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Ranch & Coast: Do you have a favorite local restaurant? Rafael Payare: That would be Callie, and it's fantastic. The chef, Travis Swikard, is amazing. The way that he cooks and uses local produce is really phenomenal. Whenever I'm in San Diego I make one or two or three — or sometimes four! — appearances there. R&C: Where will we find you on your days off? RP: Sometimes it is nice just to have a walk on the beach, and in San Diego you have many different options. Sometimes it would be with my daughter, Ariadne. There's dog beach — it's great for kids because there's no current, nothing to be worried about. R&C: Do you have a go-to place here that you like to share with others? RP: I almost always take people to The Rady Shell. And then we just go and cross the bridge to Coronado Island to eat. It's fun to walk through the promenade there, where it is so beautiful and peaceful. I also love the [Torrey Pines] Gliderport because they have this dramatic cliff, and you can see the ocean and look at the sunset. R&C: What else do you really love about life in San Diego? RP: San Diego is a wonderful city that gives you the space to be completely disconnected and surrounded by the beautiful nature, but also a place where you can experience art at the highest level, from music to theater and so much more. And there's baseball, of course, which I love. It's a fabulous, cosmopolitan city and a truly beautiful place to live. A graduate of the celebrated El Sistema in Venezuela, San Diego Symphony Music Director Rafael Payare began his formal conducting studies in 2004. He was awarded first prize at the Malko Conducting Competition in 2012, is renowned as one of the most exciting conductors of his generation, and has led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and London Symphony, to name a few, before signing on to direct the San Diego Symphony Orchestra's 82 full-time musicians in January 2019. Rafael Payare @ranchandcoast ranchandcoast.com 100 OCTOBER 2022 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE PHOTO BY GERARD COLLETT