Band competition: Rio Hondo freshmen take part in squad competition

RIO HONDO — Feet together, stomachs in, shoulders back, head forward and eyes with pride.

Those were five of the basic elements entering freshmen in the Rio Hondo High School band learned over the summer and Thursday evening, they put those skills to work in squad competition.

Ten groups of four freshmen learned short choreography from upperclassmen for the competition since July 24.

Band director Robert Garza said the competition officially welcomes the 48 freshmen to the band on the last day of summer camp.

Aside from learning the basic principles of marching, the whole band — about 150 students — met Monday through Thursday from 6:30-9 p.m. to begin work on their show titled “The Last Gangster,” with music from “The Godfather” films.

Raul Gomez, who works with the Harlingen High School band, and Emiliano Camarillo, who works with the Brownsville Oliveira Middle School music program, judged the squad competition.

The Eastside Drummers complete their performance with Ben Perez breakdancing and another student rapping. About 48 Rio Hondo High School freshmen participated in a squad competition Thursday evening to end their rookie band camp.

Photo by:

Lynn Hermosa/Valley Morning Star

Along with the squad competition, students were given random awards for things like Best Tan Line, Most Improved, Best Attitude and Outstanding Rookie.

“This is how we traditionally end our camp,” Garza said as the freshmen rehearsed one last time before the competition began.

In addition to mastering footwork, the students, Garza said, were encouraged to be creative. Many of the squads painted their squad names on T-shirts and squads like The Unknown and The Eastside Drummers incorporated dancing, acting and even rapping into their short performances.

“The kids are very serious about this,” Garza said.

“The freshmen feed off the upperclassmen. These 20 squad leaders are very creative.”

Counting out loud and looking forward — with pride — the freshmen ran through their performances as upperclassmen and band booster members watched.

The judges declared The Oreos as the winners, citing their precise footwork as their strong point.

Before the evening ended, the students went through drill down, a sort of fast elimination game where commands are shouted rapidly and students are disqualified if they miss a command.

“This is a real good way for us to bond,” Garza said.

“This is how we welcome the freshmen to our band family. But we start the real work on Monday.”