Schools
Future Musicians Master Guitar Lessons
Promising students of the Guitars not Guns program graduate from the first steps of guitar lessons taught at the Watsonville Youth Center.
It took them eight intense weeks of strumming chords and remembering which finger goes where on the neck of a guitar, but the kids from the “Guitars Not Guns” organization finally passed their biggest test on Wednesday: play in front of a live audience.
More than 15 youngsters took part of a small graduation ceremony at the in Watsonville and showed off their newly acquired skills on acoustic or electric guitars in front of about 50 friends and family members.
Geno Bragado is the main instructor for the Watsonville chapter and has been teaching kids how to play since 2005. He was excited to see his pupils move on to the next stage and mentioned how it was when they first started back in April.
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“I feel really accomplished because it took a while,” said Bragado. “I had fun teaching them, they all had fun learning and they all got along really well.”
“The funnest was the beginning,” added Bragado. “When you see them go from not knowing anything to knowing something. Some of them were holding it the wrong way and not even knowing how to hold it. Just being able to see them go from that to playing a song is awesome.”
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The kids were in for a big treat after they performed the final assessment and received their well-earned diplomas, but it wasn’t the ice cream cake that sat on the table away from the stage.
The local band Smooth Groove was in the building to give the kids a giant boost of inspiration and perhaps the motivation to one day start up a band of their own. Mario Ramirez, brother of the legendary Ritchie Valens, also joined in when he went up on stage to rock out on the harmonica.
Valens’ sister, Irma Norton, was also in attendance and she brought along with her a special piece of rock'n'roll history. Norton busted out a replica of her brother's guitar, a Harmony H44 Ritchie Valens Signature Stratotone, to display and for people to admire its shiny beautiful green and white colors.
This was the same guitar that Valens recorded three of his hits Come On Let's Go, Donna and La Bamba.
After the band wrapped it up and folks took pictures with the iconic guitar, the kids were off and Bragado hoped nothing but the best for them to start another chapter in their musical careers.
“I just want to try and inspire at least one kid to go out there and try to be the next Jimi Hendrix,” said Bragado.
