Miguel Gutierrez: 0:00

Welcome to another episode of Charros y Clásicos, a Bosky Strings podcast. I'm your host, Miguel Gutiérrez, and I'm here with my good friend and co-host, Joel Ozuna.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 0:16

Hello, everyone, and thank you for tuning in. Our guest today is a graduate from McAllen High School. He's also a graduate from the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley. He has a bachelor's in music education. He is also a violinist for the Grammy-winning Marichalos Camperos de Jesus Chuy Guzman. Please welcome Alex Trevio II. Thank you guys for having me. I appreciate both of you for giving me the opportunity to talk and share my story a little bit.

Miguel Gutierrez: 0:43

Hey, well, it worked out right that we all met up here at TMEA.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 0:46

Yeah, we're in San Antonio right now. I flew in last night. We had the weekend off with Camperos. Chuy gave a presentation this morning at 10 o'clock. Really cool presentation, so... I was there. I wanted to see my brother play in the orchestra as well. He's playing with the Philharmonic Orchestra, I think, tomorrow. And I was like, you know what? We have a free weekend. Let me catch a flight. It was a direct flight from LA to San Antonio. It worked out perfectly. And then I know we had been wanting to do this podcast for a while. And then when you texted me, hey, let's do it in San Antonio. I was like, yep, let's do it. The stars aligned. Let's do it.

Miguel Gutierrez: 1:17

That's awesome, man. That's awesome. So tell us about yourself. Let's hear more about yourself.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 1:23

Yeah, okay. So I owe so much to my parents. I think my story, to talk about my story, starts much before me. My story starts with my parents' story. And a lot of people don't know this. For the people that don't know me, or the people that do know me, they automatically assume, oh, your dad, right? Your dad, your dad, your dad. They associate me with my dad. And I feel like people sometimes forget to associate it with my mom, too. Because my mom and my dad met in mariachi class. So that's something that a lot of people don't know. People are thrown off with that. They met in high school, Memorial High School, I believe, and they were classmates. They were mariachi together. They both played violin. So if you think about it, a lot of people see, oh yeah, I play violin. My dad plays violin. My sister Ashley plays violin. My little brother Andrew plays violin. Go figures. My mother also played violin. Oh, man. I had no idea. I didn't know that. That's because recently I did that article on your brother. Yeah. I mentioned how your brother comes from a family of violinists. Yeah. I left your mom out. Yeah. No, yeah. My mom played violin. And she doesn't play so much now anymore. I think the stop happened when she gave birth to me because she's the best mom. She's the perfect mom. She's always looked out for us, always wanted to protect us, wanted the best for us. And with that, she kind of left aside maybe like playing and like gigging and stuff to fully take care of us so she stopped playing when I was born but it's fun because like even like even like a couple years ago I would like hand her the violin and she would play some songs she still has her vibrato and stuff and it's like wow that's so cool but yeah no to start with my story it's it's much before that and then they were just friends in high school and then afterwards they uh I think they met at a concert I think it was Vargas I think it was a Vargas concert in in the valley of Texas and And they saw each other, and they were like, hey, hey, how are you doing? Little by little, they went on a date. One date turned into two dates. Two dates turned into a multiple, and then they became boyfriend and girlfriend, and then they got married. And I think that's something really beautiful. My mom played in a mariachi called Voces de Mexico. It belonged to my abuelita, my mom's mom. And my tia played in it, my tia Keta. She was a flute player there. My mom was a violinist. They had different... you know, people there. And my abuelita was in charge of all the finances. She was the owner. She was the boss. So my dad would help them out sometimes. I know a lot of different people went through it. I know, you guys know Marco Zarate. He was like a little kid, like, and my mom would be like showing him some of the parts, like, oh, this is how this goes. This is how this adorno goes. This is how this song goes. So she helped him out a little bit in the beginning. But it's beautiful to see. And so, yeah, that's, I owe my creation, I guess, to mariachi music that's why I'm so passionate about mariachi music I love it it's something that I've sometimes battled like back and forth like oh do I really want to do this for the rest of my life I remember when I was like a kid when I was in high school even college and I was like I don't know if this is for me maybe it's just something I can do on the side but it's no I owe my existence to mariachi music the genre because literally if it weren't for mariachi music I wouldn't be here you know those two people Jessica and Alex would have never met. And I wouldn't be alive. And it just makes me happy to see what beautiful things can happen through mariachi music. You know, so many friends I've made through mariachi music. So many people we've met. So many people, like, the lives you touch, you know, through mariachi music. That's always what I've seen mariachi music as. It's like a tool. Mariachi music is, obviously, it's mariachi music. But I've used it as a tool to get ahead in life, to travel, to meet new people. But yeah, I guess that's where it all started, okay? So now I'm born, right? I'm born. I don't exactly have the most amazing start into the world. I was born with some little health problems. And obviously now, I thank God every day, they're gone. They're completely gone now, right? But when I was little, it was like, oh, it was a little scare. I know they put me in a little box. in a helicopter, and they flew me to Corpus Christi. Oh, wow. Because there weren't sufficient, at the time, medical advances, I guess. Resources. Yeah, exactly. In the Valley of Texas, so they had to fly me to Corpus Christi. They were, like, berating me and stuff. Yeah, so the first couple years of my life, I was like, I was like a little weakling. Like, anything would affect me, and I would get sick, and I guess my parents were just really cautious. They put everything into taking care of me. I think that goes way back to my mom. Like, she couldn't do certain things because she was really, really, really focused on making sure I was okay. And I'm so glad and so happy that they protected me like that. But no, let's start with the fun stuff. So come five years old, little Alex turns five years old, my parents enrolled me in piano lessons. So piano was my first instrument. They would always encourage me to sing and stuff on the side, but I started piano at five. It was slow, a slow process at the beginning. It was... Learning notes, learning notes and stuff like that. But I think once I started hitting seven years old, eight years old, I started studying with, I don't know if you guys know him, El Alir Garza. Yeah. Eddie Garza. Man, really cool person.

