An overseer, a leader, a guide.
VMT’s new director, Mr. Angel Ramos plans to transform our campus and have us reach our fullest potential.
“We should aim to the highest levels of education whether it is academic or artistic,” explained Ramos, as he imagined the extent VMT can scale to. “We need to invent the next level and set up the standard for the district.”
As this school year is fresh off the covid hold back, Ramos says the event calendar will reinvent itself into activity.
“We are bringing back patriot day, the hispanic festival and 16 de septiembre which haven’t been in affectance since the pandemic,” says Ramos. “There are talks of holiday celebrations for our students this December, for sure we want to ensure those events are placed in order to promote it to the community.”
VMT is a staple in Laredo, its roots being at the heart of our city, Downtown Laredo. VMT prioritizes community involvement in order to keep VMT’s spirit alive.
“We're the only fine arts school in a 50 mile radius,” explains Ramos “why wouldn’t we showcase our
students artistically, like through our communications department, why wouldn’t we expose the best of the best?”
As a Fine Arts school, we get the “ shorter end of the stick” in terms of budgeting, like any school, we have limitations.
“[LISD’s] CEO, Flor Ayala and I met and she supports our program,” clarifies Ramos. “We have to present a needs assessment, there’s several programs that are in dire need of equipment; it takes time, but we have the support of administrators, so there is a fight, an effort, to better our school” Ramos has countless goals for VMT, it being his first year as our director.
“I have many but one of is to show people what is VMT all about what does it stand for,” says Ramos “I know when we started, Mr. Vidal Trevino had a vision for every student to have an opportunity, in all levels no matter where you're from or if you're a beginner or a professional.”
Ramos focuses on being different, more specifically exhibiting uniqueness.
“I do believe we have to be uncommon,” clarifies Ramos “we have high expectations from the district, we
should carry those expectations with us.”
The present rework of VMT will take effort and commitment- or better said, hard work and dedication. “I like to call this the comeback year,” says Ramos. “Let’s take this town by storm.”
By Alondra Reyes
On September 12, 2022, Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts held a ceremony for the events of September 11, 2001. Principal of VMT, Angel Ramos, explains why we celebrate this day, “The day of remembrance and service, Vidal M. Trevino, celebrates a day that can be mourned and commemorated. Today, we honor the first responders, firefighters, law enforcement, emergency responders and service members who responded to the call of duty and took courageous actions to save lives. Their courage bodies the American spirit, the resilience, and the heroism that will be told for generations.”
Guest speaker, 1st Sergeant Paul Torres, talks about how
tough it was to move to Laredo in high school. Torres has done a lot of amazing things to protect Laredo and outside the state. He proved you don’t need to be born in a city to appreciate and protect it, risking your life.
At the end of the ceremony, student Isabella Lopez reminded us why we are celebrating this day and its horrific events, "We must never forget the events of September 11, 2001. Our country has changed forever, and we must not allow terrorists to doubt the bravery of our first responders. These unimaginable tasks will forever be remembered as one of the darkest memories in history.
by Alyssa Guajardo21 years ago, nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon marking a devastating day that still hurts us today that we will never forget. After the attack, President of the United States, George W. Bush proclaimed September 11, 2002, as “Patriot Day.” To keep the memory alive of the fallen, the 9/11 memorial illuminates in place of the towers; over 1,000 miles away, VMT has held a memorial service for over 10 years to honor first responders and the citizens that we lost in the attacks. “It was something that was very tragic for our nation, very tragic for us that lived and witnessed all of that,” said event coordinator, Mr. Lopez. “We want our students to know what happened, since a lot of our students now at VMT were not born yet, it was a historic event although it was a tragic event. Just like the motto said we will ‘Never Forget’.”
By Sean Sonnier Ruiz
The 2022 Mexican Independence Celebration Day was held on Thursday, September 15, 2022, in the Vidal M. Trevino auditorium. As people entered the event, music filled the room. The stage was lined with the Mexican flag, showingourMexicanAmericanpride.
As the time for curtains came, Gregorio Garza Jr. ,a founding memberofVMT,introducedtheevent. He greeted and addressed the audienceinSpanishbecause,asheput it, " It is the only day I don’t have to apologizeforspeakingSpanish."
Garza wentontosaythatVMT wasthe"DreamSchoolforDreamers," so it was the perfect location for this event. We then rose for the pledge of allegiance to honor the "country that allowsustocelebrateour heritage."
The national anthem was sung by the VMT Concert Choir under the direction of Celia Hernadez. From there, Garza introduced the directors responsible for putting the performances together: Alicia Mckinnis, VMT Ballet Folklorico director, and Billy Thacher, Mariachi DeOroDirector.
After that, Nayeli Lopez, Texas A&M International University’ s Folkóico Director, was introduced as
the guest speaker. She made many points about how important it is to teach the next generation about our Mexican traditions and to never shy awayfromthem."LaculturaMexicana esunadelasmásbellasenelmundo," Lopezstated.
As she left the stage, Gilberto Rocha was introduced to read the Hispanic Heritage Month Proclamationwrittenbyourpresident, JoeBiden.Thisproclamationdeclared thismonthNationalHispanicHeritage Month by saying that this insured the promisethatAmericaisforall.
As soon as Rocha finished reading, Garza introduced the first performance by Julieta Villalón, Carlos Lopez, and Mariachi De Oro to "Jarabe Tapatio." Villalón wore a traditional Mexican dress with a glittery twist, and Lopez wore a traditional Cabelor outfit. They receivedthunderousapplausefortheir performance.
The performance following that was one that the entire audience enjoyed. Brandon Ramirez sang Vicente Fernandez's "Estos Celos" whileVMT'sBalletFolkorico,Carolina Gonzalez, Melina Mendez, Bryana Mondragon Arteaga, Gisell Robles, and Jazmine Valdez, danced behind him in their colorful dresses. As they walked off stage the crowd cheered
andclappedforthem.
Once this performance was finished, VMT’s Mariachi De Oro performed Selena’s "El Toro Relajo," sung by their very own Valeria Flores. Flores' voice was captivated the audience so much that they cheered for her throughout the entire performance.
To close off the show, both the VMT Ballet Folklorico and Mariachi De Oro performed "Son De La Negra." The Mariachi played and sang astheladiesofVMT'sBalletFolklorico danced. Yet again, the crowd was left inaweoftheirdisplay.
The VMT 2022 Mexican Independence Celebration Day was a hugesuccess.Everyperformancewas met with tremendous applause. This was truly a prime example of the hard work and dedication of our students and staff to exceed expectations. As Garza pridefully said "Viva Vidal M. Trevino!VivaMexico!"
ByBriannaPineda
