Today I woke up with horrible news, that really changed the way I was going to look at the rest of the day. Beth Krakower, a well-known and very respected publicist in the world of soundtracks, but above all, a very good friend, died after two long years battling Cancer.
Beth was always strong, persistent, never gave up, and she fought till the end, always with positivity and love. But her strength and her will was only one part of her character.
If I talk about her professional side, I can say that she loved her job, and she was always helping to make possible the impossible, to give always the best.
If I talk about her personal side, I could start with a list of adjectives, and I don’t know when I would end: kind, clever, helpful, sincere, honest, creative, passionate, charming, intelligent, damn funny…
Let me tell you a story that has part of both worlds… I first met Beth in Ubeda in 2011, the year she took Bear McCreary to the festival as his client. At that moment, the reboot of Battlestar Galactica was a big hit on TV, and I really loved both the series and the music. After a panel with Bear, I tried to approach him to talk about his music and get a CD cover signed. He was surrounded by a lot of people, taking pictures, signing CDs, chatting, etc… and I said (in Spanish) “well, I don’t want to bother him, he’s too busy”, and I turned back to leave… but suddenly, somebody tapped me on my shoulder. It was Beth (I didn’t know her yet). She didn’t speak Spanish, but she could read my face and my body expression. She said, “Don’t go, Bear loves to be with his fans, please wait a little bit and stay”. We started to talk, and later, when Bear was free, she introduced me to him and we talked about his music, while Beth took some pictures of us. That was the beginning of our friendship, and the beginning of many encounters over the years in many concerts, festivals, events…
I’m not the religious kind, but on these moments is when I like to think that there’s something else after this life, somewhere where we can meet again, Beth, and where we can repeat our wonderful moments and conversations together.
In the meanwhile, Beth, I will always remember you. We will always remember you. You will always be with us. Whenever and wherever the soundtracks are playing, we will be sharing that music with you. Or you will be sharing it with us. It will work both ways… till we meet each other again…
Gorka Oteiza
