And it all Started Singing, Singing
By Sixto Aponte Martinez
After I graduated from the Luis Munoz Rivera Elementary School at Santa Cruz Avenue in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, I went to Dr. Agustin Stahl High School in the town where I was born.
Immediately upon entering the school some students recommended I register in Choir the class directed by Mrs. Morales: "Sing or not, if you are never absent from Choir the teacher will give you an ‘A’ in class" and that sounded good to me because I had average grades. And, without thinking it twice, I enrolled in Choir with Mrs. Morales.
The first day of Choir, the teacher auditioned each student and said I was a tenor. During classes we learned and practiced songs. Whenever it was time to distribute the solos, she always assigned me the tenor parts. So I discovered my singing voice, thanks to Choir class of Mrs. Morales.
Then as time went by a small band formed among some fellow Choir students. The band consisted of two guitars (first and second) and me as the singer. We played popular music from Puerto Rican composers. That gave us the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities of the school. The Director excused us from classes when we played in these activities. Being excused from classes, I enjoyed since I never really liked to study.
In Choir, I spent three years and thanks to God and to the "A" Ms. Morales gave me, I completed high school and graduated with the grade of "C".