Out of the way

Rafael Romero was a great champion of accessibility, doing practical stuff that made things better. Like smiling, and bringing up the mood of those around him. And calling it like he saw it, not like he would like things to be.

The first time I saw a real movie on the Web with captions, he had done it (and translated it into spanish for good measure). He was one of the people who taught me to speak Spanish, and to love Spain.

He turned up one day at a conference with his guitar and sang us a song he had written, to a tune of his, that I recorded on my phone. He later recorded it in a studio. For me, it is the song of accessibility. It may not be the best song he ever wrote, but as a memorial it's not a bad one.

Te echaré de menos, Rafa. Ahora tengo lagrimas en lugar de las palabras.