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Mónica G.'s room is full of stars. She was admitted to the tenth floor of a clinic in the city of Buenos Aires for a month. Amidst fatigue, fear, uncertainty and her never-ending desire to return home, lights come through the door every day and stay with her. That's how he feels every time he sees Dr. Mariano Masciocchi comes every afternoon to check his vital signs. The clinician and cardiologist then takes out his cell phone, connects it to a tiny speaker and the colors, memories and emotions explode.
Masciocchi turns on the playlist and starts singing. With the first chords Dr. Natalia Masci, also a doctor, the scene after she has just finished her daily visit with her patients. The duo complements each other perfectly. They start in tune and with ease in “A Lot of Stars” by Polo Montañez and the Cuban heat fills every corner. Like Hunter Doherty, Patch Adams, known as “the doctor of laughter therapy”, Masciocchi – an admirer of the American – becomes for a while not a clown but a singer. Interacting with his patients gives him a fulfilled feeling. He sees the light in her eyes and returns home with that image, confident that the mission is accomplished. More than 2,500 patients are already being treated by this Argentine Patch Adams, about ten per week.
Mónica, who prefers not to give her last name, closes her eyes and moves her hands to the rhythm of the music. For a while he forgets the pain. Masciocchi believes that beyond what he can do with his extensive medical knowledge, there is an alternative route using melodies that can boost the immune system, improve memory, reduce anxiety, headaches, blood pressure and alter mood, among other benefits can.
His idea receives varying levels of approval internationally. In early 2023, a Harvard University study led by Dr. Inmaculada de Vivo concluded that music has “calming effects,” particularly on the cardiovascular system, which suffers most from stress. Already in 2022, research by the Music Therapy and Health Foundation (Spain) had shown that micro-concerts in health centers have a positive effect on the mental and physical health of patients, reducing their anxiety by 27% and increasing their well-being by 88%.
“It is a remedy that cannot be bought in any pharmacy. When a patient is on an inpatient ward, everything is deprived of him. That's why we created this space so you can stop thinking about the pain. Evolution is better. I have no doubts,” shares the doctor.
Doctors Mariano Masciocchi and Natalia Masci sing in one of the hallways of the Zabala Clinic. mariana eliano
The therapeutic ritual, he says, is repeated every day. It begins on the fifth floor and ends on the eleventh floor of the Zabala Clinic in the Belgrano district of Buenos Aires. There is no prior rehearsal. It's all spontaneous and relaxed. Masciocchi sings, dances and infects patients and their families. Dr. Masci accompanies him. Everyone comes together to share an unforgettable moment of happiness. “You are gaining lives and so are we,” the doctor says proudly.
In his classic white coat, Masciocchi walks the corridors, enters other rooms with the same ceiling as the sky and “spreads stars” through an endless repertoire. They usually also ask about “Color Esperanza” by Diego Torres, “Caraluna” by Bacilos and “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi, among others.
The origin
With 22 years of experience as a doctor, Masciocchi always had to bring a little more to his daily work in clinics and sanatoriums. That's why with the slogan: “Will you give me an hour?” For a decade he has been going to Argentine inns and places on weekends to look after people without social work (insurance). Dozens of volunteers are involved.
At the same time, based on personal experience, the doctor decided to combine traditional medicine with music. His father was hospitalized with a terminal illness and he brought his guitar to sing to him, like when he was little and learning the instrument. “My father could barely move, but he smiled when he heard me singing. We were able to share very special moments,” he says.
Doctors Mariano Masciocchi and Natalia Masci analyze a patient's diagnosis. Mariana Eliano
It was the “first star” that marked the path of those who came later. The doctor began uploading videos to his networks and the musical constellation became brighter and brighter. The news exploded and he created an Instagram account to channel it. “Hello doctor, I'm from Uruguay: can you dedicate a song to Carlos, who is very complicated?” they ask him in one. “'Mora, 5 years old, is about to have surgery, can you sing to her?' Greetings from the Canary Islands,” reads another; “‘He is the best medicine: empathy, happiness and love for his patients. “All is not lost,” they congratulate him in another. And so encouraging words and requests come into a wheel that is already spinning at full speed.
Does music heal?
There is more and more research and specialists in different fields that assure that music performed in a therapeutic environment has specific health benefits. Psychiatrist and health expert Silvia Bentolila is energetic. He asserts that “singing heals”; It brings mental relief which is oxygen in captivity.
“The hospital situation triggers high levels of stress as a neurophysiological reaction. The hyperalert state is activated. There are several strategies to deal with stress, but music and singing are definitely two of the most wonderful strategies,” notes Bentolila. “Through singing we bring body, mind and soul back into harmony. We modulate breathing, reconnect perception and also enjoy sound vibrations,” he adds.
Ariel Zimbaldo, Professor of the Department of Music Therapy at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and a graduate of Music Therapy, also focuses on the vulnerability of patients. “There is no doubt that music is good for them. “Surely they find the doctor’s song to be a support of strength,” he reflects.
Mariano Masciocchi next to the portrait of a nurse at the Zabala Clinic in Buenos Aires. mariana eliano
Additionally, Zimbaldo anchors himself in the power of “musicality” from pregnancy through life. “We feel all the vibrations in this intimate and deep contact with the mother’s body. The mother's voice is the most beautiful music that the baby needs to calm down after birth. The subject in a hospital situation or illness in general repeats the baby's normal helplessness and exhibits the traces that remain after the newborn's experiences. “That’s why the doctor’s singing voice can be a suitable means of restoring well-being,” adds the music therapist.
In addition, it ensures that music helps rebuild and restore the functions of a damaged brain, facilitates learning to walk and talk, regulates sensory and cognitive functions and activates brain areas related to social and emotional functions. Meanwhile, night falls in the clinic, which is the doctor's home during the day, and Monica's room is dark again. However, if you close your eyes, the light trail is still there. It goes and comes back, coupled with the chords that remained suspended in the air. He wishes: to recover.