(San Benito News/Ray Quiroga)
By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
RIO HONDO—For the past two weeks, the members of the Rio Hondo Mighty Bobcat Band have enjoyed the fruits of their labor as they continue to suit up and perform at halftime of football games.
For 94 marchers, 11 color guard members, and their four band directors and color guard instructor, their hard work fine-tuning their show, titled “The Woods,” during marching season is now complete after a five-month journey.
Their adoring fan base, which includes parents, school staff, and Rio Hondo ISD administration, can still watch them at Bobcat football games.
If the team advances to state now that they’re in the Class 3A playoffs, there could be five more weeks of halftime shows, which would be a welcome treat.
Two weeks ago, following the Bobcat Band’s performance at the state contest in San Antonio, Head Drum Major Justin Cortez and Assistant Drum Majors Delyla Serna and Nathan Sauceda learned they were the 22nd-best band in the state.
With 230 bands from every region competing in Texas last month, earning this lofty status was especially welcome.
For nearly 40 high school marching bands across the Rio Grande Valley, their marching contests began in October. For some that weren’t as gifted as RHHS, their competition ended sooner.
According to RHHS, its first showcase took place at the San Benito Pre-UIL Marching Contest on Saturday, October 3.
RHHS Head Band Director Diana Pena remembers the contest vividly, which makes the band members’ performance even more impressive.
“It was the most challenging contest because we were fighting the weather. The rain came and went, and we had to perform without our electronics and props. Then, once we started our performance, a train went by (Bobby Morrow Stadium), and it was loud,” Pena said. “A while after it passed, a weather alarm went off because of nearby lightning. Our students and staff were confused at first by the siren, then we realized it was a lightning alert. The atmosphere was chaotic, but our students kept their composure and finished strong.”
The band went on to earn a first division title.
“This was our first contest, and this performance assured me that we were in for something special this season,” the first-year band director noted.
The next contest was the following Saturday at the Queen City Marching Festival in Mercedes, where RHHS also earned a first-division rating.
The following weekend was Pigskin Jubilee, also in Mercedes, where the Mighty Bobcat Band earned first division, again.
The band advanced to the Class 3A Area Marching Contest in Alice, where 29 bands competed and the top five moved on to state.
Pena, who has worked at RHISD as an associate band director for five years, said the Mighty Bobcat Band placed as “alternate” in the two previous years. Not so this time. After placing fifth, the roar from the crowd was evident upon the stadium announcement under the glow of the lights.
On Wednesday, Nov. 3, the Alamodome in San Antonio hosted the University Interscholastic League Class 3A State Marching Championships.
RHHS was among 25 schools, including Raymondville. According to the UIL, the Mighty Bobcat Band performed at 2 p.m.
“The support we felt from everyone on this journey was truly incredible. Before the area marching contest, our football team and athletic director (Rocky James) surprised the band with pizza and a send-off message during class,” Pena said.
“Our elementary school Principal Alma Alvarez and middle school Principal Blue Trevino had their respective campuses make posters and cheer us on for a special state send-off. On the way to state, we received so many messages and well wishes from fellow directors around the Valley. It’s been a truly special experience. Our Superintendent Raul Treviño also took time from his busy schedule to congratulate our band.”
Social media has many videos and images showing what the experience was like before and once at the state contest.
Behind the scenes, it was Band Booster President Michelle Sauceda who orchestrated volunteers, many of them band parents.
“Our show itself is a huge production that relies on setting up and rotating 10×10-foot props, setting up front panels, and moving our extensive front ensemble and sound equipment. (Sauceda) led the charge in securing enough volunteers to get our show running,” Pena said.
At Pigskin, the RHHS entourage included 29 parent volunteers.
Pena said these are parents who would have liked to see the show from the stands, but they sacrificed that experience to help the show run. “Every competition we traveled to, parents and community members showed up for send-offs. It was beautiful and heartwarming to see our band members receive support and love from the community,” Pena said.
