Members of the Great Spartan Band were basking in the glow of their five-day, whirlwind adventure in New Orleans as they returned Monday from the trip that created lifelong memories for many.
“It was really great. All the times over there was some of the best of my life,” band member Santino Givens, 16, said. “It was a lot of new experiences with the food, the music and the people. It’s just something you don’t get exposed to here and not just in the city but in California as a whole. It’s a whole new world.”
It was his first time in the city, but he walked away with an experience many hope for. He played tuba in one of his favorite songs, “Do What You Wanna,” along with the famous Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
“I wanted to go back as soon as I got off the plane,” he said. “I just knew I wanted to come back.”
Central Union High School junior Sergio Felipe Hernandez, 16, said he had been wanting to go on the trip ever since his sister went along with the band years ago.
“It was a really great experience, a whole new different atmosphere and crowd,” he said. “When we said we were from California, they went crazy and loved us.”
The Central Union High trumpeter even had a hard time nailing down what his favorite part of the trip was.
“The whole trip was honestly my favorite part. Marching through the Super Dome was quite an experience,” he added. “My little brother is also in band and hopefully he’ll make the trip as well.”
The band has been going to New Orleans since 1978, and Central Union High School band director Renee Baker was one of the lucky students on that inaugural trip started by longtime band director Jimmie Cannon.
Between numerous activities, the band performed in both the Hermes and Endymion parades.
“The two performances are essential to the reason why we take the trip. It gives them a focus and something to work toward,” Baker explained. “Then while we’re there, just the musical history and the history of the city, we barely scratched the surface, but it gives them a view of the city.”
Organizers crammed in an impressive amount during the short trip including a tour of the French Quarter, visited Preservation Hall, ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., a visit to Mardi Gras World where floats are built, did Steamboat Natchez lunch cruise, visited a WWII museum, had a gospel brunch at House of Blues, did a swamp tour, saw the Bacchus parade and culminated the trip with a costume party for the kids.
Some of the activities were done before and some, like a ghost and spirits walking tour in the French Quarter, were a new experience for everyone.
“That was something new we’d never done before. It was really interesting,” Baker said. “Everything was very interactive, there was great food, the kids had great fun.”
More than 30 of the 113 students on the trip had never been on an airplane before.
“It’s a younger group this year, a lot of sophomores and freshmen. The dynamic of the group was younger and more excited,” Baker said. “They were absorbing a lot of it all around them.”
Sergio Hernandez was one of the more than 30 chaperones who came on the trip made possible through extensive fundraising and community support.
“It was a wonderful experience. You couldn’t not feel proud to see the kids performing, and it’s all because they have a great band director,” he said. “It’s labor intensive but worth the sacrifice. They did fantastic and got compliments throughout the parade. It was incredible, the welcome from the city.”
He marveled at how well the students did, not just walking the seven- and nine-mile long parades routes, but also playing instruments, dancing and performing at the same time in them.
“The visit to such a unique city really opened their eyes to a different area, especially to see that much culture and diversity in a city such as New Orleans. It was a memorable experience and we thank the community of El Centro for supporting us to get them out there,” he said. “They have an experience now they can cherish for the rest of their lives.”
Staff Writer Chelcey Adami can be reached at 760-337-3452 or cadami@ivpressonline.com
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