one of the most remarkable I had ever heard.

Peter grew up in a Mexican-Jewish neighborhood. His parents spoke Spanish, his neighbors spoke Yiddish, and at school his teachers spoke in English. He spoke all three fluently. By the time I met him he spoke: Spanish, English, Yiddish, Japanese, French, German, and some Arabic. Truth be told, I fear I'm forgetting some.

He was also a voracious reader. His apartment was lined wall to wall with books. Novels, histories, religious texts. A favorite joke of his was to say, in a graven voice "I have a problem. I have a very serious addiction... I'm addicted to books. I can't get enough of them. But as addictions go, I could do worse."

He played a mean classical violin and once conducted the LA Symphony at the Hollywood Bowl. The achievement he was perhaps most proud of (beyond his children) was the creation of the Barrio Symphony. He put classical instruments in the hands of children who would not otherwise have seen them - and united kids from different neighborhoods and cultures through the universal language of music.

Peter was the first to admit that he was not without fault. In his earlier years he was an alcoholic and philanderer. But when I met him, he was a very active member of Alcoholics Anonymous. He had battled his inner demons, come out victorious, and was doing everything he could to help others along the same path. We talked at length about his struggles - how he wanted desperately to reconnect with those of his children he had estranged.

As his cancer advanced, and his ability to care for himself decreased his family came to him and gave him the support he needed. He moved from Hollywood to Arizona to stay with one of his grandchildren. When I would call him he was constantly surrounded with great-grandchildren whom he adored and who adored him. He presented one of his great grand-sons with a violin and was giving him lessons - (in a Yiddish accent just for kicks) "This one. He shows promise."

I will leave you with a few of Peter's words - these shared with a group of children he has just presented with their first musical instruments:

I don't think I'd be able to see the Pyramids if it hadn't been for my violin. It's wonderful. Another thing I want to say to you, boys and girls, you continue with your instruments and they become your magic carpet. What do I mean by this? Well, as a boy, I started about the same age you all did. I have been to Egypt. I have been to Jerusalem. I have been to Europe, France, London. I have been to China, Japan, the Philippines, South America, Latin America, Mexico. I just got back from Dearborn, Michigan where we were all snowed in -- as far away as Dearborn, yeah.

But the thing is, what took me there? My violin. My violin took me there. I got to see the Pyramids because of my violin. I got to see Jerusalem because of my violin. I even got to see the Hawaiian Islands because of my violin. Stay with your violin and God will continue to bless you with many, many blessings, but number one, it will make you happy. Those who hear you will be very happy.

Te quiero padre.