Miguel Gutierrez: 6:46

I was going to ask, were you like in a piano class or did you have a piano private teacher?

Joel Lee Ozuna: 6:51

So it started off with piano classes. And then he was the one that recommended, hey, this is probably best if we do private piano lessons. So we started off with a piano class and then we started doing piano lessons and it was, it was a blast. I owe so much of my musical development to Eddie. I can't thank him enough because he was one of the first people to really discipline me. Like, no, no, it's not the way it should be. And I was a little kid. We were all little kids. And I want to speak for myself. As a little kid, I was like, oh, I don't want to. I was that kid like, I don't want to go to piano. I don't want to do this. I don't want to do that. No, I don't want to do that. I just want to play video games. I want to play with my friends. Just leave me alone, you know? But he was one of the ones that disciplined me, like, oh, practice, practice, practice. And I would practice. My dad, too. I owe a lot of that to my dad. He was very disciplined with me at the very beginning. So he wanted me to get really good at the piano first, just so I can get more comfortable at the violin. Because he knew one day, okay, we're going to put him in violin. So I started learning violin around, I think, seven, eight, somewhere around there. I can't pinpoint it exactly. But I was a kid and my dad started me off with a couple lessons. And he was, you know, teaching me how to hold the instrument, what the bow was, the strings, note names, yada, yada, yada, all the good stuff. Essential elements. Everyone loves that book. And then he eventually passed me on to Jeffrey Wong, which is the concertmaster of the Valley Symphony Orchestra. Amazing, amazing violinist and teacher. And I remember in the beginning we butted heads and I remember I would cry a lot. And I think it was just something that was too intense for me at the time. I remember just one day crying a lot and I was like, you know what? I can't do this. I quit. I don't want to ever touch the violin. This is not for me. Maybe let me do something else like baseball, right? And then, you know, a couple years later, I started taking lessons with Kathleen Hawkins and Juan Menendez at their house and they helped me so much. They gave me that confidence I needed. They were both so sweet with me. And, you know, they helped me so much, tremendously. And then I remember she had a baby. I started going more focused with Mr. Menendez. And then I remember they moved away. So I went with Mr. Wong again. And I told him, you know what, I've had some years to grow. And I think this is something I really want to do. I'm going to take it seriously. I'm ready to be better. And I'm not the same little kid that, you know, came with like a violin at eight years old, you know. And you went back to Mr. Wong at what age? I was a sophomore in high school. Yeah, so 10th grade. I want to say it was towards the beginning of 10th grade. And I was just ready to learn. And another really cool thing in middle school, I started in the orchestras under Miss Miller, Jen Miller. And she helped me so much. She also instilled a lot of discipline in us, and I owe so much to her. Once I got to high school, I went under Aaron Tovar and Tom Hudson. So then they were always really supportive of me as well. So I enjoyed my time in the orchestra. But a really important moment happened my freshman year of high school. That was the year that I joined mariachi. So I grew up surrounded by mariachi, obviously. My dad played it. My mom played it. My dad's students as well. I was surrounded by mariachi everywhere I looked, everywhere I turned. The music of mariachi. We always had it playing in the car. We had Vargas, just different singers too, José Alfredo. Just different artists and genres. And I remember I didn't like it, actually. Believe it or not, some people don't know this about me, but at the beginning, I did not like mariachi. I remember my dad, well, till currently, he still plays with his group, Mariachi Los Arreros del Valle. I remember I was a little kid just watching them. And obviously I was proud of them. I was proud of my dad. I loved seeing my dad, right? But as a little kid, I would get bored. I would get bored and I was like, nah, I don't want to see the mariachi play. Why do I have to go? And I remember they would play for birthday parties sometimes and they would just be playing and I would be on my little DS or something. And I was just, I don't want to see it. But freshman year for me, I started seeing all my friends get into mariachi. And that was a turning point because I'm like, hmm, if my friends like it, it must be cool. So I started really, really getting into it at that time. Kind of like your dad. Same thing. Yeah, exactly. I think he started in the orchestras and he was like, no, I don't want to. And then eventually he got dragged into it. Yeah, very similar. Very similar, except... At that point, my dad was like, no, you're for sure going to do it. They're like, there's no way you're not going to do it. And I'm thankful he did that. During that time, was he teaching Macallan or was he still in Roma? Oh, yeah. No, no. He was in Macallan. I was in elementary already and he was still in Macallan. He taught in Roma for, I'm not exactly sure how long or when the date is that he left. But I do know that I was already in elementary and he was already in Macallan ISD.

