___knowledges gained

___we had a terrific time and learned quite a bit from the Musical expert guests. Mr. Frank Sosa, he of the Martin Band and Matiachi Tigeres del Sur had much to share as he is very knowledgeable about his craft, especially the Mariachi history and development, and then there were the trio members and Joe Medina who seem to know it all about the "musica romantica de los trios del anteano", wow. and they can perform and will be back, Melissa Rodriguez did a very presentable job of filling in for Debbie and Norma carried the wholle trio show as the showed her versatility in interviewing the guest in both English and Spanish in the Trio special

___we doo it tomorrow

___big shooting day tomorrow as we return to the big studio in the PAC building, we have been on the road for the past couple of months, we have most of the Musical numbers from the various Spring Concerts, Mariachi Festivals, trio extravaganza, plus the VMT Showcase. so all we gotta record are the Human elements, the interviews to make a show, guest tomorrow include Joe Medina and Juan Garza, several Martin Mariachi Members and MHS Band Members, a trio or two, several piano students, maybe even the two girl singers who were invited but have not made contact, if we do it right, we can wrap up six or seven thirty minute shows, still to come, the Nixon band, mas trio's, mas mariachi's. y el book author

___scheduling conflicts

___due to measures beyond our control,, we had to change the shooting schedule for this week,, instead of Tuesday, the 29th, we will have to shoot in the studio on Wednesday, the 30th, june is getting near, guest scheduled so far are Joe Medina and Juan Garza, some of the members of the martin band and the Mariachi Tigeres del Sur, some trio members, maybe a couple of kids from the Piano program at VMT, and yesterday, i made contact with the Galaviz sisters, two beautiful young ladies who both really sing up a storm and deserve some local exposure, these ladies cantan de todos los estilos, rancheras, internacional, boleros and even in English

___Oscar goes

___the ballet special featuring Oscar Luis Elizondo aired this evening and it was very enlightning, once again Debbie created a spark as she seems to interact in such a special way and created electricity in dealing with our guest. At the risk of being redundant, there was a chemistry and Oscar is such a lively subject as he actively responds to any and all queries, in such a dramatic mode, definitely one of our better shows.

___end of the line

___Soundtown, the VMT's latest effort of bringing back the Music of the Past made it's final presentation of this academic school year as they entertained the crowd at the Salvation Army's Program held last night at the United Baptist Church. It was a sort of farewell adios for the talented Seniors who were playing for the last time with the big Band. What a nice way to end as they played and were served a delicious meal. Host for the evening, sort of, was the Reverend Mike Barrera who (whom?) i remember as a skinney blond sparkplug playing basketball at Martin and who later starred at Nixon. He recounted the old days including a stint in Vietnam. I guess you could say that vietnam was our "Iraq". I wonder how this nasty was will be perceived years from now and what kind of an effect it will have on our Society? An advanced warning, next year's Soundtown has been invited to play at the LEC at the start of the year for the big first Assembly of the LISD school staff. A big venue with a big crowd, i am already looking forward to it.

___over and done

___shot the ballet video featuring Oscar Luis Elizondo and finished the editing on it by ten o'clock last night,, that young man has a lot to say and he did, Debbie as usual was her usual brilliant self, can''t wait to see it ? , it will be shown this Friday, channel three on the cable, six-thirty pm on Hot Town !, of course

___ready, set, . . .go

___today we go into production mode as we get ready to record and finalize the Ballet Video with Mr. Oscar Luis Elizondo, it seems that the dance is a sort of tribute to his father, Doctor Elizondo, well known Laredo Physician who recently passed, we need to record, edit and finalize, no small project as this needs to be on the air this Friday

___planning ahead

___met last night with Norma and Oscar Luis Elizondo,, the subject of our next shoot, he is the extraordinaire ballet dancer who will soon be featured on Hot Town along with some of his pupils. We reviewed his scenes shot the day before and made plans for some additional taping tomorrow to complete the show, added news, el Carnal Carlos Landin appears ready, willing and able to do his second special, maybe at his home and we made plans to make use of the big Studio at the PAC for a really big shoot next Tuesday, the 29th, guests will be Joe Medina and Juan Garza, los Tigeres del Sur y su Director, Dr, Mary Grace Carrol, and some members of the Trio's that performed for our cameras recently

___dancing in the morn

___went by this morning early and shot a little bit of informational video from Mr. Oscar Luis Elizondo and his ballet students as they prepare for their recital next week, it was a totally new experiience for me not knowing much about the subject but we are learning, Norma was her usual jovial self at that hour as we planned an additional shoot at the Civic Center at their rehearsal on Wednesday, still to come, an extensive interview to find out all about this young man, stay tuned for the details

