Grandma heard a 30-year-old tape found by granddaughter — she 'immediately recognized' the voice and broke down

When we truly love someone, even the littlest details about them are held close to our hearts. For instance, the way they smiled, their fragrance or even their voice. These minor and mundane things stick with us even years after the person is long gone. A 91-year-old woman named Asunción Estevan Chico was touched to hear a familiar voice, per PEOPLE. Her family played it for her and as soon as she heard it, she was taken back to a voice she last heard 30 years ago. Despite her age and every other possibility to not recognize the voice, Chico immediately knew and her reaction said it all. 

Chico’s granddaughter, Irene Patón Reig (@irenepaton on TikTok), shared a video of the moment the family presented the voice to the elderly woman. It captured Chico’s eyes and face immediately lighting up as the audio began to play. It was a man singing a tune in Spanish. The tape labeled "Blas Estevan" was acquired from Chico’s box of belongings and the family brought a tape recorder from Germany to hear it. While speaking of the time the family gave the surprise, Chico said, “They told me they had a surprise for me and I told them I didn’t want any surprises! But when I found out what it was, I told them they had given me the greatest gift of my life.” 

“When I heard his voice, I recognized it immediately. I put my hand on my heart and said, ‘That’s my father,’” Chico recalled. The audio was of the late Blas Estevan, the grandma’s dad. “I wasn’t expecting it. I felt immense joy, excitement and the urge to cry, thinking I would never hear him again in my life,” the elderly woman remarked. The 91-year-old was immediately transported back to the time when she was a little girl and her dad would sing popular tunes for her and his family. As she heard each lyric and line, her heart melted as if she were back in the arms of her father. Soon, Chico began to sing along with the tune softly as she tried to recall the words. 

By the end of the video, she had tears and the biggest smile and was singing aloud, feeling every word in her heart. Reig recalled stumbling upon the recording and being “shocked.” She never knew it existed and was delighted to hear her great-grandfather. “I loved hearing my great-grandfather sing, and I knew my grandmother would love the surprise. I cried with her when I saw how emotional she was,” Reig mentioned. Many people connected the 91-year-old’s experience to that of the popular movie “Coco,” where the plot revolves around a forgotten singer, an aged and ailing grandma’s dad.

Reig rightly said, “Many people say that love doesn’t die when a person is gone — it lives on in the hearts of those who remember them.” People in the comments shared their take. "This is why I take so many videos of my dad singing. I don't ever wanna forget what he sounds like," said @shhh_i_am_not_here. "To think one day it’ll be years since the last time you heard your parents' voice is insane," added @yesimsydneyy.

You can follow Irene Patón Reig (@irenepaton) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.