As part of my goal in life with this blogg, I would like to share several stories that for some might not mean anything, but for someone out there I am sure it could be the boost he or she might be looking for to start pursuing their dreams into a better life full of joy and fulfillment. I would like to start with these two articles I wrote about Monti Montañez. A man that has showed me that no matter how big your dreams are they are reachable... Of course you have to make it happen! You will see that there is a big similarity on both articles, but ignore that and lets focus on the fact that they both have very different goals when it comes to the message behind them.
Dreams that Move Mountains
Laredo has to much more to offer than just a great morning sky or a friendly border environment. Among its citizens, Laredo has a shining talent ready to be shared with the world; his name José Montañez, better known as Monti Montañez.
From Caguas Puerto Rico, Montañez had humble beginnings under the wing of his mother who worked very hard to give him and his siblings a better life. When Montañez was about ten years old, him and his family moved to Germany due to his father's military career. There he learned English and had his first exposure to a different culture and lifestyle. Three years later, the Montañez family moved to Georgia where they stayed for about five years. "During my last year of high school we moved here to beautiful, sunny Laredo" he said. All these different cities have shown Montañez the value of friendship and people, it also taught him to better adapt to different cultures and environments. "I am very thankful I had the opportunity to travel so much at a very young age, and to meet different people from different places around the world" he added.
During his years traveling, Montañez realizes his love for music. At the early age of four, he would imitate different singers. "I have videos of me singing random stuff and imitating Chayanne and Ricky Martin" he said, "I am kind of embarrassed, but it is the reality and I like to embrace it. I feel like people tries to hide from reality, and there is something so beautiful about what real is, it is what makes you who you are" he added.
When we asked Montañez who he is, he replied very humbly "I am human, I have make so many mistakes and learned so many lessons". He also shared with us how important is to him to fight for what we love, "to really go for it" as he puts it. This brings us to what Montañez has done to fight for his dreams. When living in Georgia, Montañez got noticed by a schoolmate while singing; he asked Montañez why didn't he tried out for chorus "I'll give it a shot" he said. Soon after being admitted, Montañez realized that far from being a weird kid, he was part of a selected group of very talented people "it was a place where I felt normal, having that different 'out there' mind... It was amazing. From there I couldn't stop studying music" he commented. Taking advantage of the fact that his mother, as a high school teacher, had to stay late shifts at the school, Montañez would visit with his music teacher for extra training for his voice.
During his first year in chorus, he auditioned for All State Choir where he was selected on his first try. However, during his Junior year in HS Montañez had to change schools closer to home "My father went to Iraq so I needed to be close to home so I could take care of my younger brothers after school" he said. During that year he faced a new music teacher “She said that I wasn't going to make it to All State, that I was not good enough… So I had to prove her wrong” he commented. Once more likeMontañez was selected for it. Finally, during his senior year, Montañez and his family moved to Laredo where he already knew that he had to join the choir “it was my world” he said. “I was the first male to make it to all State in United High School in 2007” he concluded.
During spring break of that year, Montañez heard on TV about a contest where five lucky guys would form part of the new Menudo boy band. “I saw auditions were taking place in Dallas” he said. However, Montañez had an offering for a scholarship at the University of Texas in San Antonio (UTSA) and auditioning for the contest meant he would lose that scholarship. “I just had this feeling I had to try it, if I didn´t, I would have never been happy with myself” he expressed, “I was lucky enough that my principal at United, Mr. Aleman, extent me from most of my midterm exams and allowed me to be gone for weeks at a time because he knew how much I wanted this” he concluded. Montañez was then one of the lucky members of the new Menudo, adventure that later took him to Los Angeles, Ca. He gives credit to his mother, his grandmother, his music teachers and the people that gave him a hand along the way for having achieved his dream.
Two years after the dream started, Menudo disassembled and this made Montañez face extreme changes in his life. Being aware that during his time with the group he had been away from his family and friends for long periods of time, he had now to make difficult decisions. “You don’t know it is going to end, you don't know what is happening” he said. He returned to Laredo, to his roots. However, his friends where in school and everyone had continued their lives; is then when he decided that he wouldn't give up on his dream. “I decided to buy a car and drive back to L.A.” he tells us. Back in L.A., Montañez decides that he would find someone to believe in him, someone that would invest his time and money on him. “I went into a trial and error process, with different managers, producers” he said “I went into a tougher time then than in Menudo” he added. Montañez met a lot of people that believed in him but wouldn’t give their all and vice versa. Music business lawyer Emy Crispen, owner of Space Camp Productions, offered him a contract with this company which he is recently working for. Montañez flies out to L.A. several times per month and is working on his music with the production company. However, he writes and records his music at his own house and then sends it to them weekly. “There is nothing of mine out there yet, it takes time, but it is one of my goals as a song writer” he commented. Montañez is a man with many dreams and goals but ultimately his biggest illusion is to hear people singing his music, “I want to be riding down the road and hear people playing my music in their cars. That would be true happiness in my soul” he shared.
