Last but certainly not least, we have our alumni ex-Music Director Anna to wrap up this year’s Guitarrón Chronicles! Anna has played all sorts of instruments with the mariachi and continues to go on various musical sidequests.

 

‧₊˚❀‧₊˚. Anna’s Summer Update 8-28-25 ‧₊˚❀‧₊˚.

Hello everyone!

My summer has been a little chaotic with various government delays! I’ve been sidequesting like crazy tho so here’s some of them!

• Artie in STL! My friend Artie (from Rice Bikes, also class of 25) drove back with me to STL and visited for a week! We did some classic STL things since it was their first time there.
• My friend Sarah, also from Rice and class of 25, was in STL visiting her brother who just moved here, so we went to the Botanical Gardens and some other STL stuff.

• I went to Japan to visit an old friend, Miette, who is my age but got married on a study abroad in Kyoto two years ago and lives in Tokyo now. Another mutual friend, Kelsey, from my old school district was there and then one of my friends from Rice, Saloni, came too! Super fun exploring and met up with some other people who happened to also be visiting Tokyo (why was everyone there this summer). Here’s Miette, Kelsey, Miette’s husband Yudai, me, and Saloni!

• I’ve been trying to keep up with salsa at a club here, and I’ve been getting into a midwestern style of folk dancing called contradance, which is like if a line dance had partners. It’s mostly old people, but they also have some queer events that tend to be a bit younger!

• It also is characterized by always having a live band, which leads me to another sidequest! Fiddling! I have been learning fiddle, which is cool because you do a ton of improvisation with embellishing melodies and making up harmonies and rhythm accompaniment. New to me but lots of fun. I’ve done some gigs for dances and some jams.

• I have not abandoned mariachi, and I’ve been periodically gigging with a group here. It’s mariachi midwest edition, mostly restaurant gigs where I am again making up my part on the go. Have you ever heard Sweet Caroline played by a mariachi? It’s apparently a very common request up here. Luckily I’m the same size as the guy’s daughter, so I can wear her trajes! They mostly use this blue one, but there’s also a maroon and some others.

• I took a part time job as a bike mechanic to fill some time in late June (but also just submitted my two weeks notice because it turns out I don’t actually really like working on bikes, just liked the Rice Bikes people). It’s been a cool job at a cool shop with cool people, but not my vibe right now.
• I went to Illinois for a week to play viola in an opera pit (Mozart’s The Magic Flute) which was SUPER cool! It was a non profit group for high school students to get free voice lessons and a chance to perform. Lots of fun to be really using my viola again! There’s me with horrible posture.

• Our dearest previous president came to visit me in June for my birthday and again just last week which was a lot of fun! I dragged him to many STL events, including a large international festival called Festival of Nations and petting the stingrays at the zoo. Uli would only make one face every time I took a picture, so that’s what you’re getting. Here’s him at an Italian restuarant in the Italian part of STL (it’s called The Hill and all the fire hydrants are painted to look like Italian flags! Uli suggested spray painting them to instead look like Mexican flags, which I fear would cause issues…)

• Other quick things: I’ve made a t-shirt quilt, organized my personal music library, fostered kittens, repaired and learned 1 song on my harp, learned many new recipes, made two scrapbooks, and started exercising more consistently! Just trying to keep busy until I can get more settled down wherever I end up.

I still have no idea when or if I’ll start working for the military, so I’m basically getting paid to wait right now (although it’s not necessarily as fun as it sounds). I’ll actually be in Houston to visit some friends from 9/26-9/30, so hopefully I’ll see some of you around! Rumor has it Benjamin has an amazing setlist planned, and I’ve heard the new guitarron is delightfully shiny. I hope you all have such an utterly fantastic year!!! Good luck, and I miss you all bunches!!! <3

Farewell,
Anna

 

Thanks Anna, we are missing you a ton over here! Thanks for wrapping up this year’s Guitarrón Chronicles for us.

CON AMOR,

Danielle & Hannah 

Mariachi Luna Llena