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CURRENT
ISSUE: May 21, 2007
VOL.
45, NO. 10Oakland,
CA
Hiz-Kidz debuts in San Pablo
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Arturo Cruz, a member of Hiz-Kidz, performs during
a Cinco de Mayo festival at St. Paul Parish in San Pablo.
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Hiz-Kidz members rehearse before their debut
performance, May 5.
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| During a recent rehearsal, Father Masseo Gonzales
leads a rap song he wrote for Hiz-Kidz. JOSE LUIS AGUIRRE PHOTO |
For many people,
music rap has negative connotations because of its lyrics, but for the
youth group at St. Paul Parish in San Pablo rap has become a new form
of evangelization.
Thanks to the initiative of Conventual Franciscan Father Masseo Gonzales,
the teens have discovered rap from the Catholic perspective.
Two months ago the priest, known as “El Padrecito” from the
collection of “Homies” his brother developed and marketed
in books, comic strips and plastic figures, decided to create Hiz-Kidz,
a group of 20 young people between 14 and 19 years old. The title comes
from urban slang. “It is a game of words,” said Father Gonzales.
“’Hiz’ means both God and Hispanics.”
According to El Padrecito, who has a website offering advice to young
Hispanics, (www.elpadrecito.com)
the internet is wonderful, “but the power of music, dance, the arts
and performance is much bigger and there is a lot of potential out there.”
“I really believe that we must do something very creative to keep
our kids in Church.”
Hiz-Kidz debuted during the recent Cinco de Mayo celebration at the parish
with three songs in its repertoire. One, written by Father Gonzales, makes
reference to an encounter between Judas and the Virgin Mary. Hiz-Kidz
members wrote the other two.
Arturo Cruz, a professional Richmond rapper, also is working with the
adolescents.
Sixteen-year-old Talia Padilla, one of His-Kidz’s singers, said
she likes this group “very much. El Padrecito is one of the coolest
priests. It is not common to see the priests rapping.”
Yesenia Alonso, 14, said participation is a unique experience where she
can “be with my friends and with the people I like. Here you are
close to people who support you and believe in you. It is not necessary
to be in the street looking for problems.”
After being involved in gangs for three years and seeing his younger brother
stabbed, Jorge Sanchez, 19, decided to quit the world of delinquency and
to look to God for help. Today he is one of the Hiz-Kidz singers and the
proud father of a five-month-old baby boy.
“I began to change for my son; he motivated me to leave all the
danger of the streets. I came to church and a young person told me about
this program. I like it because music is very important to me. Besides
the entertainment element, it allows me to be with God,” Sanchez
said..
Two days before the Cinco de Mayo presentation, Hiz-Kidz rehearsed in
front of their parents for the first time.
Verónica Sandoval, parish youth minister and mother of one of the
rappers, said she was impressed. “They are discovering themselves,
they have demonstrated that they have the capacity to sing and compose.”
“This is wonderful because they bring ideas to express their love
to Christ,” said another mom, Patricia Sandoval, whose 13-year-old
son is part of the group.
“They are touched with the music they like. It motivates them to
compose for God in their own way.”
Father Gonzales understands the young people very well because during
his adolescence he, too, had to overcome many difficulties. “I dropped
out of high school, I was in juvenile hall and in jail. When I was 18
years old, I lost my leg in a gang fight.”
At age 24, he began to study in a community college near Los Angeles,
where he later received his diploma in Chicano studies. He traveled to
Spain, Honduras and El Salvador to study Spanish so he could work with
the Latino community. In spite of his Hispanic roots, he had forgotten
the language of his youth.
Father Gonzales was ordained in San Pablo in 1996. Since then he has traveled
throughout California conducting youth retreats and has gotten his website
up and running.
He currently serves as associate pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral
in Reno, Nevada, where he was called two months ago due to the shortage
of priests there. Every two weeks he returns to San Pablo to work with
Hiz-Kidz.
“My dream is doing this full time and to consecrate every youth
in California to the Virgin Mary,” said the priest. “I want
to put together more songs and theatrical pieces to help get these kids
out of trouble. I would like to go to Oakland, San Francisco, and other
cities to get other kids involved.”
“Why couldn’t we have rap contests in the Diocese of Oakland?”
he asked. “Of course, they would need to have Catholic lyrics, offer
rewards and provide kids with the chance to see who is better. Gangs work
in that way: ’Who is better?’”
