Willow Glen Resident
Community
River Glen borrows tradition for its music support program
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
A procession of children walks down Lincoln Avenue, velvet capes behind them, playing various instruments and belting out traditional songs in Spanish.
The River Glen Estudiantina is made up of more than 30 students and parents and evolved from a music boosters group in February.
"When Roberto [Mendoza] and I started, we wanted to start a music boosters club," says Debbie McCormick.
McCormick and Mendoza are two of the founders of the music group that focuses on middle-school students.
The school already had a music program in place for younger students, McCormick says.
"We are all music lovers and wanted to start raising money to build a music program and offer the kids alternatives," she says.
The two began trying to form a music boosters but ran into several roadblocks and opted for the more traditional Estudiantina.
"It is a very rich tradition in Latin America and Europe," Mendoza says.
The idea originated in the Middle Ages and served as a way for students to enjoy learning to play music with minimal funds.
"The group serves a purpose on a shoestring budget," he says. "We are honoring our ancestry and singing traditional songs as well as a song for the holidays. It's a very cool thing that we're really proud of--very nontraditional and just trying to spread some cheer."
Both McCormick and Mendoza have personally seen the benefits of being part of something with a long history such as an Estudiantina.
"We are both from El Salvador and have both been in Estudiantinas as kids," McCormick says. "Roberto wanted us to go back to our roots."
The group meets twice a week at the school from 8 to 8:30 a.m. and learns and practices its music with the help of volunteer teachers Mendoza, McCormick, Lisa Ayala and Lola Bracamontes.
The group has been met with support from school principal Millie Arrellano, the school's parent group HABLA, parents and even The Alameda Business Association.
"We started from nothing, and here we are," Mendoza says. "But there are still many things we need help with, like the instruments."
When the group first started, it looked for instruments that were used in the previous music program about seven years ago and found them out back in a shed.
"Most were molded, rusted, and some were just not useable," Mendoza says. "Others we managed to get a tune out of. It was a total comedy of sorts."
The instruments, a rag tag collection of guitars, mandolins, bass guitars and keyboards, have become extensions of the students who play them.
"They've bonded with their instruments," says Ayala, "and when parents watch them perform these traditional songs, they get tears in their eyes because they remind them of their youth."
For more information or to donate, contact Roberto Mendoza at 408.768.5633 or e-mail at vespaman200@gmail.com.
