Art & Life with William Bueno

Today we’d like to introduce you to William Bueno.

William, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
First of all, I want to give my apologies for my English, I know I make a lot of mistakes. if I’m not clear or if something doesn’t make sense please let me know.

My name is William Camilo Ortiz Bueno, I like people call me William Bueno, my first name and my mom’s last name. I’m from Colombia, my home town is call Piedecuesta. I’m 30 years old, I’m a guitar player and I’m very proud to say that I’m studying at Berklee College of Music. Because it was one of my dreams years ago. Now, after many years I’m living this dream.

I grow up in a humble house, with my mom, Mary Bueno, and my grandma, Tulia Castellanos “nonita” it was her nickname. I never met my father, when I was a kid, but I contacted him 2 years ago, it wasn’t good. I have his last name because my mom had to put his last name to dealing with some social and educational issues in Colombia, the school, back in these time, they didn’t accept a son of a single mother, that could be a bad example for society back in these days. That is why I always use my mom’s last name “Bueno”.

Since I was a kid, I’ve been working in different types of jobs, in a market place, supermarket, selling ice-creams, customer service in a store, selling food on the streets. Inside of my daily routine I saw inside of my mom’s closet a very old guitar. It was in a bad condition, but I felt intrigued for it and I tough maybe I could learn a little just like a hobbie. But, the guitar become in something more important than a hobby. I have a cousin, Miguel Pardo, that used to play guitar, so I told him that I wanted to learn how to play guitar and he gave one class of theory and technique on guitar. He was the best guitar player that I’ve never saw in my life. But he doesn’t play anymore.

When I graduate from high school as much as I would like to study a professional career, it was not a possibility for me, my mom didn’t have money to sign me to send me in a University. I had to continue working, and this time I will be working with my mom in a store that we establish. During my free time I was learning music by myself, theory and a little of technique in the guitar. After two years working there we had to close the store, and we move out to another city, Valledupar, the land the Vallenato was born, looking for better opportunities to live. After, one year my mom was fired from her job, it is difficult to keep a job in Colombia when you don’t have any professional title. Moreover, we went back to Piedecuesta, nothing to do in that moment, so I started to sell food on the street walking around all my town offering people the food that I prepared, the food was a traditional food call “Ayacos de Mazorca”.
Every day was difficult, and always an adventure, always far away from home and far away from my grandma and my mom, but I had to do it. I had in mind that I wanted to study music in a professional institution and become in a professional musician and very good musician as well. I started to save money every day until I got money enough to buy a new instrument, so, I bought a beautiful violoncello. I met an incredible human being and master that wanted to give me private lessons, his name was Libardo Barrero. I started to have weekly lessons with him, but in one point he started to skip classes, at that moment I couldn’t understand why…one month later I understood that he had cancer and he was in a terminal stage. I never imagine that, every time that I meet him for a class he was always smiling and making jokes and always with a good attitude of life and music, he shares his passion for music and for the violoncello, and his passion for teaching, many days I wish he become in my father. One day, I heard the bad news about his death, he passed away, I couldn’t meet him again or say goodbye. After him passed away I stopped to play Cello. Also, my first love asked me to sell my Cello as a prove of real love to her and buy something that was important for her… So, I sold my Cello as a prove of love.

My life didn’t change to much after this prove of love, I continue selling food on the streets, I continue my life, with no instrument, no career, and no girlfriend… And the memories of Libardo on mind. I started to saving money, this time with a guitar as my goal. For this year I was 22 years old, this year was a lucky and really cool year for me and my family. I bought an electric guitar and also my mom heard about a new academy of music specialized on Jazz, the name of the school was AMMUS. Here was the beginning of my journey.

