For the first time, the spotlight shined on sophomore Santiago Enriquez as he played guitar from the Creighton Elementary stage for Hispanic Heritage month. He looked out to the crowds of students sat crisscross, as one began to mimic his guitar strumming. 

For a moment, Enriquez smiled. He was that kid once.

His mind wandered to the moment guitar changed his life, alone on his couch: The night he wiped off the dust of the old decorative guitar next to his TV, playing his first chord with a quarter in place of a pick – the first time he ever poured his heart into music. 

On that stage, in the smiles of the Creighton children, Enriquez knew that he wanted to be a musician.

“It made me think, ‘What if they see me and that makes them want to play guitar,’” Enriquez said. “That really made me feel good.”

Enriquez now writes his own music and formed the first guitar club in November, looking to inspire others the same way guitar inspires him. Students looking to support the club can donate unwanted guitars to sponsor Tammy Reel in room 4403.

“When you listen to music, you can feel it like it resonates with you,” Enriquez said. “So learning and playing guitar, It feels great. It feels like what I’m putting into a song, other people can feel too.”

Strung Along

Enriquez grew up around what he described as “the wrong crowd.” Stuck between alcoholics and drug addicts, Enriquez struggled to understand himself and his environment.

“I just think I didn’t have a way to express my feelings, and that was really bad,” Enriquez said. “It bottled up. And there would be times where I would just get really mad at small things that snap at people for nothing.”

By middle school, Enriquez succumbed to peer pressure. Even in the newly completed Moorhead Junior High building, stall hinges were torn off, floors were filthy and substance-abusing students packed into bathrooms. That was his normal.

“I was easily influenced by people that were doing drugs in middle school,” Enriquez said. “It wasn’t right for me. It wasn’t me.”

Enriquez excluded himself from any after school activities, and by his admission, that was his downfall.

“Free time is bad,” Enriquez said. “Too much free time is bad. I would say guitar is free time for me, but I like to treat it like it is my job, because that’s what I want to do.”

Enriquez was yet to discover his guitar passion though, but signs emerged as he began listening to artists like Peso Pluma and Nathaniel Cano. Their transparency inspired him.

“I think it was just the fact that they were able to say anything that they wanted and be able to express themselves really freely in the music,” Enriquez said. “I feel like in the keys that you write your songs in, it can really help you convey how you’re feeling at the time.”

Coming home after a day packed full of exams and abusers, Enriquez fell asleep. When he woke up sweaty and cold, it was already dark outside. That night, looking for an outlet, he picked up the guitar.

“The first real thought that I had in my brain as I played, like the easiest rift, was ‘wow, I’m really doing this,’” Enriquez said

Striking a Chord

Nearly every day afterwards, Enriquez taught himself guitar through YouTube lessons, recording and listening back to improve.

“It’s been my best friend since, since eighth grade,” Enriquez said. “You know, it never leaves me.”

Before guitar, Enriquez filled his time with temporary hobbies like boxing and airsoft, so when Enriquez mentioned guitar to his mom, Luz Enriquez, she doubted him. But the first time Enriquez played for her, she cried. 

“After a certain point, I saw he got the hang of it,” Luz said. “And then from there he just skyrocketed. I’m very happy and proud of him and I’m sure that he’ll make it far.”

About three months after starting guitar, Luz bought Enriquez his first new guitar. Enriquez and his new guitar earned their first audience that same year on Valentine’s Day.

“I brought my guitar to school, and told everyone, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna sing (my girlfriend at-the-time) a song,’” Enriquez said. “But the whole day I was thinking ‘I don’t think I’m gonna do it.’ The time was rolling around, and I was like, ‘I can’t, just throw this away.’ I didn’t want to let her down.”

Sat one-on-one in a school office with his girlfriend at-the-time, Enriquez nervously performed “Flor Hermosa” by Los Cuates De Sinaloa. The music spoke for him.

“It felt great. I was laughing, but I was still singing,” Enriquez said. “She started to cry. I think it made me realize that I can do anything I put my mind to.”

Sharing the Vibrations

Entering high school, Enriquez looked to expand his audiences. His first meeting with counselor Julie Savage cut those initial dreams short when Enriquez learned the guitar class disbanded three years ago to a lack of student interest.

“(Play guitar) is all I wanted to do last year,” Enriquez said. “I didn’t know as many people that also played guitar, and when I did bring my guitar to just play before class started, I would feel weird, because I would be the only one bringing it.”

In the back of his first period class, Enriquez practiced guitar with his friend, Alexander Sala after their work was done. English 2 teacher Tammy Reel was the first to point out his talent.

“I said, ‘You guys are amazing,’” Reel said. “And they’re like, ‘No, we’re just kids. We’re just kids.’ But you know, some people just have natural talent.”

When the two mentioned the original guitar class closed, Reel immediately offered to sponsor a club despite having no experience in guitar.

“I’m one of those people that believe in dreams,” Reel said. “If you work hard at something, you will make things happen. I said, ‘So if it means that it’s going to help you guys achieve better at your guitar playing, then yes, I’m going to sponsor you.’”

Reel now dedicates every Thursday to the guitar club that, to her and Enriquez surprise, now has over 30 members. Since its opening, the club has gathered over ten guitar donations, paving the way for students without guitars to learn.

“I was really excited, because I love sharing what I do with other people,” Enriquez said. “And finally have other people that do the same thing. And it’s grown, I mean, a lot. I didn’t think that many people would show up.”

Enriquez encourages students to step out of their comfort zone like he did, pick up something new and write their own path.

“There’s better ways to express yourself than fighting or doing drugs,” Enriquez said. “(To beginner guitarists) don’t give up, because at first it sucks. If you really put your mind to it, you can do it.”