AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER

It's half past midnight and although I have to be up early tomorrow and should be asleep by now, I can't avoid the fact that today is the fourth anniversary of the day Madonna grabbed my hand. Yes, four years ago I became one lucky fan. I travelled to Boston especially for this concert, I bought a ticket on ticketmaster and though I knew I had a pretty good seat, I had no idea I was to be located just by the end of the catwalk where the disco ball where Madonna would come out of would descend at the beginning of the show.
The minute the mirrored ball opened, right after she sang : Connect to the sky/Future lovers ride/There in mission style/Would you like to try, she turned to her left and stared at me, and I almost fainted. I had had a t-shirt made especially for the occasion, in black and white stripes and with the words "I CONFESS" emblazoned in fuchsia and purple sequins. I could hardly contain myself throughout the entire show, I had never been this close to her (I had been to the Reinvention Tour a couple of years before, but the stage design wasn't this fan friendly).
I was happy. Just too happy. I though my trip had been worth every bit, but little did I know that the best was yet to come. While singing La Isla Bonita, right when she went down the catwalk followed by her entourage of dancers, she knelt RIGHT in front of me towards the end of the song, and then it happened. A few seconds that have now become one of my most cherished memories ever. SHE grabbed my hand. MADONNA. The same person I'd been following since I was 5. The same person who danced on a Venetian gondola. The same person who walked up a staircase in a striped t-shirt and jeans while holding a leather jacket over her shoulder . The same girl whose voguing I tried to imitate at 10. The same woman who inspired my curiosity for Tamara de Lempicka (the subject of my first collection ever). Most importantly, the one whose voice had been the background music to much of my life. It was as if HER life had flashed before my eyes.
Though I held on, she let go, and I have to admit it was sort of a let-down. It was as if I expected her to recognize me or something. I know it sounds delusional, but I guess most fans feel we've had some sort of relationship with her for the past thirty years.
Though I thought everything I could possibly expect from this amazing experience had already happened, I was to be extremely and pleasantly surprised when I got back to Lima. Though I had taken my camera to the concert, I only took pictures of her and was too excited to even think about taking pictures of myself, so the last thing I expected was to find pictures where I show up jumping and dancing next to the stage, posted on flick.com by two guys to whom I'll be eternally grateful.
Here's my photographic homage on our 4th anniversary and the tiny clip I managed to film right before IT happened. Happy Anniversary darling.

THE HAND

THE TICKET

THE OUTFIT

THE SOUVENIR

THE MOMENT