You'll never meet a Didac Hormiga like this, because well, he is the only one -- and to many University of Maryland students he means much more. Didac is a community personality whose music is often featured at Cornerstone Bar and Grill, where he often wears "clout-fits," like this.
Today, Didac's most popular songs are his raps which he often pairs with beats from today's top hits. He writes and sings his own songs, using several social media tools to market his work.
Before his rap career began, Didac would upload freestyle raps about his favorite Fifa teams and players to YouTube. His Fifa freestyle collaborations with artists like Quadeca -- another famed rapper -- helped bring his YouTube videos to over 1 million views collectively.
Since he's begun recording music, Didac has used the same Blue Yetti mic. He says he bought it used from a friend for $45 in 2014, his junior year of Highschool at Georgetown Day School.
Before laying down tracks or finding a melody online, Didac uses his guitar to help find his voice. He has been playing guitar for 16 years, Didac said.
During his sophomore year, Didac launched a location based social media app called Flee, which stands for Find Local Events and Entertainment. The app was the first of its kind to feature event based video stories by location and amassed over 100,000 events and partners TicketMaster and Lyft.
Didac attributes his entrepreneurial spirit to bringing his music into the public light. He says his passion for turning nothing into something has motivated him to take his music to this "next level."
Though he writes and sings own music, Didac's hope is to produce his own music someday. For now, he often leases beats from other producers around the country.
At the University of Maryland, Didac is a senior Marketing major and Technology Entrepreneurship minor at the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Through the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, Didac won the audience choice award in 2018 for his venture, Flee.
Didac draws inspiration from his life and his relationships when writing his music."It's hard balancing being honest and genuine about my experiences and stories, and protecting the people I'm writing about from the public," Didac said
Though he lives on campus, home is just a short walk away in University Park, Md. Especially on Sundays, Didac likes to go home to watch F.C. Barcelona soccer games with his family.
Though College Park is his home, Didac has lived all over the world. He has also lived in Barcelona, Copenhagen and Madrid.
As a global citizen, Didac speaks Spanish, Catalan, French and English.
Didac's father, Gustavo, is an Arachnologist at George Washington University in Washington D.C. His work studying spiders brought Didac and his family to Copenhagen, and continues to bring him all over the world.
Didac's father is the designated carver for Jamon Serrano, a popular Spanish meat, which is similar to Prosciutto. It's typically served on "pan amb tomáquet," bread with olive oil, tomato and garlic.
Growing up, Didac was a fan of the Beatles. He recently placed cover art for his own single, "Over Us," beside the artists he admires.
Didac's musical inspiration began when his mom, a music teacher and musical director at at Sheridan Elementary School in Washington D.C., began teaching him piano at a young age.
Most recently, Gustavo Hormiga was featured in the latest issue of National Geographic for his work studying spiders. Just this year Gustavo has made excursions to Ecuador and New Zealand.
Starting in August 2019, Didac will be working at Microsoft as a Product Marketing Manager, but he hopes to find time to continue pursuing and creating music on the side.
Someday, Didac hopes that he will make money to support himself with his music -- giving him an opportunity to spread his music all over the world.
Photo Essay by Kat Brzozowski as part of JOUR376 at UMD - College Park.