Miguel Gutierrez: 12:16

So one of the things that interests me, Because you're a legacy, right? And there is this looming pressure, right? Because your father did it, your mother did it, and it's already in the family that you as firstborn, it's in a way expected. Did you ever feel pressure from that? Was that probably what kept you away from the genre, would you say?

Joel Lee Ozuna: 12:41

That's a good question. To be honest with you, I did feel a lot of pressure musically. And academically, because my parents just wanted me to do the best I could do. They were just very, I'm not going to lie. They were hard on me. They were hard on me, but I'm looking back. I say, thank you so much for being hard on me, because if you guys weren't, I would have probably been doing something else or I wouldn't have, I wouldn't be where I am right now. And as a, like, like you said, a legacy, it's, it's, it's tough because you want to live up to those expectations. You want to make your parents proud. You want to just try to inspire others. Every day I try to think of ways like, how can I make others, how can I inspire other people? How can I make others want to play mariachi? How can I make others happy about their instrument? How can I help people? How can I just help people? And how can I myself be a better musician? Because there's a long way to go. And just trying to find ways to be better

Miguel Gutierrez: 13:45

So I assume that's why you decided to study music because you're on that road to find, you know, how to inspire others.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 13:53

Yeah. So I did study music at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley. I did music education. Part of me did want to do performance, but I'm like, there's always a big part of me that's loved teaching. So right now I have my Trevino Music Academy. Right now it's pretty much, honestly, it's majority online. I do have some in-person students, but The majority of it, it's online and I love it. I love teaching so much. There was a point before I moved to Los Angeles where I had, I want to say like 15 students, 15 private students. And I love those days. Like those days were awesome for me because I don't know, just like even one hour a week, it was enough to like change, change the student's perspective. Or I don't want to say like go as far as like, oh, change their lives. Right. I don't, tampoco, I don't know about that, but I at least help them or, you know, if I could see a smile on their face, like, oh yeah, I'm like, I'm excited to learn this. It, I don't know. It makes me happy to see them progress. You know, I had some students like they started from nothing, like nothing, nothing. Like how do I hold a bow? Or like I had some vocal students too, like, oh, like I don't feel confident. And then towards the end of like my time with them, it's like, wow, it's like crazy. I love teaching. I know there's some people that really like don't like teaching, especially in the performing world. Now that I'm surrounded by just performers, performers, a lot of my friends and colleagues, they're not the biggest fans of teaching, which is okay. Everyone's different. That's why we're all created differently. But I feel like I'm one of those is like, oh, I love, love teaching. Like absolutely love teaching. Almost as much as I like to perform. It's probably like equal for me, to be honest. I like them equally. I was going to say, so after you graduated from high school, where did you go study? Ah, so. I went to a place called Texas State University. And I studied under Dr. Lynn Ledbetter. And then also for mariachi, I studied under Mr. John Lopez and Michelle Quintero and Mike Guzman. So those were like the four main influences on me musically during that time. And I loved my time at Texas State. All the friends that I met, all the connections that I got to meet outside too, Man, those days are unforgettable for me. Those were beautiful, beautiful times. Because I think the reason why I like it is because it was the first time I was away from home. I had just turned 18. Summer came. And it's like, okay, something new is happening. You know, college, right? It's a beautiful experience getting to move out. And at the time, I wanted to move out. I was ready. I was like, I want to get out of here. But it was beautiful. It was beautiful. And I really liked the mariachi there. I love the orchestra and I love studied under, I loved to study under Dr. Ledbetter. She was, she was awesome. She taught me a lot. And then the orchestras were great too. And I learned, I learned a lot over there. And then, um, I gigged with a group outside called Mariachi Los Trobadores with Israel. And he was, uh, he helped me a lot. That's where I learned. to do like Talon and a lot of stuff like that. That was the first time I did like a four-piece Chamba, five-piece Chamba. So it's like, it was very out of my element because prior to that, I had played with, well, the Maccai Mariachi and then also the outside group Estrellas del Valle and that was under Mario Gutierrez. But it was still set up in a way of like to mimic, I guess, kind of like a professional group. Like they did all the right steps to like, okay, let's, you know, we're a nice 12-piece group, you know, six violins, three armonia, two, three trumpets. It was set up very nicely, you know? And it was still a gigging group, so I learned a lot of my repertoire with them. I owe that group, Estrellas and Troadores, like so much. All the basics. Volver, Acá Entre Nos, El Rey, Derrota. All the basics, basics. I owe a lot of that to them, repertoire-wise. That helped me out a lot. Then my sophomore year, I moved to UTRGV. And that was a really cool point too, because I think at that point, I finally made the decision between classical and mariachi. Prior to that, I was kind of torn between the two. I didn't know if I wanted to pursue orchestra or mariachi. I just didn't know what route my life was going to take. And I think when I moved to UTRGV and I started playing with Aslan, that was always like a goal of mine. I had always wanted to play with Aslan. Ever since I was in high school, I would see Aslan. I would see you, Miguel, up there. And I would just see you guys playing. I remember one time, I was a little kid. I don't know if you remember this. You probably don't. But... Try me. Try