Ultimately, Montañez gives us his advice for all the people out there that, like him, have a big dream and are aching to see it come to life: “If they know that they have the passion and the drive, if you feel it in your goat, in your soul or your spirit, then go for it. You only live once and it is easy to just settle for less, but if you really want something, and you know if you want it that bad, then do it the right way; look at the bigger picture and create little chapters to get there, do it slow but do it well” with this words he invites anyone out there to never give up and to more than anything, to believe in themselves, in the end the best allies we have is ourselves and that can also be our worst enemy.
A Ladder to Success
Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) is one of the jewels of Laredo; and the host of many rising stars that promise growth and improvement for the city. Among these young talents is José Montañez, better known as Monti. He is business administration student that hopes to one day be a big entrepreneur of Laredo.
Montañez is better known for his success in the music industry. He was selected at the age of 18 to form part of a modern version of the group Menudo, a boy band originally formed in the late 70´s. During his time with the band, Montañez learned about the rhythm of the industry and developed an interest for the business side of it. He decided to prepare himself in business administration with a concentration in marketing at TAMIU. Montañez not only dedicates full time to his studies but also to a full time job that keeps him with his feet on the ground. He has found these experiences very helpful since they have made him a more organized person and more responsible when it comes to decision making “Going to college and learning business from another perspective, helped me understand better many angles of the music industry and also the relationships we create” he said.
Along the way, Montañez has created a big network of business people and musicians that supported his career, but most importantly, he has developed a big group of fans that follow his career and hope the best for him. These fans have shown Montañez a new perspective of the reach his career has, “I receive emails everyday of people telling me the problems they go through and ask for my advice” he commented. Without having any experience as a counselor or believing he could give life advice to anyone, Montañez realized that being a public figure and having a group of followers is more powerful that he could ever imagine. It is here where he puts in perspective how could he use this business career and his talent in music, and put them together to help others “We all don´t realize how big of an impact music causes, the listener connects with the artist and sometimes they think of the artist as their messenger!” He said. In fact, Montañez was asked by several schools to go and talk to teenagers and children about the value of their dreams and how they affect their life during career days and pep rallies. Some of the schools that Montañez has visited are: United High School, United South High School and Alexander High School. During the events, Montañez would perform a couple of songs and then talk to the students, he would also invite them to share their talents and to have a good time, “The response was better than I expected. You don´t expect for this kind of career to be this powerful, you don´t realize how serious it is and what can you achieve by just talking to people and tell them they are beautiful” he concluded.
Montañez talked about a project that he became part of when he first started his career as a solo artist, “I wrote the theme song My Dreams for the campaign called Dig It, which had as goal to raise money for kids with cancer and leukemia” he shared. These campaign along with other projects of that nature inspired Montanez’s new dream. Montañez believes that one of the most beautiful things about music is that you become a voice for those that don´t have the outlet or the reach to share their dreams, needs and concerns. He hopes one day to start an organization to help a cause, “There is no boundaries for any cause that I decide, having a business career and being in the music industry, the possibilities are infinite to what we could achieve” he commented. We asked Montañez whether he would seek that dream in Laredo or if he would try to go somewhere else, to what he responded “Even though I am originally from Puerto Rico, Laredo is my home, and I feel I have the responsibility to give this city back a little of what it has offered to me”.
Montañez however, also dreams of at some point in time open up a record company, a company that could offer the people in Laredo an opportunity to pursue their dreams and forget about the distance boundaries or the need of leaving home to be someone, “People sees artists as gods, like it is a level that no one can reach, but it is possible to get there. I want to help people to see that” he commented.
In the meantime, Montañez keeps working hard on his studies and his music, “I am working on my album and also writing songs for other artists” he said. Some of his cover material can be found in his YouTube page www.youtube.com/MontiMontañez “I want to release a free album because I have a lot of material, but patience is key and you have to be ready before you make any decision and I think is not time yet” he commented. In addition to his YouTube channel, Montañez has a fan page on Facebook www.facebook.com/montimontañez where anyone can see what is going on in the life of the artist and what is coming up on his career. Also, the artist can be seen live at AJ´s bar and F bar where he performs with the band The Option.
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