To the beat of their own drums

The varsity colorguard team performs their 2015 winterguard show titled, Aphrodite on Feb. 8 in the gym. “Performing is fun because you get to be with your friends,” Roa stated.

Celine Spence, Public Relations
February 18, 2015

On Sunday, Feb. 8, in the DHS gym, the Downey High School color guard and percussion hosted their annual Parent Preview to perform their winter season shows for friends and family.

With friends and family watching in the audience, the nerves of the performers were running high.

Senior and color guard captain, Angelica Martinez, admitted that it is a different experience performing in front of familiar faces.

“I personally was more nervous about performing to the people I know, opposed to complete strangers at competitions,” Martinez said. “You feel more pressure because you know they will be watching you specifically. As you perform and look out into the crowd, you recognize the familiar faces and freak out a little.”

Senior and Winter Percussion performer Emmanuel Larios agrees that there are more nerves when performing to well-known faces.

“I felt really nervous and excited to play in front of the people I know,” Larios said. “It was more nerve-racking than any other performance because their judgment means more to me.”

Both the varsity and junior varsity color guard teams performed for the preview. Varsity’s show is entitled Aphrodite, and JV’s show is entitled Me. Percussion’s winter show is entitled Boy Meets Girl.

Along with the DHS groups, there were performances by other schools including: Bellflower High School, Whittier High School, Los Alamitos High School, and Fountain Valley High School. There was also a special performance from Black Crown Independent, a Los Angeles based Open Class Winterguard.

“All the other groups that performed did really great. We even had time to bond with them throughout the preview, and they were all genuinely nice people,” Martinez said. “We were even fortunate enough to have the independent group Black Crown perform. Some past Downey High School color guard alumni are now performing with that group, so it was nice to see them still doing what they love to do and kick some real butt in such an incredible performance.”

Not only did the event show off all the performer’s immense talent and hard work, but it was also an opportunity to expose the lesser known sports and performing arts on campus.

Senior Katheryne Castillo left the event with a newfound interest in the arts.

“I think a lot more people should know about percussion and color guard because they are really amazing performers,” Castillo said. “If I would have known about it when I was a freshman, I would have totally tried out for both. I honestly now have a new respect for them and what they do.”

Family and friends are the foundation of all the group’s success. At the event, there was so much support and obvious love from the crowd supporting the hard work of every talented individual.

“We have a lot of support from the moms and dads to make this whole preview possible along with the nonstop commitment and devotion of our amazing coaches to make our performance the best that it could be,” Martinez said. “Without the help and support of them, this preview wouldn’t be possible.”

Since it is the beginning of the season, all the groups have upcoming competitions to show off their hard work and dedication.

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About the Contributors

Celine Spence, Public Relations

Being her first year on Downey High School’s online newspaper staff, The Downey Legend, 17 year-old Celine Spence wants to experience writing and working for public relations/business. “I hope to get a lot out of working for public relations,” Spence said.” I want to be proud of my work and outcome.” She wants to major in public relations, which is one reason why she joined Newspaper. Spence wants to challenge herself. Planning and other work will have her moving non-stop, besides her extracurricular activities.

During her spare time, Spence loves to listen to One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer. Spence’s elective of choice was to join the school’s Jazz/Marching Band, where plays the trumpet and is the section leader. She is also Vice President of the Sprench club. Besides school, she is part of a family of five and is half English and half Caribbean. Last but not least, she hopes to study in England in the future.

Darla Sanchez, Student Life Section Editor

As a first year staff member of The Downey Legend, photographer Darla Sanchez has many goals to make her last year at Downey High School a memorable one. Sanchez was persuaded not only by her friends to join, but also by a previous staff member. She enjoys taking photos and decided to become a photographer. “I want to capture the essence of the photo,” Sanchez said. “I want to really bring the meaning of the picture to life.” She also wants to accomplish many academic goals such as: getting better at sign language, passing her English class with a B or higher and finally graduating. Although Sanchez is nervous about senior year, she is willing to work hard to reach her goals.

During her down time, Sanchez enjoys baking. “I love to try new things, that’s why I started baking,” Sanchez said. “I love to get creative when I experiment with new desserts; it relaxes me.” Sanchez also loves listening to music. She is currently obsessed with Paramore and One Direction. She loves playing sports, especially softball and track. Sanchez is open to new things and wants her senior year to be the best. With that said she plans on not only making memories but also striving to make the best of her time here at The Downey Legend.