THE SHOW
“The Woods” depicted a traveler journeying through the dark woods and eventually finding a way out of the dark and into the sunshine. Time was spent on the costuming, prop design, and music to get this across to the stadium audience, Pena said.
The band starts the show wearing a black hooded cloak and have 10×10 foot panels behind the band with a dark woods picture. She explains that the music is a “bit more serious and moody and when we get to our closer” we rotated the back panels to reveal a bright sunrise over the trees” image.
It was at this point, the band members took off their black cloaks to reveal RHHS’s gold uniform tops.
THE SONGS
The process of song selection began last spring. Pena said it was a collaboration by directors, the marching coordinator and music arranger Manuel Maldonado from MJM Works.
“The concept and music went through some edits and we were very happy with the final music program and design,” she said. “We chose songs that fit the journey of dark to light and that also fit the ‘Woods’ theme.
The opener is “Morning Mood” by Edvard Grieg, “Run Boy Run” by Woodkid, “Symphony No. 2” by Samuel Barber. The ballad was a mix of “The Hanging Tree” by James Newton Howard and “No Time to Die” by Billie Eilish.
Then the mood shift came in with the closer song entitled “Let the Sunshine In” by The Fifth Dimension.
RHHS had what Pena said was “standard instrumentation” in the winds: flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor and bari saxophone, mellophone, trumpet, trombone, baritone, and sousaphone. The drumline had two snares, a quad drum and four bass drums. The front ensemble had a variety of accessories, like marimba, bells, bass drum, cymbals. There was also electronics, with the use of two synthesizers and a bass guitar.
With the purchase of a new sound system, it paved the way to feature soloists and small ensembles.
This year, the show featured trumpet duet Brian Rayner and Hector Garcia Mendoza on Part 1. Part 3 featured a euphonium solo by Issai Barraza. Part 4 featured a saxophone solo by Julian Maldonado and a quartet featuring again Maldonado, Isabella Rocha, Julio Montoya, and Joesiah Guillen.
Pena had a team of band directors who were intricate in development of music and marching.
It included assistant directors: Boris Libson III, Marc Montelongo, Conrad Fliegel, and Laura DeRousselle. The colorguard instructor was Valerie Guerra.
STUDENTS WITH MANY TALENTS
RHHS began summer band with a three-day leadership camp from July 15-17. All band members, including freshmen, then started July 20.
Pena said the process was slowly done to give freshmen guidance from their band staff and peer leaders.
“We build from one step to two and how to properly hold instruments and just keep building and adding layers; once school started it was challenging for our students to balance their academics and other activities,” she said.
Rio Hondo is a Class 3A school and small schools work a bit differently from a lot of the bigger programs, she added.
“We encourage our students to participate in as many activities that they want to do. When they graduate high school, we want them to have experienced everything our school has to offer,” Pena said. “I think our school does a fantastic job of giving our students the support they need to balance their activities. Coaches, directors, and club sponsors all work together to schedule our activities around one another. Our schedules aren’t perfect but it’s agreed upon by all staff that we try to accommodate as much as we can to make sure our kids can be successful in multiple activities.”
Some of color guard members were also cheerleaders. Many varsity and junior varsity football players were in the band, with two sax soloists playing on the varsity.
“There are many halftime pictures of our band with students in cheer and football uniforms. Our band students consistently rank in the top 10 of their class,” Pena said. “Our lead snare drummer met us at one of our contests because he was showing his lamb for FFA on contest day. There are so many examples of our students participating and thriving in multiple activities.”
FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
Pena was named band director after she served under Juan Cantu, who stepped down last year. The two were part of a band program that had advanced to state contests 12 times.
She knows football season could extend beyond the bi-district round, which she welcomes.
“Our students love music, they love playing their instruments and they love supporting the football team,” Pena said. “It’s been tricky because in the first half, we want to have a good time, but we also need to lock in mentally for our halftime show. The second half is all about hyping up the crowd and showing support for our team.”