Marlana VanHoose is quick to point out that she’s from Denver, Kentucky; NOT Denver, Colorado.

And, she doesn’t hesitate to tell anyone (including a journalist asking questions with a camera and microphone) that she prefers being blind rather than sighted.

Born with Cytomeglo Virus, by the time Marlana was a few weeks old, her parents discovered she could not see. Her prognosis was bleak – Marlana was “not expected to live past one year.”

Miracles happen. And many in Portland were lucky enough to see the evidence over the weekend.

Marlana totally tore up the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, both as a soloist and as part of an extraordinary musical ensemble called United by Music.

Marlana and her mom were kind enough to sit down with me on July 4. 2014.

See Marlana sing the national anthem at the Blues Fest.

Read Audrey Goldfarb’s post about her reaction to Audrey’s United by Music performance.

PRP