Miguel Gutierrez: 18:43

me. I have good

Joel Lee Ozuna: 18:44

memories. Okay, okay, okay. Well, I was a little kid. Like, little, little, little kid. And you guys were rehearsing for Festiva. I don't remember what year it was. And I was a little, like, desmadroso. And I was like... going like to the area where the doors were and I was like opening closing the doors like slamming them open like

Miguel Gutierrez: 19:05

and you guys were

Joel Lee Ozuna: 19:06

yeah and you guys were rehearsing and you guys were rehearsing and then you finally like stood up out of your chair and then you walked and you were like careful like you were like should you give me this and I was like oh that was scary and I was like okay okay okay he was like you can see us but just don't be slamming the doors sounds about right and I was like okay okay okay and then I was just like watching you guys on the side and I was like These guys are so good. Like me as like a little middle schooler, just like an absolute awe. I think you guys were playing. Were you in the year that they did the piece Sergio

Miguel Gutierrez: 19:39

Calatechea? Violin Gitano? Yes.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 19:44

Okay. Yeah, that's what it was. That's what it was. And I was just like, could you imagine me as a middle schooler hearing Aslando Violin Gitano? I was like, oh my gosh, like that's the goal. That is it. If I can get to there. I'm like, I'm set. Like, I'm happy, you know? So, yeah, like working there for all those years, I was like, I'm going to be in Iceland. One day I'm going to be in Iceland. One day, one day, one day. And then finally a lucky day came and Pancho called me and I called him and he was like, all right, let's do it. So he recruited you then? Yes, he did. Yeah, because he heard that I was going to be coming back to UCRGV. And he said, I heard you coming back. We have some shows in the summer, Chicago, Denver, Santa Barbara. He had some really cool stuff lined up that summer. That first summer of me being in Aslan, that was a really fun summer. 2019, that was a crazy summer. So let me ask you, what made you decide to come back to the Rio Grande Valley? To be honest, it was a combination of a lot of things. I guess to get more personal, I think I had gained a lot of weight, like I had gained a lot of weight living away from home. I gained like 35 pounds. You know how they say it's like freshman 15? Well, I got freshman 35. And I just felt unhealthy living over there. And I felt like financially it was a little bit hard for me too. And so that was another reason. But then another reason too is I just felt like I could grow where I needed to be under my dad too if I were to somehow get into arrieros and aslan I feel like it kind of like slingshot me into the right path what I wanted to do at least because towards the end of my freshman year of college and obviously yeah my sophomore year of college I really like it just clicked in my mind I remember one day I was in my dorm room and it's like I want to be in like a big professional mariachi one day like I want that I want something like You know, Camperos, Teca, Vargas, something along that line, something on that level of playing. And that day I was like, okay, how am I going to do it? And I was trying to do a game plan. And I waited out the pros and cons. And it basically comes down to the orchestra was taking up a lot of my time at Texas State. And it's good because I love orchestra music. But it was just taking away a little bit too much for me to hyper-focus on mariachi. I don't think I was able to hyper-focus on mariachi there, if that makes sense. It had a great, amazing mariachi program with amazing teachers. Amazing, perfect, awesome. But my schedule, being a music major there in Texas State, it didn't allow me to hyper-focus on mariachi music. And I'm one of those people, if I think of something or want to do something, I will... hyper focus on it like I guess I have like um addictive personality or something like just like like I really hone in on it and it's like

Miguel Gutierrez: 22:55

uh well you're just laser focused

Joel Lee Ozuna: 22:56

yeah like like hyper like but sometimes it's a bad thing because then I'll forget about everything else around me but I've always been like that so I set a goal I was like okay I'm gonna do this I'm gonna go to Aslan one day boom and then so yeah that was that was the mark of something really fun because Aslan I've always said it, Aslan, there you'll refine your skills as a mariachi player. Like, for that level. Obviously, there's a whole other levels out there that I'm barely being introduced to. It's like, okay, there's a whole big sea out there with a whole bunch of sharks, you know? But for that level, at that age, time period, for that appropriate time period, it's a great place to be for that age.

Miguel Gutierrez: 23:41

Tell us about your time there, Aslan. in Aslan? Because I think you directed towards the end, no?