___heavy dose of editing

___got to get started tomorrow on the editing, i guess i have about ten hours of recorded material to edit into some semblance of shows, and then on sunday morn, we gonna go shoot a male ballet dancer real early in the morning, i don't remember how i got talked into this, but this is highly unusual

___band showtime again

___The Martin High School Band program put on quite a show last night with the band marching into the auditorium and then standing in the aisles to serenade us while the Flag Color Guard Dancers did their routine on stage. The Drumline, a percussion ensemble, los Mariachi Tigeres del Sur, (south texas that is) entertained us before the full band lined up on front facing the audience and doing a nostalgic "eighties music" routine. Band Members is their military uniforms, some in tuxedos, and fully dressed Mariachi's then did their Concert Music Program, Seniors were personally recognized by the Band Director and then of course the program culminated with the school's alma mater and then the great ending, the Martin Tigers Fight Song, i stopped recoording when the stage became full of students and parents and teachers hugging and kissing each other in farewell, in this the final performance for the Seniors

___done and start over

___recorded last night the Nixon band and it was an impressive show, both Bands sounded fine, tonight, we do it all over again, this time it will be the Martin band and Mariachi, this time at the Civic Center, last of the Spring Band Concerts

___showcase

___recorded on video, last night, the VMT spectacular Showcase 2007, at which they simply showcased everything and everyboody, singers, pianists, guitarists, vocalists, musicians, dancers, actors, and visual artists, in a two and a half hour show viewed at the LCC's Martinez Fine Art Theater, it will be quite a job to edit all this material, tonight, the Nixon Band has their Spring Concert and the Hot Town's cameras will be there. i guarantee it

___doing it up right

___the crowd was sparse but enthusiastic as the four mmusical groups put out their best and most memorable music from days past at the La-re-do Music Club Noche de Trio's en Mother's Day held at the nostalgic American Legion Post 59 of yesteryear's glory settled on the banks of the Rio Grande last night. Los Impala, Los Romanticos, Los Principes, y finalmente los Preferidos stirred memories and emotions drawing swoons and applause on every piece. Couples got up to dance when the beat was lively while other just sang along. For almost four hours the mood was pure joy and we have it all oon tape and dvd as we "estrenamos" our new recording gear, Norma says we will share . . .

___delayed Mother's day, sort of

___Joe Medina, a good friend, Laredo business man, and a classmate of Norma, well, class of 1958, is having a Special Dia de las Madres trio Festival tomorrow night at the historic American Legion open-air party place of yesteryear, several trio's, amongst them, "Los Romanticos", "Los Preferidos", "Los Impala" and others will perform, especially for the Madres de Laredenses who make an effort to attend. We will record the music and save it for future use on "Hot Town". Norma and I visited the historic party grounds which are now is disarray since their heyday when it was the preferred and most solicited place to host weddings, quinceaneras, y graduation parties. Remember, you use to be able to use the walkway and make your way to the edge of the river and remember there was an old Cannon on the edge of the dance floor pointed into Mexico, the view is still great in the evening as you can see the constant flow of cars going to and fro on the two International Bridges. it might prove to be a Memorable evening and which shall see who attends, Legion Commander and the man who greeted us as we planned our "shoot" tonight was none other than the former now much thinner former sherriff of Webb County el Juanito Garza, night before we attended a pre-event party hosted by Joe Medina at which we met most of the musicians who will entertain tomorrow night and special guest was none other than Luciano "Lucky" Duarte. we shared some carnitas i muchas cheladas, que vida !

___we are featured again . . .

___in the Media, a very nice gracious story about our show Hot Town camme out in the latest issue of the VMT Tribune. The Tribune is the student newspaper written and published by the photo-jounalism students of Mr. Mark Webber at the LISD Magnet School for Communication and Fine Arts, special thanks to the writer, Ms. Natalie Castillo who quoted me extensively, " i'd never been quoted before, i don't think". also, thanks for the nice pic which will immediately go into our "Hot Town" scrapbook, geee

___we are defined

___Hot Town, Summer In The City," the opening line of a 1966 hit song by the rock group The Lovin' Spoonful, describes a familiar condition to urban residents. To meteorologists, this condition is known as the urban heat island and distinguishes the city's climate from the surrounding rural areas through all seasons.

