“You see the transformation in them, they put the guitar on their body, and they even walk differently. Music connects them, it’s a way to express yourself,” he says.
I don’t know why, but when I speak with José Vergara, a music teacher at Miramontes School in South Central, he reminds me of the character Robin Williams plays in the movie Dead Poet’s Society.
And it surprises me because the context of the world in which Vergara teaches is very different from the one Williams’ character taught in. José teaches every day to underprivileged, Latino children in a violent and dangerous area, while Williams teaches in an exclusive, private all-boys school, where the competition among students is about who has more money.
But after thinking about it a bit, I found the similarities. Both Williams and José live passionately for the art of teaching. They want their students to find their own voice, and little by little, for that humanization to help them grow positively.
“The goal of my classes is not for them to reach a level of excellence in music. My goal is to form good people, who contribute to society by finding their space, and what better way to do that than with music,” he says.
What José has achieved over the years is incredible.
He’s trained hundreds of students, teaching them music and, not only that, making them trust themselves and set goals they can reach. Without programs like this, in an area of South Central, these children and young people would have very few opportunities to find a positive path. Instead, the explosive world filled with violence and drugs could have consumed them, and they could have become part of many others who never found their own way.
“Since 95 percent of the students are Latinos, from low-income backgrounds, we know what that represents. There are many cases of dysfunctional families, and many times I see them come in sad, pensive, but they take their instrument and transform,” he says.
Thousands of students have passed through his classroom. They call him Mr. Vergara, Mister, and now, Don Vergara.
He tells the story of a student, Rubi, that’s her name.
“One day, she came in hiding behind her mom. And the mom says to me, ‘Hey, teacher, well, this girl wants to sing, will you accept her?’ I said yes, even though inside I thought, with that shyness, she would never sing. In the first class, I invited her to sing with the band, we chose the song, the music started, and she stayed quiet. She wouldn’t open her mouth, her shyness overtook her. So I said, ‘How about I bring two other girls and you can sing with them?’ She liked that. I went and brought the girls, and with their company, she gained the courage. That shy girl, hiding behind her mom, is now studying at USC, wants to be an opera singer, studying Vocal Performance,” he says proudly.
This is the type of transformation he seeks in his students.
Vergara emigrated from Mexico City at the age of 12. One day, already a student at John Adams Middle School, he heard live music in one of the classrooms. He had never seen that before, students playing that music. He approached the teacher and asked to start beginner’s classes. He wanted to play the trumpet, but the teacher assigned him a baritone, an even rarer instrument.
That’s when he was injected with all his passion for music. From not knowing how to play an instrument, he perfected himself in many of them. Later, he became part of rock bands, where they played in various places, the favorite music of young migrants or first-generation students.
He then entered university, where he studied Political Science, but he clearly knew what he wanted to do was teach music.
He started as a substitute teacher, giving some classes at Miramonte. In 2009, a conversation with a vice-principal changed his life. She told him about an organization called Little Kids Rock, which donates instruments.
“I contacted them, explained my plans, and they supported me. It was a small organization, now it’s a monster,” he says.
He took a workshop with them shortly after, and despite not having formal training as a music teacher, they saw his enthusiasm. José was also enthusiastic. The workshops were on weekends, his days off. “I told myself in the first sessions: if I don’t like it, I won’t come back. But I was there in every session. I learned a lot,” he adds.
For him, there are many ways to teach music, not just the academic one. And that’s what he does with these students.
“The kids and young people choose what they play, I support them, the teaching is more playful, free, autonomous,” he reflects.
In 2011, he started a program called “10 Acoustic Guitars.” By 2017, the attendance in his class was 40 students.
“You see the transformation in them, they put the guitar on their body, and they even walk differently. Music connects them, it’s a way to express yourself. Now, they themselves start their own jams,” he says.
The children’s parents are happy. And the other teachers at the school know the value that the students place on his class.
“Often, a student doesn’t show up for other classes because of a medical issue or something else, but they come after class to my program. The teachers tell me, ‘Look, they missed my class, but here they are with you.’” And he laughs.
Currently, he teaches around 100 students daily, an exorbitant number for a single teacher.
“Our program is unique in LAUSD. And considering the resources and the area we live in, it’s a gift that we can have this success,” he reflects.
They’ve given different names to the band, but he simply calls it the Miramonte Modern Band.
Thousands of students have passed through his classroom. They call him Mr. Vergara, Mister, and now, Don Vergara.
In addition to being a teacher, José knows he has to be more than that. A counselor, a positive role model.
“You have to give them something to believe in,” he finishes by saying.
