Letters

Hello! My husband and I wanted to tell you our story--the story of how we met and fell in love from miles and miles apart--and all because of KISS!!!!!! It was August 2006, Rodrigo & I were both members of a MySpace KISS forum. He is from Sao Paulo, Brazil and I am from Pittsburgh, PA. One day, he sent me a message because he saw my KISS tattoo (with your autographs! :) He said, "Hey girl! I loved your KISS tattoo! You're awesome!" I got this message and saw that he was from BRAZIL! Of all places! I was amazed and excited that the band that I was BORN loving seemed to have connected me to a person so far away. Rodrigo and I spent a lot of time talking from that point on. First it was email, then instant messenger, then phone conversations. We fell in love! I have never been so sure of anything in my life and the same for him. Our families and friends all had their reservations about us getting together. They thought we were a little crazy. They thought it wouldn't work out. They didn't trust this. But WE KNEW. So we knew that we had to try to be together. First we tried (twice) to get him here to visit me. Unfortunately, visiting this country isn't as easy as one would think. His visas were denied. So in February of 2009 (TWO & A HALF YEARS LATER!) I decided that I'd waited long enough! This crazy KISS fan was going to Brazil!!! I went, all alone. Rodrigo met me at the airport, just like he said he would. Our first hug was ELECTRIC! Our first kiss...there was more fire between us than at a KISS show! Everything we always thought we had was 100% REAL and we were together, FINALLY!!! During my stay in Brazil (and after winning over his family and friends), we got engaged and decided to shoot for a K-1 fianc� visa to get him to the US, so we could finally start a life together. This is a difficult process which took over a year to finally accomplish. The US consulate in Brazil did not believe our relationship was valid. Our families and friends wrote letters and put their own names on the line for us. Then in February of this year, he was finally granted the visa to come here! We were just married on July 10th and we couldn't be happier! We wanted to share our happiness with you. We wanted to thank YOU, KISS, for bringing us together in the first place, and let you know that on July 29th, in Pittsburgh, we'll see our first KISS concert, TOGETHER!!!! Your music has inspired and motivated us both throughout our whole lives. It's gotten us both through the roughest thing that either of us has ever gone through. THANK YOU! For EVERYTHING! We hope to thank you in person some day! Janie & Rodrigo Lomba Santa Rosa