Joel Lee Ozuna: 23:47

Yeah, so it started, my journey with Aslan started in summer 2019. I got really lucky. We got to accompany Aida Cuevas in the Santa Barbara Bowl. We got to play at Millennium Park for the Chicago Mariachi Festival over there. We got to do some shows in Denver, and that was just in the summer. And then the school year started, we did some shows in Odessa, Midland, And then always the extravaganza, the mariachi extravaganza under Cynthia. That's always a fun thing. And once I did those shows, after that, there was an opening in Arreros. So I was like, oh my gosh, the stars are aligning beautifully. Let me just try to audition. Let me do something. So I went to a rehearsal, and I was like, please like me. Please like the way that I play. And I was just trying my best. I was like, echándole todo. I was just... Really pushing myself to do well at that rehearsal. And they invited me to some gigs. And then finally, like, okay, you can stay. So that, like, just a couple months after joining Aslan, I joined Arrero. So that was super happy for me. So that was already right in the beginning. So I continued with Aslan. 2019 December hits, we do the extravaganza. We do UIL shows. Making a lot of friends in the group. That was like my favorite part. I love making all the friends. Because they became like family to me. And we would always hang out after school, before school. We would drop each other off at our classes and stuff. And we would always be practicing. Surrounded by like-minded musicians. Come March 2020, and it's like, okay, Festiva's here. So we do a show. Aida's there too. Great show. I know Sol de Mexico came that day as well. So it was a cool show. And right after, like a week or two or three after, the world shuts down, right? COVID, pandemic, we all know what happened, right? So Aslan kind of went dead during that time period. Not the whole pandemic, but I think a good half a year. It just went completely dormant. And we started little by little doing some virtual videos. And we did some virtual videos. We put them together. And you guys know how it goes. It's not really ever the same as like playing live and in person. But it was something. And I think 2020, 2021, yeah, we were doing all those virtual videos and stuff. And that was the shift. That was the point. Because I think the previous, I guess, student director kind of like phased out a little bit. And then we had a grad student too. And like he also, I guess, like, They both had their own priorities, so the person left was me. And I was like, oh gosh, like, I don't know if I'm ready for this, you know? Like, I had always dreamed to be in Aslan, but I didn't think I would actually, like, be student directing it. And it was hard. It was hard at the beginning because I didn't have that confidence. I did not have that confidence to lead. I had led in high school, but it's a whole different ballgame, you know, once you're in university. And Goros, I remember Pancho told me, like, I have to be more assertive on chorus and phrasing and like violin too, and just how I want the group to sound and stuff. But thankfully I had that little cushion, like time to prepare during the pandemic. Like I was already like mentally prepping for it. And we would do like little virtual projects. And it was cool because I got to lead those recording sessions. I got to lead recording sessions, start off like slow like that, lead vocal like sessions too. And I think that would give me a lot of confidence. And then we did a virtual video in 2021. And it was, it was playback. But nonetheless, it was still a concert. So that gave me a lot of confidence in the beginning. And then come, yeah, 2021, the beginning of the school year, I actually stepped out of Aslan for a little bit. And because for personal reasons, I just had to step out. And then I came back towards like October, November. And I came back full blown excited. leader and it was a little bit weird at the beginning because i hadn't played violin in a while like i hadn't touched my violin in like a month and a half so i'd started with that but that gave me the confidence to to lead i think being an aslan as a member it it refined my skills and then towards the end being able to lead the group that's it's it's um i can't compare it to like something else it's it really gave me as a musician confidence i think it just Like, okay, you know what? You can do this. You don't suck. You have the capability to do this, this, this. Just push yourself, push yourself, push yourself, push yourself. And that's why I'm always forever grateful to Dr. Guerra and Pancho. I'm forever, forever grateful to them. I've known them ever since I was a little kid. And I think it's a beautiful thing that I got to go through their program too. I feel like I did it. nicely, you know, start off from the bottom, you know, as a section, as a section play, you know, just there, chilling, chilling, and then eventually work your way up the ranks and then leading it. I think it was a beautiful thing because during that time too, we had a, like a lot of, a lot of freshly graduated high schoolers that weren't, there weren't that many people left from Aslan at the, at the time, you know, there was just very few of us. And thankfully I was one of the ones that had remembered how a lot of the Aida Cuevas songs went for like her, for her concerts and tours. So I felt responsible for like passing down, being like the bridge from the past generations to the new generations. So like passing down the style, the way we do certain things. And I was able to like teach them how Aslan goes, you know? And then, yeah, I left. And for a whole year, I was out of Aslan. I was still in college. I was doing my student teaching and then my senior recital. And then I, in May of 2023, I graduated. But yeah, that time in Aztlan was beautiful. And the beautiful thing is too, alongside that, every Saturday, boom, gig with Arreros, learning from them. That was also, I attribute a lot of my learning to Arreros because they served as an inspiration for me ever since I was a little kid. Like, I want to be in that group. I want to be in that group. They would teach me repertoire. And then the best feeling in the world, it's nothing beats it. Absolutely nothing beats getting to play next to my dad. on weekends. Like, no, there's, there's no feeling in the world. There's no stage big enough that can compare to me being next to my dad and just playing a son or like something like a really like power, you know? And it's like, it's fun, you know, it's fun. That's the best feeling in the world for me.

Miguel Gutierrez: 30:40

Let's go back to what you were saying earlier when you were coming back from Texas state, your, your attention to your health. So something that I've really admired about you background, cause you never really haven't talked a lot, But the fact that you're able to do all this, what you just said, and yet you lost all this weight.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 30:59

Yeah, it's been a long journey. I'm nowhere near close to where I want to be. I still feel like I have to lose a lot more weight and then also build my body the way that I want it. But yeah, it got really dangerous. I think towards the peak of my weight hit 285, 290. And once I was like, You know, it's not fun lugging around like 290, you know, every day. And I didn't feel good in my traje. And I felt like, oh, this, this sucks to play like this. And I would get tired and sweaty, like in my traje. And I was like, I don't know. I just wasn't really happy with myself. And I was like, okay, I need to make a change. And I think the pandemic was like the perfect, like, I guess, shutdown for me to like, okay, well, I have nothing to do. There's no concerts. classes are all virtual. Yeah. But like, honestly, like the professors and students were just trying to like, just kind of get through the semester. So that would take it easy on us. And I found myself with a lot of free time during the pandemic.

