When students at Santa Ana High School said in 2019 that they wanted the opportunity to connect to their culture through music, leaders at HALOS — a district-funded afterschool program — got to work buying instruments popular in Latin regional music including guitars, accordions and more.
Now, the Palomazo Academy, which HALOS hosts every Tuesday and Thursday, provides access to instruments and peer instruction at no cost to students. And, perhaps more importantly, it offers students a safe space to create, build confidence and connect to their roots, according to HALOS Site Supervisor Ruby Echeverria.
“One of the biggest things I see when students do come to Palomazo is the confidence. Some of them might not come in with a lot of confidence, but when they are here, they learn songs, help each other out and become comfortable performing in front of a lot of people,” Echeverria explained. “I think that’s what students need nowadays. They have a lot of talent and it’s hidden, but they just need that specific person to tell them, ‘Hey, you can do this.’ They just love music, they love to connect with each other, they love to learn about the songs they hear with their parents. It’s just feeling that connection towards being themselves and what it is to be Hispanic.”
Learning to play a musical instrument can have significant positive impacts for students academically. Research from the American Psychological Association published in 2019 found that high schoolers who take music courses score significantly better on exams in subjects including math and science than their nonmusical peers, while the College Board’s 2012 College-Bound Seniors Total Group Profile Report showed that, of the students who took the SAT that year, those who participated in music scored an average of 31 points above average in reading, 23 points above average in math and 31 points above average in writing.
More recently, a 2022 study published by the National Library of Medicine that examined the long-term impacts of musical abilities on academic achievement showed that “students consistently involved in high levels of instrumental music learning demonstrated significantly higher levels of mathematics proficiency than unengaged students,” and that “the gains for arts-involved students became more prominent over time.”
Other research cited in that seven-year longitudinal study suggests that children and adolescents perform better in subjects including English language arts, reading, mathematics, history, physics, chemistry, geography, various scientific domains, foreign languages and athletics due to participating in music instruction.
Benefits for students
Because the program operates year-round, many students attend during the summer months, Echeverria said. As a result, many incoming ninth graders were able to connect with their peers and older students at Santa Ana High School before even stepping foot on campus — which can be particularly intimidating with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students.
“It shows them that they belong somewhere,” Echeverria said. “And I feel that that connects to the school community as well, because in Santa Ana, a lot of the students’ roots are Hispanic, so being able to offer this club allows them to find a connection emotionally with others.”
Be it through word of mouth or social media (Echeverria said students’ talents are shared regularly at instagram.com/sahshalos), the club is starting to grow quickly. Last year, just six students participated. About 11 students have already joined this year.
The program, provided through expanded learning funding, is also helping to connect students, families and the school.
By emphasizing Latin Regional Mexican music — which includes genres across various parts of rural Mexico and the southwestern United States, encompassing styles like rancheras, corridos, cumbias, boleros and ballads — Palomazo has created a bridge between generations and has helped students embrace their roots, according to Echeverria.
For example, she recalled seeing parents watch with faces beaming as their child practiced outdoors on campus to perform at pep rallies, open house and back-to-school night, happy to see that not only is their child happy and part of a group, but that they’re embracing their heritage.
“When the kids are practicing outside, I have seen parents watch outside the gate, recording them, just being happy because at the end of the day, they are representing their own bloodline when it comes to music,” Echeverria said. “Being Hispanic myself, music is in our blood. We love to do it. And the clubs that we host are because students want to do it and they desire to learn more about it, they just need that space to be able to play. They might not have enough space at their home or might not have those instruments — they just want to play. It’s something that they want to showcase to their parents — I’m Hispanic and I’m proud to show it.”
