Natalia Rodriguez
Staff Writer
Music major Mario Aguayo performed his senior recital, showcasing his guitar, piano and singing talents March 20 in Morgan Auditorium.
Aguayo kicked off the two-hour performance with an arrangement of Eric Johnson’s “Cliffs of Dover,” showcasing his skilled guitar-playing.
He also performed classical pieces like Chopin’s Nocturne No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 9 No. 2 and Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 12 in F Major, K 332.
Additionally, he sang other well-known songs like “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars and “Maria” from “West Side Story” by Stephen Sondheim. Both of these categories highlighted his piano-playing and vocals.
“I think that was the main focus: to make a setlist that represents who I fully am as a human being, as a musician, and as a performer,” Aguayo said.
During the show, he sang both “Granada” by Agustín Lara and “Tú Con Él” by Frankie Ruiz. He mentioned being proud of his Mexican-Peruvian heritage and wanted to honor it in the show.
“Tú Con Él,” specifically, is important to him, as he recalled his father playing a song with the same name a lot when he was younger. When Aguayo tried looking for it years later, he was unable to find it but stumbled upon the one by Ruiz, which is why he learned and performed it.
In a similar fashion, he performed “Ave Maria” on the piano with his girlfriend Julianna Othmer, a guest vocalist, and “How Great Thou Art” as a testament to his faith. Aguayo mentioned being raised Roman Catholic and being a member of his church choir.
“He talked about his faith, and genuinely I was so emotional during that,” Genesis Ruiz, a senior nursing major attending Azusa Pacific University, said. “I felt like the Holy Spirit working here.”
Ruiz said she knew Aguayo from church and has sung with him in that context, and that she was happy to see one of his performances outside of that.
Peter Gutierrez, a chamber singer at ULV, played trumpet for some of Aguayo’s songs. He met Aguayo through a mutual friend and has enjoyed working with him for both the recital and all of their other projects beforehand.
“Anything that I do in music, I’m always super, super grateful and blessed that I get to be a part of things that are bigger than myself,” Gutierrez said. “It was an honor, for any other time and tonight, that me and my trumpet be a part of something much bigger.”
Isabella Mercado, a freshman music major attending Citrus College, who performed with Aguayo, echoed the sentiment.
“[Aguayo] really enjoys what he’s doing, so he rubs off on everybody else, and the rest of us enjoy what we’re doing,” Mercado said. “When he asks us to do something, we do it because we care about him and we like him.”
Mercado and Aguayo belong to the same band. She noted that his love and passion for music shines through the way he performs.
“This kind of music is definitely his home, and you could just see him really enjoying himself,” she said. “He’s gotten a lot more comfortable in his skin, and it’s really cool to watch.”
Aguayo also performed some of his original pieces, titled “My Friend” and “You’ll Have A Dream.” He said the process took him years and a lot of writing, but that the University helped him along the way.
“All it takes is for that energy to boil within you, and once that comes through it just sprouts,”Aguayo said. “And then you stop thinking about ‘this is fast, this is hard, this is that,’ and you just start living it.”
Aguayo will be joining the studio guitar master’s program at the USC Thornton School of Music.
Natalia Rodriguez can be reached at natalia.rodriguez@laverne.edu.
Natalia Rodriguez is a senior creative writing and communications major. She is a member of ULV's The Blank Page Writer's Club and has served as a staff member for the school's literary magazine, Prism Review. She is currently arts editor and a staff photographer for the Campus Times and previously served as a staff writer.
Jesse Juarez is a senior photography major and a staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. A camera has been a very powerful tool and a vessel of expression for him. While originally focused on portraits and fashion photography, his work is continuously evolving. His other work can be found at jessejxo199x.edublogs.org.