I got accepted in a student bank loan, I was working hard and studying at the same time. I graduated from AMMUS and I started to teach some classes in 3 different music academies in Bucaramanga, the city, also I had some freelance people interested to take classes with me. I got hired for some different project bands as a guitar player I started to play for different artist in Piedecuesta and Bucaramanga. I stop to sell food on the streets and I was supporting myself and my family with my career, with the magical and beautiful music as a music teacher and performance guitar player.
But life, showed me a bigger opportunity to keep growing on my career. Ammus, again, offered a master class with a professor from Ecuador, Diego Celi, who offered a guitar class and after the master class he offered auditions to study at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, in Ecuador. I saw that like an unreal opportunity for me, I saw that an impossible to do, I felt I wasn’t talented enough to be accepted in an international University. One of the professors in Ammus Raul Mancipe, told me to make the audition, “you don’t have anything to lose if you do the audition, nothing bad is going to happen” he said to me, and next day I did the audition for my surprise, Diego Celi, immediately after I completely the audition he offered my 60% of scholarship to study in Ecuador. I was in a big shock for this new, I felt that was not real, not real at all. Couple of months ago I was selling food on the streets and now I had the opportunity to study in another country and get a Professional degree and a master’s degree. That was just unbelievable. I made my mom and my grandma cry that night with this really awesome new that either three of us was expecting for.

After one year of fight with the government in Colombia, I finally complete to gather all the papers to be able to leave Colombia and start my new adventure for this dream. This adventure won’t be easy I knew that, my budget was short, and my family wasn’t able to help me out if I need it, but I definitely want it to do it. I spend a lot of days without eat something, spending nights at the university, feeling alone, feeling sad, my grandma passed away, and I couldn’t go back to Colombia for her funeral. But, not just difficult things happen, I also met Jonathan Kreisberg, Mike Moreno, and I made a lot of friends on the two years that I was there. I learned a lot of things. I become in an archeologist, for couple of semesters, this was one of the greatest adventures in my life at this period of time there I Ecuador.

My university was a BIN, Berklee International Network, which means is a Berklee program, I was in the middle of the Berklee program there, when the Berklee auditions called, and I decided to make the audition to come to Boston. Which I got accepted Berklee College of Music to continue my studies in Performance major.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I’m a musician, I’m a guitar player, I’m interested in folk music mostly but I also play, Pop, Rock, Jazz and Worship. I want to being part of a band or put together a band and play our music, touring around the world. I also really enjoy to be part of some individual projects when people needs to record some guitars, I like to be that guitar player, I mean recording session musician. And also, I really enjoy teach guitar and music theory.

What’s the message or inspiration, what do you hope people take away from it?

It wasn’t easy for me to arrive to United States, with an almost nothing of knowledge of the language either being here at Berklee. I went through a lot of difficult situations as sleep on the streets or not eat at all, for weeks. But I always had in mind all people that showed to me a light of strength to always keep fighting when you have in a noble dream in your heart. I would like that people specially on my country, of my same social stratum, don’t marc their limits about what they want to do. One of my students one day told me “we can be as big as our imagination allows” and I always keep that with me. I want to say that the path is not easy, that doesn’t matter how many times we fall, we need to stand up every time that we fell down and continue being strong and kind at the same time and enjoy the life because it doesn’t matter how dark could be the moment that we are going through, we are able to find the light, life experiences are good, and god choose the battles to his warriors.

How do you think about success, as an artist, and what do quality do you feel is most helpful?
Is to do what make us happy, without think about getting fame or choose a professional career that is going to give us a lot of money, it is choose something in your life that makes you happy, and every moment enjoyable, every day spending our time doing it for just love. And the things that society will worry about, that will get to us just in addition.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
This is my website:
https://wortizbueno.wixsite.com/williambueno

This is my Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/williambuenoofficial/

This is my Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/WilliamBuenoMusician/

YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMcVdizCL679uGDoH_31WWA?view_as=subscriber

Supporting with likes and follows and coming to some of my shows and appreciating what I do. Or if someone is interested in taking guitar lessons I will love to be your teacher. Or if someone knows about event that need music contact me. Can send me a message for this social media and I answer you back.

Right now, I don’t have money to pay my next semester at Berklee, and the person who was helping me to get a student loan here in United Stated is no longer able to help me out with it. So, I need a lot of students and a lot of gigs! 🙂

Contact Info:

• Address: Right now I don’t have a stable place. But I will have a place in July.
• Website: https://wortizbueno.wixsite.com/williambueno
• Phone: 6176026821
• Email: wortizbueno@berklee.edu
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williambuenoofficial/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WilliamBuenoMusician/
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMcVdizCL679uGDoH_31WWA/videos?view_as=subscriber

Image Credit:
Berklee college of music, Longy music school, Geraldine Osorio, Paola Munda, Andreo McToo, Romina Calleris, Primera Escena, Empate.

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