Only high school musical act chosen from Florida

By Peter Covino
Lifestyles Editor

They won’t be playing “Hail to the Chief” to President Barack Obama Monday, but an Osceola County students’ Latin combination should still get the president’s attention.

Seguro Que Si (Yes, Of Course), an eight-piece student Latino band from The Osceola County School for the Arts have a very important play date Monday. They will perform in Obama’s presidential inaugural parade and at a presidential ball later that night.

Band members and their chaperones will leave for Washington, D.C. today for what should be some amazing memories for the high school students.

The band has founding member Maxwell Frost to thank for the trip. The high school student was online at Obama’s Organizing for America web site last year when he noticed a link about bands applying for the inauguration and decided to give a shot.

He was surprised days later when he got news from the president’s inauguration committee that the band had been selected to attend.

Frost was in a class when his cell phone started vibrating.

“I didn’t recognize the number,” but it was a Washington D.C. area code.

“I got so excited I had to leave the room,” once he realized what the phone call meant. “I was really excited,” Frost said. “I couldn’t focus the rest of the day.”

Seguro Que Si is the only Florida high school band that will be performing during the inauguration festivities, Frost said. They are one of 40 bands selected out of about 2,800 that applied.

Seguro Que Si is Annette Rodriguez, Niyah Lowell, Daniel Chico, Shawn Fernandez, Kevin Arguelles, Christopher Muriel, Robby Cruz, Maxwell Frost and Jose Rojas, an Osceola County School for the Arts alumnus and currently a student at the University of North Florida.

Initially they were going to wait on releasing the big news, but it took long for the entire school to get the word.

“Max told me while I was eating lunch,” said Shawn Fernandez, the combo’s award-winning trumpet player. “I flipped out.”

Seguro Que Si was founded by Frost, Fernandez and Christopher Muriel last year as a band they could jam with as well as play at school district functions and elsewhere in the county.

The band will perform and ride in a float during the inauguration parade as well as perform again at the Hope Youth Ball Monday night.

Frost, who is the band percussionist, said the band was still working out the songs they will play, but it will include two songs written by band members “Seguro Que Si” and “Cocotazo,” a Spanish phrase that is the equivalent of a parent saying “pay attention” to a child.

Students and parents have been busy raising money for the big event, which will cost about $11,000.

“We have been getting a lot of help from our (the school’s) business partners,” assistant principal Maria Carroll said.

“They have been fantastic.”

So far the band has raised about $9,400 for trip expenses which will include a charter bus and lodging, so any donations will be appreciated, she said.

Contributions (credit card) are accepted at the fundraising web site Go Fund Me. Go to Gofundme.com/seguroquesi.