Ruben Cantu:  

l by ferry to get to the mainland each day. More to remember soon. MADE FOR CLASSMATES STORY Friends and acquaintances will probably remember me as very shy. During my school years, I would like to consider myself a work in progress. But, when I was on stage playing my saxophone, I was not shy anymore. I got to communicate in a different way, making music. I always wanted to be a musician when I grew up. My family and friends thought that was not a money making idea. As it turns out, they were glad I was able to prove to them that it was the right decision. I am a retired public school teacher, but now I am pursuing a career as a performing musician. In my spare time, if my wife gives me the chance, I like to watch movies. Also, if I am not renting my Las Vegas condo, I like to stay there for a getaway. The Bellagio Hotel and Casino is always another great place to relax. During my Las Vegas years (1981-1989), I used to play for Las Vegas hotel big bands. At one gig at Caesar's Palace, I played for a Mafia birthday party. It was the actual characters from the movie CASINO. Not the actors, but the real thing. It was a good gig and it paid well. They treated the band real good. If I'm going to work somewhere, it has to be involved in music I was fortunate enough to make my career in music throughout my life, ever since high school. One of the most influential musicians in my life was a fellow student from El Rancho named Ralph Bibiano (Class of 1969). He played saxophone for the Royal Tones. I always wanted to play saxophone like him. He was my hero. I hope he's reading this. Immediately after high school, I moved out on my own, taking over my grandparent's house in Whittier. In 1981, abundant job opportunities enticed me to Las Vegas, NV. There, I was a teacher and musician from 1981 to 1989. Then in 1989, I married an El Rancho alumnus who did not want to move to Las Vegas. I gave up a good thing to get married. Fortunately, it was the right time in my life and I do not regret it. The one person from my past who I'd most like to see again is not just one person, but many. I would like to hear from my former students, because they were a large part of my life while I had them as students. In early 2014, I was able to organize a Facebook reunion with my Las Vegas students of the 1980s. It was a "bucket list" event I will always cherish. I was able to connect with former students from 25-30 years ago and they were able to connect with each other. We even had an actual reunion with several of the students in Las Vegas. A teacher's connection with students is lifelong. My obsession now is performing as a one-man-band (saxmajor.com). I have been performing professionally since I was in El Rancho. Now that I am retired, I have the time to pursue my music. Lately, I have been performing at wedding cocktails as a saxophone soloist. I also sing and play the saxophone at various senior communities around Southern California. My "gigs" take me from from Las Vegas to San Francisco. I still play for the Pico Rivera Stage Band and recently joined an oldies band called the Prime Time Oldies Band. One of the biggest surprises of my life concerns my sometimes-absent father, a high school dropout. He bought a property for $40k and sold it for $1.8 million. He encouraged me to start buying properties. Besides my home, I have a Las Vegas condo; a Victoria, TX commercial lot; and an old Palestine, TX mansion. I married my best friend's sister, Priscilla Yriarte, with five children. I never had my own. It was another decision that I do not regret. Being a teacher, I have had contact with thousands of students throughout my career. They were my extended family. Teenagers confess to the teacher more about themselves than you think. I often wonder if we teachers know more about the thoughts of our students than parents do. Stan Seckler was my first private music teacher. He was the one who gave me my epiphany. He taught me how to read music. Reading music unlocked a whole new world that inspired me to pursue a career in music. He recently passed away and I never had a chance to thank him for that special moment in my life. I attended California State University, Long Beach where I majored in Music. I was also a member of the university marching band, the Big Brown Music Machine, and various university concert and jazz bands. Because of the university band, I was able to tour throughout the western United States, Europe, and several halftime shows at various pro football games in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. To be truly happy, either I would be in Kauai, HI with my wife sipping a brew at the Tahiti Nui Bar or I would be walking the streets of Paris with nothing more than a backpack and some summer savings. I retired after working 37 years as a public school teacher, most of those years as a band teacher. It has to be the hardest job in the school. One thing about being a band teacher, you were always ON. All eyes were focused on you for the whole hour, six times a day. Your success as a teacher depended on keeping the attention of your students day after day. If not, you were not going to be a teacher for very much longer. I share my home with my wife and one last adult child, which I find least expensive as when I was supporting five grown children and each having their own car. In 1992, I was awarded the Whittier City School District TEACHER OF THE YEAR. I appreciated the recognition, but I felt so many more teachers deserved the award more than me. In 10 years, I hope to still be a performing musician. In the 1971 El Rancho yearbook, I was voted MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED IN MUSIC. I would like to think that I have fulfilled that prediction.. My first job was at Pioneer High School, where I got paid $900 per month (more than my mother and father combined) to teach band. What I remember most about that time is learning about myself. At the age of 23, I had to leave my youth behind and enter the professional world of teaching and the responsibilities that came with it.