Elario Griego who knows what it’s like to hit rock bottom as a drug addict, will be performing his showcalled Road to Redemption at the Joseph Stone Auditorium to apologise to his family for what he put them through.
The 33-year-old, who grew up in Bridgetown, developed a love for music at an early age as he was part of the junior choir at Saint Theresa’s Primary School in Welcome Estate and performed at various variety shows while he attended Garlandale High School.
He continued to embrace his musical talent and performed at various concerts until tragedy struck his family.
In December 2014 his cousin, to whom he was very close, passed away, and he started using crystal meth to escape the pain of the loss.
Soon he was addicted.
“I didn’t know how to handle the loss, I didn’t know how to go about life after that, so I turned to drugs. It was the only way I could escape and it seemed like the only option out for me,” he said.
He said that during his addiction he lost sight of his goals, and lost his zest for life – and nearly lost himself to drugs. “I thought that I was fine but I realised that I was on my way to nothing. I reached rock bottom, I was alone, with no-one. The friends you make during the time you are on drugs leave you when you have nothing to offer,” he said.
He said he didn’t want to accept help from anyone as he didn’t want to get close to them and end up losing them.
Mr Griego said the show, which will be staged on Friday December 15, will be his apology to his family and friends for turning to drugs and also a vow never to become an addict again.
“I am a different person now. I have grown and learnt many things. I am not the person that I was before I was on drugs and I am not the person that I was when I was on drugs. I am now the person that I was meant to be,” he said.
He said that he uses music to communicate to people as there is always a song for each emotion.
“I use music to communicate with people and send them messages of hope and encouragement to uplift themselves.
“People can escape from their problems when they listen to my music.This is a personal trail of everything that lead me to drugs and how I overcame it. This is my way of telling my story. I am not my past as I have learnt from my past,” he said.
He will be performing various songs including What a wonderful world by Celine Dion and On the wings of love by Jeffery Osborne, which he said is the reason he fell in love with music.
“I want to get back to that type of music which evokes emotions in people. Every song that I sing in the show will be significant. I am not ashamed of my past as it helped mould me and create the person that I am today,” he said.
The show will start at 7pm and tickets are R100 each. For tickets contact Zara Veenandaal on 082 556 4069.