HARLINGEN — They moved with precision and intensity across the parking lot, instruments out like exclamation marks, afternoon sun flashing across faces as they practiced their marching routine.
Stepping into their new positions, the Harlingen High School Cardinal Marching Band members stopped and faced band director Maria Coronado who stood high on a platform.
“You look so good! You look so good!” she said.
The Cardinals were working on their marching program, “The Warrior Within” in preparation for the 79th annual Pigskin Jubilee marching contest on Oct. 15.
It’s a powerful program, and the majestic movements of the color guard and the sharp action of the players conveyed their passion for the music.
The crystalline notes of the marimba fired into the air like a revelry of sound, and Ashley Cruz, 14, seemed caught up in the thrill of the moment.
“It’s fun,” said Ashley, a Dr. Abraham P. Cano Freshman Academy student who plays band for the Cardinals.
“It’s a lot of experience, especially for my first time doing it,” she said.
During summer band camp, Coronado explained “The Warrior Within.”
“It’s like a modernized Roman theme,” she said then. “There are three movements to it. It’s kind of a process of a warrior battling and trying to find the strength within, once he’s injured trying to find the strength to overcome death.”
Fitting really, considering the vitality so present on the parking lot Wednesday.
The band was preparing to perform at a football game in Roma the following day, and everyone was in the moment as they worked on their drill routines.
“Take it back to the end,” Coronado called out, before the trumpets erupted into a dramatic rush of sound that seemed to expand as it flew across the parking lot.
The Wednesday rehearsal featured the first part, a ballad whose sound seemed at once stately and somber, laughing and grieving, sad and beautiful and poignant.
The frolicking lines of the marimba were especially delightful.
The color guard with their arms out waving in smooth strokes was also a nice touch.
“We call it crystals because it moves in the air and looks majestic,” said Jesslyn Casarez, 16.
“It’s very majestic, very fluid and graceful,” added 17-year-old Karla Montelongo, another member of the color guard.
Their enthusiasm remained high on Friday although they’d been unable to present their program in Roma because of the rain.
At the band hall, sections spread into several rooms before converging on one location where they sort of fed into a larger mosaic of sound and harmony.
There has been an added tension due to tight schedules of writers who couldn’t deliver drill routines to some schools until just recently, HHS included.
“We got our drill sheet a little late, but we’re working hard,” said Lily Alaniz, 17, a drum major.
“Practice is going good,” agreed fellow drum major Kaci Barrera, 17.
“They are working really hard, and we are picking it up pretty fast,” Kaci added.
The challenge is especially significant for 17-year-old Benjamin Newman, a trombone player.
“This is my first year in marching band,” said Benjamin, a senior.
During COVID, his father’s job required the family move to the island of St. Thomas in the Caribbean. Which Benjamin loved for all the beauty of a Caribbean Island, except for one thing.
“The band program didn’t have a marching program,” he said.
He’s glad now to be in the marching band and daily dedicates time and attention to the perfection of his craft and performance.
To see more, view Valley Morning Star reporter Travis Whitehead’s full photo gallery here:
Photo Gallery: Harlingen Cardinal Band prepares for annual Pigskin Jubilee