Miguel Gutierrez: 32:04

I think a lot of us.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 32:05

Yeah. Yeah. Everyone. Yeah. Yeah. You're right. And it was something like, okay, let me go do one lap or two laps around my neighborhood every day. It started so soft. So, not soft, but so... Lightly. Light, yeah. I went light. And one lap a day turned into two laps walking. And then two laps turned into, like, a light jog. And then, like, a light jog turned into, like, an actual jog. And then I would just jog, like, three laps, four laps. And then I started, like, doing a little bit of running. Like, run half of it and then walk the other half. And then one day I just got the bright idea. It's actually a funny story. I got bit by a whole bunch of mosquitoes and I couldn't get back in my house. And I was like, dang, like, I don't want to like be outside anymore. Let me, let me go to a gym so I could do all my laps on the treadmill. And I finally went to the gym. I started lifting weights. I got really addicted to bench press. That's like my favorite exercise. I don't know why, like out of all of them, like squat, deadlift, but like for some reason, the bench press to me is like, oh, that's a very addictive exercise. And funny you say that, too, because aren't you the one that introduced your brother, Andrew, into lifting weights? Oh, yeah. And now he's like a little bodybuilder. Oh, yeah. So, Andrew, I'm really proud of Andrew. That kid is crazy. I wish I had Andrew's level of discipline. I do not. I wish I did. But I don't know how he does it. Like, musically and, like, physically, he's just such a disciplined person. And I don't have that. But, yes, I did introduce him. Like, okay. This is how you lift this way. This is how you do bench. This is how you squat. I remember we went to Gold's Gym one day. I'm like, all right, this is how you squat. And this is how you deadlift. This is how you do like dumbbells. This is how you do like, I guess, cable flies. Just all the basic exercises, right? And I taught him all that. And I was the one that kind of like instilled in him like a certain mindset. Like, okay, like you have to go out and get it. You have to push yourself. Like if you want it, no one's going to give it to you. You have to grind it out. Like I was the one that gave him, I guess, like it sounds funny to say, right? But I I gave him that grind mentality. Like, you got to work hard in life, okay? You got to work so hard. You got to work harder than other people. Because other people are working hard, okay? So if you want something, work equally as hard and then work harder, okay? It's a race against yourself, basically. It's not against other people. When I say work as hard as other people, I don't mean to be better than them. No, it's not about that. It's to be better than yourself, right? And I guess I got him at the perfect age. He was like... How old was he? He's probably like, maybe like 15 when I started telling him all that stuff. And I guess as a 15 year old, you're like, your mind is very like moldable and stuff. So like all those words, I guess, stuck with him. And he just took the gym to a whole different level. Like to the point where like, I don't even understand what he does. I'm like, what exercise is that? And like, he like measures his food, like micros, macros and all that. And I'm like, I'm like, oh, I don't really understand that too, too much. But hey, it works for him. And like, I remember he would do cutting and then bulking. Right now, he's on a bulk, I think. So, like, he's eating, like, a lot. But I remember when he was on a cut, like, he still has a six-pack. But, like, when he was on his cut, it was, like, super crazy. And I'm like, dang, dude. Like, all his muscles pop out and stuff. And I'm like, good job, dude. Like, I'm trying to get there, too. Like, I need to do some of that, too. But, yeah, no, health is the biggest thing. Like, because I like to think long-term. Like my mind is always like a couple years ahead, or at least I like to think it is not in terms of like maturity or whatever, but like in terms of like where I want to be. So my mind is always like five, 10, 15 years ahead. And this sake and health sake, it's actually quite a few, like 30, 40 years ahead. Because in my mind, I just picture myself with my future, you know, my future family, future wife, future kids, whatever. Right. Like God willing, you know, I have my, my kids in the future. Um, I don't, want their father to be all sick and stuff I want their father to live a long life I want their father to be healthy you know that's the way I see it you know and sometimes in the mariachi world it's easy to kind of fall into like temptation like oh yeah it's not the healthiest lifestyle in the world you know but I guess as long as you don't follow the I guess like the majority or whatever and just stay true to your morals and like okay I need to be healthy I need to be healthy like it'll be good it'll be good And it's hard. Like, it's hard, you know, sometimes to eat healthy. But, I mean, I think it's something worth it.

Miguel Gutierrez: 36:45

So what happened after Aslan?

