[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 83 (Monday, May 21, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





HONORING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF FREMONT/LOPEZ ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'S MARIACHI 
                              LOS TORITOS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JERRY McNERNEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 21, 2018

  Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
recognizing a group of talented young musicians from my district who 
recently traveled to Washington, D.C. as part of a select group of 
students, and performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing 
Arts.
   Fremont/Lopez Elementary School in Stockton is one of twenty-seven 
schools in the State of California to partner with the Kennedy Center's 
Turnaround Arts program, which aims to boost arts education, increasing 
opportunities for student success. Thanks to the Turnaround Arts 
program, in 2014, Fremont/Lopez Elementary School offered visual arts, 
music, dance, and drama classes to its students, and even started a 
mariachi band.
   The Mariachi Los Toritos band was one of four California partners 
invited to perform at the Turnaround Arts Talent Show at the Kennedy 
Center in Washington, D.C. However, this isn't the band's first 
performance in our Nation's Capital. In 2016, Mariachi Los Toritos was 
invited to the White House for a special workshop hosted by former 
First Lady Michelle Obama before going on to perform at the talent 
show.
   Through the Turnaround Arts program, Mariachi Los Toritos has also 
had the opportunity to receive mentorship from successful musical 
artists, including Smokey Robinson and Russell Simmons.
   I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing and congratulating 
Fremont/Lopez Elementary School Mariachi Los Toritos for highlighting 
the importance of arts education and showcasing their impressive 
musical talents in our Nation's Capital.

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