To celebrate one of his third-grade students at Mission View Elementary School, teacher Alfredo Valenzuela — now mariachi legend, Dr. V — brought his guitar for a birthday serenade.
The guitar sat on an empty desk. But the space around it was crowded with curious third graders who plucked the strings and touched the wood.
It was 1974 and the new teacher sensed the magic in that guitar held his students’ attention. He incorporated the instrument into his teaching at the south-side school. Within three years, that guitar music and the songs became the core of his instruction, despite no formal music training.
“I figured, ‘man, they’re pretty interested.’ So I developed a guitar group there. And they got really good,” said Dr. V, now 80. “I had about 30 or 40 kids playing and we got to play at the TUSD activities and then the community started noticing and they started asking me to play.”
Since then, Dr. V’s “Las Guitarristas de Davis Bilingual” evolved into the mariachi program at Davis Bilingual Elementary Magnet School. Thousands of students later, he still teaches choir, fixes instruments and sets up the sound system for Mariachi Las Aguilitas de Davis when it performs.
His three children are music educators and run mariachi programs at Davis and Roskruge Bilingual K-8 Magnet. His nine grandchildren and four great grandchildren all gravitate toward music, he said.
“I always had music in my heart and my passion was always music,” said Jaime Valenzuela, 45, who took over as the music education teacher at Davis. “I knew I was going to do music, but I never knew it was going to be my dad’s job.”
Every day, he imparts the lessons learned from his dad, he said.
“I learned to be fair to all your students,” Jaime says. “And just lead by example and be humble.”
An Army veteran and first-generation college graduate, Dr. V attended Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher before transferring to the University of Arizona and earning his education degree. In 2008, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music Education from the UA.
We asked four questions of Dr. V as he is honored this week with two Legacy Awards — one from the Southern Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and another from the Frances McClelland Institute for Youth and Families at the University of Arizona.
Q: How did you get into music?
A: I was raised on a ranch about 50 miles away from Willcox and Safford (in Klondyke, near Aravaipa.) There wasn’t much going on, not a lot of social events or anything. But what did go on, I had some of my uncles and some of the ranch community there. And once in a while, they’d get together and some were musicians. And it was real quiet. There was no cars going around or anything like that and they would get the guitars out and the instruments and they would play there at night. And the moon was up and that music sounded so beautiful there in the stillness. That music got into my heart and that’s how I got some music going.
Q: What was your first instrument?
A: As I got a little bit older, you know, preteens or teens, the boss there at the ranch kind of felt sorry for me so he gave me a $2-a-day job just helping with the cattle and doing the chores and chopping wood. When I got a little bit older, I thought about getting a guitar. I told my dad, “Do you think I can buy a guitar?” He told me: “You’re not going to get a guitar. You’re going to get some chaps and some spurs so you can work.” But I decided I had this little bit of money, so I ordered a guitar from the Sears catalog. And when it came, it came with the little book, with some really easy songs, written out with the chords and everything. So, I started practicing a little bit and that’s how I started playing a little guitar. But they would get out of tune and I would see my aunt who was quite a musician, she was pretty good. She would tune the guitar for me.
Q: Do you ever get frustrated as a teacher?
A: I’ll be honest with you. When I remember the last year that I taught normally, I felt like I could have been feeling to the point of just starting my career. Really. I’m serious because music, it’s something that motivates you. And I never felt overburdened with my work. When I used to teach at Davis in the extended daytime, I would take my kids out to the back of the school and the train goes by. It goes loud and sometimes we’d be playing and singing and the train would come and we’d stop and you think “oh that really discourages me.” But I remember I always kept positive. I never felt to the point where I was getting frustrated and to the point of where I was maybe not wanting to do it. And then the beginners, you’re teaching them “no, this is your finger, this is a string and this is where you put the finger.” I never felt frustrated. I was blessed with love for the children and with patience.
Q: What advice would you have for a kid who wants to get into music?
A: One of the things that I would give them is an example of what my family has done. All of my family has gotten involved in music and what I would really stress to them is my family got their jobs in music. They’re doing their job as a hobby! How much more beautiful can the job be? To have your job as a hobby! I would just tell them music does wonders for you. It enriches your life. It can give you some very very wonderful jobs as hobbies and it’s something that inspires you to do better in your life. I could also tell them that from my point of view, when I feel a little depressed, a little down, I get to my guitar and I get to the corner and play by myself. And it just motivates me and inspires me so much to feel so much better.
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