Jackson Elementary and Tony Valdez: a Cinco de Mayo Tradition
Students at Jackson Elementary School celebrated Cinco de Mayo in style with musician Tony Valdez.
At least ten years ago, nobody knows for sure, Jackson Elementary counselor Marla Sobel was enjoying a performance by some variation of the Tony Valdez Band somewhere in town and an idea occurred to her. She invited Tony to come and perform at Jackson on Cinco de Mayo. He accepted and has been coming back for encores every year since.
The tradition includes what amounts to an outdoor all-school assembly right there on the front lawn, weather permitting, which it absolutely did this year. In fact, Monday’s weather practically encouraged the event as opposed to a year ago when, as pictured on the bulletin board in Principal Dee Culp’s office, there was snow on the tulips.
After a couple of warmer uppers by Tony and his sidekick, flautist/saxman Don Jacques, got the audience in the mood, Jackson kindergarten teacher Tracey Stephens paraded between tunes holding up cards like the ring girl at a boxing match. Depending on the card each grade level took its turn getting up and dancing, teachers included. It was real traffic-stopping stuff.
Lots of hands shot up when Valdez asked if there were any musician wannabes in attendance. Some of them are already fairly advanced air guitarists.
“We were playing over the weekend for Valley Junction’s Cinco de Mayo celebration,” Valdez shared, “and a girl came up to me and said, ‘I remember when you played at my school when I was in 5th grade.’ She’s a senior now at Lincoln. I told her she made my day.”
Valdez is just being a team player in a sense. He has a daughter who works for DMPS as a social worker.
“The kids really look forward to this,” said Principal Culp. So, if their moves on the lawn are any indication, do the teachers and staff.
The music was breezy and so were the trees. Showtime was 2:00 and the gig ran long enough that everybody had to stay for a while after school. But nobody seemed to mind, although by the time the 5th graders were finally called for the last dance of their elementary school careers some of them were getting hungry and looking ahead to the rest of their observance of the special occasion.
“We’re going to our grandma’s to eat,” bragged Alan Rocha, nodding at his buddy/cousin, Jose Garcia. “She’s a great cook.”
So, you might say, is Tony Valdez. At Jackson, the Cinco de Mayo beat goes on!
