Marcos Aycox, known as The Tatted Violinist, describes a childhood shaped by survival in Bauru, São Paulo, where life included both beauty and struggle. A deeply religious environment limited free self-discovery, leading him to shrink and edit himself to avoid trouble. He faced bullying on the streets, including being called gay before understanding it, being beaten, having teeth knocked out, and enduring constant physical and emotional harm. Music became his sanctuary and the one place he did not have to lie. He continued advancing, began teaching music at the city symphony orchestra in his early teens, and later performed at major venues and collaborated with prominent artists.
"“I was born and raised in Bauru, a city of [around] 300,000 people in the state of São Paulo. Life there was about survival,” Aycox says. “It was loud, fast, and full of contrast - beauty and struggle living side by side.” He explains that the “deeply religious environment” he was raised in made things even more complicated. “I didn't really have the luxury of discovering myself freely as a child.... So I learned how to shrink. How to edit myself. How to exist in a way that wouldn't get me in trouble.”"
"“I was bullied,” he recalls. “Not just teased - bullied in a way that leaves marks. I was called gay before I even understood what that meant. I was beaten. I had my teeth knocked out. It was physical. It was emotional. It was constant.” In addition to the challenges he faced at home, Aycox says the streets of Bauru often proved to be more difficult. And violent."
"Again, music acted as his savior. Aycox says he kept at it and “started advancing,” and even began teaching music at the city's symphony orchestra in his early teens. That's when he says “things began to shift.” “Music was the one place I didn't have to lie,” says"
Read at Advocate.com
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