___better effort

___this evening, before i went to see and hear Soundtown, i made sure to watch the transmission of last week's dance video and it was obvious that they were making an effort to make an adjustment on the color of the video, this time it was a little reddish but acceptable, now to work on the sound which has too much "Hummmm" on it, . . ., i did not video tape tonight concert but i did take a lot of pictures, which will be on this site soon, i promise

___the rains came, after Soundtown

___Soundtown, the big band my son plays in performed for one solid hour at the Laredo Center for the Arts tonight as the Vidal M. Trevino School of Communicationa and Fine Arts presented their annual literay magazine very appropriately named "Tapestry". The magazine is quite beautiful in full color and the paper on which is it printed is of the very best quality. Poems, stories, anecdotes, even some songs are very creatively presented to chronicle the full year. Quite a crowd of old dignateries especially from the age and times of the school's founder MR, Vidal M. Trevino. i had the pleasure of greeting his widowed bride and her two grown sons both of which i had the pleasure of Coaching while in elementary basketball.
___The band played in the full hall with the second story roof so the Sound filled the ole building quite appropriately. The big band played all their reportoire (sic) with a little bit of the different rhythms that brighten our hearts. The cold drinks, non-alcoholic and the sandwichitos made the evening complete. But it is a school night and after the teacher''s banquet with the VMT steel drum band and the fact that we had a full "lockdown" due to a deranged man with a weapon in our neighborhood where the school is located and we got home just in time to avoid the cloudburst and very loud thunder and rayos which hit our town, A ver si no se nos apaga la luz !

___slow week

___little activity this week as we prepare for a really big week coming up after Mother''s Day, on Monday, it is all the Vidal M. Trevino School of Communication and Fine Arts as all the kids perform in one stage,, musical groups,, singer, dancers, poets, guitarist y quien sabe quien mas, on Wednesday it is the Martin High School Band Spring concert where all their groups and the Mariachi will perform, following day is the Nixon Mustang Band Spring concert, and we will tape all three

___yellow submarine

___Soundtown, part one was on the air tonight, or rather a yellow tainted version of it, something is not right, will start making people aware of what is going on today, i do believe

___not hot at all, just their spirit and devotion

___it wasn't that hot, temperature wise, only the spirit and devotion of the people of the Ladrillera who perform their indigenous dance all the way to the church as they accompanied their "holy cross" down Laredo's dusty streets. Los matachines performed their yearly ritual which has been done in Laredo since 1938 and before that in the mining town of Dolores to thank the patron above for the many things that they have received this and every year. We, Debbie, Norma and myself were there to find out what it is all about and pass on their message to our viewers. They are enthusiastic and their character and family bonding strong and admirable as whole families joined in the procession that culminated with a lively feast close to the riverbank from where the whole thing started. Los Matachines danced for hours at a time but mainly they ate and had a good time reconnecting with old friends who had traveled far to be part of the festivities, all this to honor "la santa cruz", en su dia

___the heat is on !

___the weather is getting hot in Laredo and our schedule is a little more hectic, the more we stir things up, the busier we get, on tap is the outdoor, make that hot and dusty, shooting of the video material for the show on the Laredo Ladrillera Matachines but also coming up is some additional footage for a show on the Laredo Martin High School "Tigeres del Sur" Mariachi Group, also due in is a special two show taping of the Laredo's Music Teacher's Mariachi group known as "Los Arrieros", Melissa says that to be teachers, they have to be "arrieros" just like we all are, but they are a very professional mature young group,, most graduates of the LISD music program and the various high school bands, pending is also el amigo Carlos Landin and his follow-up home recording and the Tricia as Selena show might make a stop also at Hot Town, in the near future, a follow-up comprehensive show on Alexis Quintero as she departs for college and a bright future as a musician.

___Super Selena, sigh Tricia

____angelmio
May 2, 07 - 9:48 PM
___eerie,wierd and uncanny ___the first part of the LCC ShowBand Concert was exciting but sort of a ho--hum atmosphere as the audience responded politely to the Jazz music played very well and very loud by the mix of old and young musicians but the auditorium became electrified as Tricia Cortez was introduced as Selena and everyone turned to see her make her grand entrance from the back of the musical hall. Yes, she was wearing a purple outfit very similar to the one that the fallen star wore for the last time at the Houston Astrodome and in the movie, and yes she had the voice after a rather weak first note, could she be nervous ? but then she got into gear and her voice became hauntingly similar as well as her moves became so smooth and familiar, she wore a long black wig and her lips, almost grossingly overdone, and face were done just right. As she climbed the stage, a hush fell over the audience for a moment before they rose to their feet en-masse to follow her as she danced across the stage. i got as close as i could using all the film in my camera as she did two fast dance numbers. When she started the soulful balada "no me queda mas" and the mood was slow enough, i got up the courage to approach her from the stage and offer her my little gift, a single white rose, a symbol of Selena after her death. She took it in her hand and continued to lead the audience especially the youngsters as she invited them to dance along with her




___afterwards we went backstage, norma and I, and she was so busy having her picture taken with a bevy of young girls all too young to have seen the real Selena. She was very receptive to us all and greeted us with her familiar hug. el profe chale valle was there and so was jerry and norma quintero and a lot of people i know but failed to recognize. Several commented as to when she would be on Hot Town. Sometimes, i wish . . .


___\>Angelmio, It would be good show to have Trish do just one number and then interview her on her interests and education. Laredo youth would enjoy that.