Participant Biographies and Project Descriptions

Manuel Ortega
Manuel is a talented bilingual musician who has been playing guitar professionally for almost 40 years. He has supported himself as a carpenter in home construction as well as a musician. Manuel wanted an opportunity to study music when he was young. But, unfortunately, growing up in a low income family, there were no resources for music lessons. Manuel’s brother somehow managed to learn guitar and helped Manuel to learn. Manuel lost his older brother when he was young, but continued to learn on his own until he was able to take some classical guitar classes in college. Manuel always found time to play with local churches where he would teach children guitar. Recently, Manuel has found opportunities to teach guitar in a couple of after school programs. He is placing more emphasis on teaching music and passing on his expertise as a guitarist to inner city youth.

Manuel’s project is teaching guitar lessons to children and teens at the Santa Ana Police and Activities League after school program. This program is located in a neighborhood with one of the highest levels of gang activity, school drop-out rates, and other social problems in Santa Ana. Few safe after school activities exist for young people in this neighborhood, whose parents are typically working multiple jobs to support their families. Manuel’s goal is to help young people express themselves creatively with music. He hopes to boost their confidence in a way that will help them avoid gangs, violence, and drugs. Tom Serafin, the police officer who directs the after school program, observes Manuel’s experience as a guitar teacher and ability to speak fluent Spanish is attracting new youth to the program.