Well, what the fuck happened?! Extreme police brutality, climate change yielding apocalyptic skies, hottest year on record, US strikes in Iraq killing the second-most important leader in Iran, a US president denying the results of the US general election, and… yeah, a global pandemic. Most definitely, 2020 has been one of the worst years ever. Some silver linings, though: Trump is –highly likely– leaving office, three vaccines for covid-19 are already available and several more in the making, the Black Lives Matter movement has dramatically surged, and last (and probably least) TikTok is amazing.

Let’s keep the trend going and let’s make this 2021 a much better year for humanity in general. And in the meantime, here’s my yearly list of 2020 things that more or less keep giving meaning to my life:

• We come back from Barcelona the first week of January. I can’t believe this will be our last flight of 2020.
• Tool help us start the year blowing our minds in San Jose.
• Martiño leaves the Bay Area. He is deeply missed.
• Some great Rumbahía shows to kick off the year!
• Last vacation before the pandemic is somewhere close to Monterey with Anita’s friends. What a wonderful long weekend it was!
• Last talk I give in public before the pandemic is at Dolby Labs in San Francisco. It’s mostly about deep learning and music (but also about my dearest friend Justin).
• Last weekend before lockdown is epic: Friday show-birthday with Joey in Concord. Staruday Rumbahía show at Brick and Mortar, which becomes my favorite show ever with Rumbahía. I can’t believe I was giving hugs and kisses to all my friends. Aw, the pre-pandemic times!
• The pandemic begins. No more going to the office. Zoom becomes the default way to interact with humans, starting in March. It’s often silly.
• Hiking around the Bay Area is probably the best thing you can do (with or without pandemics).
• We do a cover with Los Pandejos, a little tribute to the front line workers.
• Spring break plans to go to New York cancelled because of the pandemic.
• Filip leaves the Bay Area. He is deeply missed.
• We do some serious bike tours around the Bay, visiting amazing breweries along the way.
• We get Stand-up Paddle boards and start SUPing around the Bay. It’s fun!
• La Bossa d’Urina is a mild hit on TikTok.
• Summer plans to go rafting the Tatshenshini canncelled because of the pandemic.
• We plant several edibles and pollinator plants. Thanks to spending so much time at home, I have the luxury of taking care of plants and it feels really good (is this how getting old feels?). Look at these habaneros!
• I dye my hair because I like pretending I’m young.
• Summer plans to go to Menorca cancelled because of the pandemic.
• I buy a motherfucking 2009 Subaru Outback.
• Spent a long weekend in the amazing forests of the Californian Sierras with some serious titans. I see a bear for the first time in my life!
• Starting to get a little obsessed with hummingbirds.
• We drive to Yellowstone and Grand Teton and I meet up with my sister there. So good to hang out and camp and do hikes together. Those two parks are incredibly amazing. Crazy adventures in Jenny Lake with our stand-up paddle boards.
• The motherfucking Subaru breaks down and I need to buy a new engine. I hate cars.
• Our paper on mood prediction gets accepted to ISMIR with really awesome reviews!
• I finally re-design / upgrade this personal site. Goodbye Wordpress, hello Hugo!
• I participate in the Concord Couch Concerts. What a beautiful community that is! Here the covers I made: Assassin, Nutshell, The Widow, Street Spirit.
• The apocalypse arrives in early September. I’ve never seen the sky like this. Fucking climate change.
• We attend a socially distant Camposanto party in Donner Lake to mourn Burning Man 2020. It almost feels like the playa (viva la chiva!).
• Spending socially distant times with my dearest friends in the Bay Area. Feeling so grateful to have Justin, Amalia, Eva, Joey, Kristin, Laura, Adam, Matt, and Theo (et al.!) so close to my life.
• While I attend several virtual conferences this year (ICML, ICASSP, NeurIPS, and ISMIR), ISMIR is definitely the best one (as always). Loving the community and the publications. I also accept the social chair position for ISMIR 2021!
• Trump loses the election. So much YES.
• Best Halloween weekend ever. We camp near Mendocino and have a socially distant karaoke party at the beach!
• Thanksgiving in Los Angeles / Pasadena. Loving the hikes down there. Loving Anita’s family.
• After almost 3 years, I finally publish a review paper on Music Structure Analysis, thus closing the cycle that I started with my PhD. Paper is published on TISMIR.
• Pandora/SiriusXM performs is, of course, virtual. We cover Don’t Stop Believing and Plugin Baby.
• I finish Gravity’s Rainbow (it only took me like 7 months…). It’s a bit too much, but given my masochistic inclinations, I enjoyed it.
• My aunt and uncle catch covid-19, and thanks to that my uncle realizes that his coronary arteries are really clogged up, so he has a quadruple coronary bypass, and he recovers quickly, and he’s finally doing pretty well given the crazy surgery (my aunt felt nothing re covid-19, she only tested positive).
• Rumbahía kicks off the recordings for the second release. I forgot how much fun it is to track the cajón!
• Last cover of the year: The Silence, by Manchester Orchestra. I’ve been obsessed with this song all year long.
• Caga Tió at home in Oakland. Oil paintins, amazing Spanish food, and a wet suit! (thanks mare, sisis, and Anita!)
• Christmas in Los Angeles / Pasadena. More hikes to love down there. More Anita’s family love.
• Post Christmas Joshua Tree National Park visit. This place is magical!
• Entering the new year with a headache after having a Jeopardy Zoom session with Anita’s friends (I won second place –it’s the little things in life that count).
• I end up reading 17 books, mostly thanks to Audible. Trying to be more mindful about reading more women (and BIPOC) authors. Becoming, Into Thin Air, and Consider The Lobster are probably my favorites this year. Check out my profile on GoodReads.
• I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since the last time I took a plane.
• No World Tour with La Bossa d’Urina :(
• Missing my family, my friends in Barcelona, and Barcelona in general.
• So grateful for our little home up there in the sky here in Oakland. It’s definitely called la casa colibrí.

Let’s do this, 2021!