Benjamin Agnew, bassist with Ireland’s Cup O’Joe, was married on April 30 to Nadia Petcoff in her native Argentina.
The couple met through friends, 7,000 miles apart. They were introduced online, and quickly developed a relationship through a shared interest in academics. Plans to meet in person had to be shelved until COVID travel restrictions were lifted, but Nadia and Benjamin were finally able to spend time together when he traveled to Buenos Aries in 2021. He stayed several months with her family, and before heading back home, had popped the question.
While Nadia’s family may not yet share Benjamin’s love for bluegrass, they have a rich musical tradition of their own. Her mother and aunts played together growing up, and her grandfather and two uncles were, or are luthiers. Onofre Yakimczuk, her grandfather, built the first electric guitars in Argentina. His Yakim Guitars are prized throughout South America, both acoustics and solid/hollow body electrics, and were played and popularized by Sandro, Arentina’s biggest pop/rock star of the 1960s and ’70s.
Of course, Cup O’Joe played at the wedding reception.
Benjamin and Nadia’s is a beautiful story of true love, as old as time, but established through modern communication methods that made their distance apart more manageable. One imagines the missives that might have been written between lovers separated by distance hundreds of years ago, and the longing they shared to be together. The only difference is in the technology. The emotions and passions are the same, regardless of chronology.
Many congratulations to Benjamin and Nadia, and best wishes for countless happy years together. They hope to make their home in Ireland, once visa issues are resolved.