Joel Lee Ozuna: 36:49

After Aslan, I remember there was a point where I went into Dr. Guerra and Pancho's office and told them my plans for the future. My plans for, you know, the year that's coming or the next year after that. I told them in advance that I'm planning to move to Los Angeles, you know, for certain reasons and stuff. And I told them the whole rundown and they understood and they supported me. So I went full, 100%, full force on school because I'm like, I need to graduate. I need to get out. How was that? I remember that time you got out of Aslan and that's when they made that big tour. Yeah, yeah. And you had just gotten out, but I actually admired you because you wanted to graduate. Uh-huh. And had you stayed, they probably would have pushed you back, right? Yeah. So that tour, it's an amazing tour that they did. I think, if I'm not mistaken, I think you guys might correct me if I'm wrong. I think it was like 20 cities or something crazy like that. Something along those lines, maybe give or take five or something. But Aslan did a tour with Aida Cuevas and it was the same. I actually started the tour with them. It was the first show of that tour was my last show. So I feel like I did it well. I did just enough to start everything off. And then, yeah, I passed it away to them. And they did amazing. They went above and beyond. They're amazing. All those people in that group, they're top-notch players. And I respect all of them so much. But yeah, if I had done that tour, I wouldn't have graduated. Well, it's hard to say. I can definitively say that, but I think it would have probably pushed me a semester back, to be honest, because that was the semester I was doing student teaching. Yeah. So now that I think about it, yeah, it wouldn't have worked. And then you also have your senior recital. Yeah. Student teaching is really strict, at least at UTRGV. So you only have like three days you can miss or something like that. So there's no way I was going to do a United States tour and only miss three days. Like I don't, I don't see that happening. And it was a tough decision I had to make, but I think it was the right decision for me. And they wanted me to do it. They really, really did want me to do it. And I wanted to, too. Of course, I wanted to do that tour. But I really needed to graduate. I really, really, really needed to just finish, finish, finish. And that's the decision I took. And then the semester after that, yeah, I did my senior recital with Dr. Seitz. Dr. Seitz, I owe her so much, too. She helped me a lot. great violinist, great teacher. And she really supported me so much during that last semester of UTRGV. She wanted me to have a great recital and I appreciate her so much for that. And yeah, so come, I want to say January, December, I can't pinpoint it exactly, but I get a call from Chuy Guzman Jr. saying that, hey, we have some shows, you know, April, May, you know, obviously there's always shows, right? But basically it asked me, When are you ready? When can you make the move? And I told him, I graduate in May. And the good thing is that I can do the recital as early as possible. So right after the recital, I literally just get on a plane and go over. And that's what I did. He said, all right, just let me know when. I don't want any shortcuts. You finish. And that's what I love about Camperos and Chuy and Chuy's son. They're both really supportive on personal achievements and personal goals. Obviously the group, they're always going to look out for the group. But what I like about them is that they care about you as an individual. And that when they told me that, when they told me no shortcuts, when they told me just finish your school, it's like, okay, if they care enough about me for me to just get my school out of the way and then go, that speaks volumes on them. That speaks volumes. on who they are as people and what they are as an organization and a mariachi. So that's what I did. I asked Dr. Seitz, you know, hey, when's the earliest I can have my senior recital? Obviously not because I want to get out of the way or anything, but no. Usually senior recitals are actually done towards the middle end of the semester, not exactly towards the end, because I don't know why, but usually they're done in April and stuff like that. So I was like, let's do it. April, the first, second week of April. And she said, okay. We worked out a date. It changed a couple of times, but it stayed in that general area. So it's actually really crazy how it happened. So I did my recital like the first, second week of April. And then the day after, I kid you not, the day after I got on a plane, went to Los Angeles, had like one day to like chill. I was staying with a friend. And the next day I went to a Gamperos rehearsal. And that's right, because during that time, I remember during May, we had the festival in Brownsville. Uh-huh. Yes. When you all, well, when Camperos performed for the first time in Brownsville, and you were there. Yeah, Nuestra Cultura. And then, so that was amazing. That was, we had a rehearsal, and then that same weekend we had a gig. And I flew, did I fly back? No, I flew back with Camperos, because we were doing Nuestra Cultura. And it was the conference and competition that they have in Brownsville. And it was my first show with Camperos. And I was so nervous. I know I was trying to downplay it. Like, oh, I'm not nervous. But deep, deep, deep down, I was nervous. Because it's crazy. Because for those that don't know me, my hometown is McAllen, Texas. Edinburgh, Texas area. So Brownsville is in the Valley of Texas area. So all my friends, all my family, all my classmates, they all went to that show. And it was my first one. So I was there messing up boys and stuff. But it was my first concert. And I just really appreciated all the support of all my friends and family. To this day, that has been my favorite concert I've ever done. It's been my most memorable concert. My first concert with Camperos in the Rio Grande Valley because it's the mark of a new chapter. It's the mark of this chapter that I just started nine, ten months ago. And it's still going. And it's crazy because I did that concert April 22nd, April 21st, 2nd, 3rd, one of those days. And then a couple weeks later, I fly back to UTRGV and graduate. I walked the stage. So it's crazy. I was... a campero before I actually graduated. Like a month before, which is pretty cool. I felt happy about that one. So it all worked out like really nicely. I think the stars aligned really cool on that one.

Miguel Gutierrez: 43:51

So how long have you been in the group now?

Joel Lee Ozuna: 43:53

Oh, okay. So now I think, what's today's date? I think it's like the 9th, right? Or the 10th?

