Twenty-two marching bands from the El Paso region took to the field at the Socorro Independent School District’s 33rd Annual March Fest on Oct. 10, showcasing months of hard work, dedication and practice through impressive and intricate performances.
“It's my fourth year participating in this event, and I think this brings out a different competitive side out of everyone in the band, just because we're all so eager to fight for it and fight for our spot at finals,” said Lucia Baeza, a Montwood High School senior and member of the Sapphires color guard, which uses dance, flags and other equipment to bring the music to life.
The Montwood Ram Band and Sapphires earned third place in the Class A/B division. Pebble Hills High School took first place, while Socorro High School finished fifth, rounding out the division's top five.
SISD Fine Arts Director Dr. Armando Martinez said March Fest gave marching bands from across the region an opportunity to showcase their talent and connect with the community.
“Today is special because it's just about them. All eyes are on them, and they get to really, really showcase what they have,” Martinez said.
The event also allowed the bands to prepare for upcoming UIL marching band competitions at the region, area and state levels. During the competition, professional judges from across the country evaluated performances using national marching band competition standards in a preliminary-and-finals format. Martinez said the judges’ feedback provided valuable insight that could help bands polish their performances as they prepared for UIL competition.
“There's so many contests, and the pinnacle of what they do is UIL,” Martinez explained. “The more opportunities they get to practice and showcase everything that they're doing, the more feedback that they get from our judges that we bring in from across the state on how to improve and how to get to that next level.”
Annabelle Navarro, a senior at Eastlake High School and the band’s drum major, said learning the music and choreography required dedication, discipline and responsibility, but seeing the show come together on the field made all the hard work worthwhile. The Falcons won sixth place at March Fest.
“It feels really awesome. I have a really big passion for music, especially marching band. So, I feel like Socorro ISD having all these competitions for us really lets the band kids be able to get out there and let us have an activity that we do, just how sports have their competitions,” Navarro said.
For Baeza, performing at March Fest one final time was especially meaningful because she got to share the field with her younger brother, a freshman band member, for the first time. Although preparing for the competition required a lot of blood, sweat and tears, she said the experience was worth every moment.
Her advice for other students: “Never take it for granted. Everything you do in the program, whichever program you're in, it’s bigger than you. So, keep pushing. Be amazing at what you do,” Baeza said.