Music or parents? Salem teen sacrificed for his passion

When he was 13, Juan Valdez had to decide whether to stay in Salem, which was his home, or move with his immigrant parents to Mexico.

His father, also named Juan Valdez, had suffered a horrendous injury at work and was on disability. His mother, Alma Valdez, was unable to get a working visa. In order to sustain a living, they had to leave, but young Valdez saw his future and his passion for music in Salem.

"It was probably the toughest decision I've ever made," Valdez said. "Mom had cancer when she was pregnant with me, and I'm her only kid. She always wants what's best for me, no matter what, even if it's a sacrifice she has to make. And so she told me, 'If I brought you to Mexico and you were like 18 or 19 and wanted to go back to America, you would have no way. And you're going to say to yourself, I hate my parents. I hate you.' She didn't want that, especially for her only child."

Valdez's passion was the tuba, an instrument that he said costs $10,000 to $50,000. The Salem-Keizer School District has Oregon's top music program. Here, he could continue to study using a school instrument.

He chose to stay.

"Music is my life," Valdez said. "Music has been a part of me since I was in fifth grade, and if I went back to Mexico, I wouldn't be playing music today."

Today, Valdez is a 2015 graduate of West Salem High School. He won the state championship in tuba by a margin of 60 points, scoring 924 out of 990 points. The University of Oregon awarded him a $12,000 music scholarship, which he said is the largest sum awarded to an Oregon tuba player. He also received a $2,500 grant from the Oregon Music Hall of Fame and a $500 Jared Burchette Scholarship.

To excel in West Salem's award-winning music program is not easy. Valdez rehearses two to six hours per day depending upon the school's rehearsal schedule that varies in marching band, jazz band and state championship seasons. In West's ensembles, he plays tuba, sousaphone and bass trombone. Todd Zimbelman directs West Salem's band program and has been one of Valdez's surrogate parents.

"This kid is the real deal," Zimbelman said. "He's been talented for a long time. He's very confident about that, yet he's pretty humble ... He knows how real life can smack you across the face at any time ... I couldn't imagine being in high school and not being able to live with your parents."

Valdez was born in Anaheim Hills, California, and has lived in Salem since he was a child. His parents immigrated from Mexico. US law keeps them from returning. Valdez visited them during summers, but they missed his graduation. They try to FaceTime every day, but with his schedule and their unreliable Internet service, it's not always possible. It helps to see his mom smile, but he misses being able to hug her.

"They have their days when they miss me, but they have to see the bigger picture," Valdez said. "Their only son is graduating high school and is about to go to college and do great things in life."

Valdez's ultimate goal is to help people, either through music or as a police officer. He's grateful for the generosity and help of others who made his stay possible, particularly that of his classmate Daniel Hendrick and his mother, Lisa Hendrick. Valdez has lived with them since his parents moved. He calls Daniel Hendrick his "big brother."

Hendrick plays trumpet and also has earned large scholarships. He will attend Central Washington University to study trumpet and music education. He hopes to return to Salem and teach aside Zimbelman and Jaimie Hall, who have been mentors to Valdez and him.

Valdez and Hendrick met at the start of seventh grade at Stephens Middle School. Hendrick had transferred from a mostly white school. He remembers Valdez flirting with a girl in the doorway to their health classroom.

"He wasn't getting anywhere, and I literally thought he was some sort of gangster, a 'Boyz n the Hood' looking fellow," Hendrick said. "I thought he was going to shoot me if I messed with his game."

After years of late-night taco runs, videogame playing and 18-hour days of school, rehearsal and homework, Valdez and Hendrick laugh at the ridiculousness of the memory. Their friendship has taught them a lot.

"It opened my eyes to realize that people of a different skin color are not more dangerous," Hendrick said. "That's totally what I thought when I went to Adam Stephens, but then when I got there, I realized these are people too and that they're actually really nice."

To remain with the Hendricks, Valdez had to bring up his grades that had dropped through the transition. He did.

"It's taught me that you have to work hard in life to get anywhere," Valdez said.

Hendrick put the family's experience into perspective: "A lot of people take pity on him (Valdez), but really, he's done so well that there's no reason to feel sorry for him. You should celebrate all the good things he's done, that I've done and my mom has done. We've all sacrificed together, and the common goal is for each of us to be successful."

Zimbelman is proud of their success and that of West's graduating class that has earned more than $100,000 in music scholarships.

"I think music has saved Juan's life," Zimbelman said. "Sometimes music picks you. You don't pick music. He's that type of kid that has to play because that's his creative outlet."

For the past four years, "Big Bertha" has been at the center of that outlet. She is the tuba, on loan from West Salem, that Valdez has been playing. When he first played her during his freshman year, she dwarfed him, hence the name.

Now, she fits into his arms like a child in a parent's embrace. When he plays her, he closes his eyes and pictures something in his mind.

"It gives me a sense of direction of where to go," Valdez said. "That time, I was just picturing rocking a baby. You just have to be gentle."

TRastrelli@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 983-6030, facebook.com/RastrelliSJ and on Twitter @RastrelliSJ