Miguel Gutierrez: 43:57

9th.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 43:58

Okay. Next week will be 10 months. And it's been a journey. It's been a journey and I love it. I love every, every moment of it. It's just always learning something new. You know, you say the stars aligned, but I remember talking to you before and you had mentioned to me, well, I saw it. You had a picture of one of the Camperos and I think you like Photoshopped your face back in middle school. It was like a dream you wanted to come to. Yeah. Yeah. So there's a funny picture I did and it was me and it was actually me like at a Texas State Nueva Generacion and our trajes look similar to one of the Camperos trajes so I was like 18 or 19 and I photoshopped my body onto like a Camperos picture and I was like I imagine one day this happens and it's crazy because it actually did I remember seeing Camperos at La Fonda when I was 16, 15, 17 my dad would like to take us every time we were in the area he would always take us to La Fonda I remember one year Chuy was there one year Chuy wasn't there but Nonetheless, it was just always like, wow, seeing camperos. I saw them again my senior year in Austin. They're always around. That's cool. So it's something beautiful. And I'm so thankful to God that I get to do this, you know, that I get to experience this because it's a once in a lifetime experience. And I need to take advantage of it because I'm not dumb enough to like ah whatever like I don't care about this no I have to be a sponge and soak up everything I can right now and then give it back like inspire right now I have some students and now it's cool because I get to say like okay so I think in Camperos we would do it something closer to like this or like this like this I always tell them that and it's cool that I get to like have that perspective now because I didn't have that perspective and now that I do it's like oh like sometimes I look at videos of myself in Aslan and I cringe a little bit Or, like, even more so, like, prior to that, like, in Estrellas or Trolladores or Mack High, like, certain way, like, the way I would move or the way I would play or certain little stylistic inflections or the way I would sing. Like, I look back and I cringe a little bit. I'm like,

Alex Treviño II: 46:15

oh.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 46:15

I'm like, hmm. That's an interesting choice, you know? But now it's because I know what I know now. And it's cool. Like, just, it's a never-ending journey, the way I see it. It's like a never-ending journey. And... I don't know, hopefully, something in the future, it could be, like, just, I could be more, more, like, seguro and stuff, because right now, I'm still, like, in the process of, like, really getting myself tight, because I'm not there yet, I still need to get, like, really close with style-wise and stuff, but, oh, yeah, it'll happen one day.

Miguel Gutierrez: 46:48

Do you see, do you see your next chapter unfolding? Like, you know, what do you want to do?

Joel Lee Ozuna: 46:55

Um, so, In the future, I'm not exactly sure. I just know that I want to be teaching also alongside doing Camperos. So I think the next couple of chapters, uh, I feel like right now I'm happy, definitely happy where I'm at right now. I want to soak it up more. I want to live that, I guess, performing life. But at the same time in the future, I want to also be like, have an active role as a teacher. alongside being in Camperos. You guys know Checo Alonso, right? And then Chuy himself, obviously. Chuy teaches at UCLA. And Checo teaches at a high school. He's a band director. They teach outside as well. San Fernando, one of the academies over there. So I like that they teach and then also do Camperos. And I think that's definitely very soon going to happen. I think within this year, I want to start involving myself more as a teacher. That's definitely my next chapter. As far as other chapters beyond that, I don't know if I can see that far exactly, but I'm definitely enjoying right now where I'm at. I'm pretty happy with that.

Miguel Gutierrez: 48:08

Wow, man, that's good. Do you have any advice for our listeners?

Joel Lee Ozuna: 48:13

Yeah, stay humble. Stay humble and then always have the drive and desire to learn more. There's been certain moments in my life and certain parts where I get a little bit complacent. I'm like, oh, okay. It's doing pretty okay. I'm pretty happy. But no, then life, I'm so thankful that life, it's like, nope, nope, you're wrong. There's so much more out there. There's so much more that you've never even seen, never even done. There's a whole world out there. A whole world out there that I hadn't been exposed to. So that's my advice. Just be humble. Always have the desire to learn. and then also make connections with other people, make friends. That's what mariachi is. Mariachi is, if you think about it like, if you break down mariachi, what is mariachi? Oh, well, okay, you use a mariachi to celebrate or you use it to celebrate birthdays, weddings, or you also use them for sad moments, like funerals. But at the end of the day, what is it? They're social gatherings and you're connecting. You're connecting as human beings, as people. That's what mariachi is. So if you're in mariachi, use that to make friends too. Have fun. Just have fun. That's the way I see it. Because once it starts becoming too stressful, then it's no longer a blessing. It's more like a curse. So make sure you're enjoying your time as a mariachi musician, as a mariachi teacher, as a mariachi vendor. Whatever you do in regards to music, I guess make sure you enjoy it. And if you don't enjoy it, explore other paths. There's always another way. There's always another path. As hard as it gets, there's been points in my career or time that I'm learning that I want to quit or I don't want to play violin anymore or I can't do this or I'm not good enough. Push through, push through, push through. And then always ask questions. You'd be surprised what you can do if you ask questions. Ask questions to the right people, people you can trust. Because usually for the most part, people are going to want to help you. So I guess that's my advice for people listening.

Miguel Gutierrez: 50:16

Well, thanks, Alex. We both appreciate you coming on our podcast and sharing your story with us. Thank you.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 50:22

Thank you guys so much. I really appreciate both of you. Thank you, Alex. Appreciate

Miguel Gutierrez: 50:25

it. And thank you everyone for listening. We'll tune in next week or next time.