Adelante Arts Camp concludes with guitar concert
Students from the Adelante Arts Camp performed in concert after the end of camp.
Guitar lessons were the arts activity of choice for the third year for the Adelante Arts Camp series from the Tuscarawas Arts Partnership. The arts camp ended with the participants showing their skills at a recent concert in New Philadelphia at the Branch Church.
The Adelante Arts Camp is a summer arts program that tells the stories of campers in sixth grade through 12th grade who are of Maya-K’iche, Maya-Ixil, Latino and Hispanic descent.
“I have no words because I’m blown away,” said Wilma Mullet, director of the Tuscarawas Arts Partnership. “It’s just incredible to see how much they’ve grown as artists and musicians, just see their confidence build each time and the bonds that they built with the instructors and with each other. It’s incredible.”
Participating in the camp this year were Frankie Ajanel, Genry Marcos Gomez, Jackson Herrera Cedillo, Angelica Gomez, Lili Velasquez and Daisy Raymundo, all of Dover; Shayla Rica Perez and Merly Godines Ambrocio of New Philadelphia; and Serapio Gonzalez of Sugarcreek.
The campers will be able to continue with their lessons if they choose with an available scholarship. The Adelante Arts Camp was inspired three years ago with the Latino Mural Project. The mural is displayed on the corner of First Drive and West High Avenue.
The second year the camp featured photography. An announcement was made at the concert that the Tuscarawas Arts Partnership will partner with Lacey Performing Arts Center to provide a dance camp in 2024.
The students met twice a week for three hours each guitar session at Off The Wall Music in New Philadelphia from June 6 through July 27.
“Guitar has always seemed kind of fun for me. It’s always been a passion that I’ve always wanted to play guitar,” Herrera Cedillo said.
Herrera Cedillo liked the structure of the class.
“When we would have practice time, Aaron (Troyer) would help us out and Jeff (Kaufman) too. Also, when we begin the class, he would always ask us a song we would like to listen to,” he said, adding he had already played the guitar a bit before starting the class and has played the snare drum and the trumpet.
His favorite music is rock/hard rock, and he played his rendition of “LaBamba” during the concert. He hasn’t gotten much into songwriting yet.
“I’m learning step by step,” Herrera Cedillo said.
Angelica Gomez plans to continue taking guitar lessons. The young woman takes voice lessons and also plays the piano, violin and trumpet. At the concert she played and sang to the song “Glorious Day.”
“I liked how they let us choose the songs we like. They asked for our opinion, like on everything, and they asked us if we wanted to sing or not,” Angelica Gomez said. “I like how kind they were, and they taught us a lot of stuff. I really liked it.”
Angelica Gomez also learned new things about rhythm and music. She sang and played the guitar to “Graves Into Gardens.”
Raymundo learned more than playing the guitar, new melodies and strumming.
“I actually learned more about music theory and understanding rhythm. So it was really helpful,” Raymundo said.
She had played the guitar before and also plays piano and violin.
“My favorite was just getting together. The two days a week was the highlight of my week. This program really made my summer. It was really fun,” Raymundo said, adding she plans to continue taking guitar lessons.
The introduction to songwriting was helpful.
“We did write a little bit. I’m still in the process of learning, but I’m getting it,” Raymundo said. “I’m really grateful for this program and for providing this opportunity to me. I want to do it next summer. It was something that was so good for me, and it gives me so much opportunity to explore who I am too.”
Helping at the concert as interpreters were Sherrel Rieger, Spanish; Ernesto Anjanel, K’iche; and Geronimo Ramirez, Ixil.
Also accompanying the musicians at the concert were guitarists Aaron Troyer, Jeff Kaufman and Megan Bouman; Kyle Spinell on drums; and Andrew Kaufman on keyboard.
A video of the concert is available online at the Tuscarawas Arts Partnership Facebook and Instagram and also is on its website.
Individuals or businesses interested in supporting the projects of the Tuscarawas Arts Partnership can contact Mullet. Information is available on the website.
Sponsors of the 2023 Adelante Arts Camp were AquaBlue, Dover-Phila Credit Union, Hugh A. Fraser Fund, ProVia and the Tuscarawas County CVB.