CORPUS CHRISTI — If someone walked towards Moody High School’s black box theater when classes end on Tuesdays, chances are they’d hear music from way before their time - songs from the Mamas and the Papas, the Supremes or other 50s, 60s or 70s bands.
But the voices heard will not be from the Ronettes, but rather the Trojanettes.
And they certainly fit the look of popular girl groups from back then.
The teen trio is made up of seniors Bo Perez and Brenda Garza plus sophomore, Yazzy Salgado.
The teens sporting white booties, pastel go-go dresses, and wigs styled in dramatic bobs reminiscent of a time when hairspray was at its thickest.
“We’re entertainers,” Salgado said. “We sing and dance oldies.”
Perez, Salgado and Brenda, who look like they stepped right out of a 1960’s sitcom, are led by Moody’s Theater Director, Frank Garcia Jr.
Garcia said in 2022 he was asked if he could get some students together to put on a performance for an admin dinner.
“It was a three-song medley and we went all out,” Garcia said. “We got the dresses. We got the heels. We got the wig.”
Garcia said the performance and the girls were a hit.
“After that, everyone just enjoyed what we were doing so they wanted to see more,” Perez said.
Garcia said the newly named Trojanettes snowballed from there.
“We started off by just doing, you know, going out to our local nursing homes, retirement homes, senior living centers,” Garcia said.
Eventually, they danced and sang their way to events like Artwalk and places like La Palmera Mall.
“I think what makes us different from other groups is that we’re specific to one genre of music and it’s a genre of music that usually gets lost,” Garcia said.
“I’d seen them perform one time and I thought, ‘Wow I wanna do that because they are literally amazing and I want to be a part of that,” Garza said.
Unlike their sister in song, Bo Perez, a founding member, Salgado and Garza auditioned in 2023.
“I wanna know how to be one of them,” Salgado said. “They’re so cool. I love them.”
“I had never sung in front of people before so I had to sing in front of him,” Salgado said. “I was really scared.”
Scared she might have been, Salgado said her confidence has grown behind the mic.
The Trojanettes have gigs on and off campus several times a year but they rehearse every Tuesday and on weekends when they get closer to their performances.
“My favorite thing is to be able to give the older generation an outlet to reminisce and remember the things they used to do,” Perez said.
“You can tell they’re happy because they usually smile and they usually rock or clap their hands,” Salgado said.
Cell phone video on the Trojanettes Facebook page shows just how much the senior living communities appreciate them.
“A lot of people forget that we’re here and a lot of people forget that we still want that kind of entertainment,” Garcia said about some of the feedback they’ve received from people there.
In winter, the group welcomed their first male singer.
“I was actually singing, practicing my song here and then Garcia offered me if I wanted to be a Trojanette, A Trogent,” Zildijan Ambriz said. “I was like, ‘I’ll give it a try.”
Ambriz had just gotten done playing Chief Tui in the school musical Moana Junior when he was recruited.
He joined the girls during some holiday performances.
“The Trogent is like the Ken to the Barbie,” Garcia said. We’re still the Trojanettes.”
Since Perez and Garza are graduating in May 2024, auditions to join for the following school year are that same month.
Garcia is also looking for another Trogent.
“Three years later we are getting opportunities I never thought we would,” Garcia said.
The Trojanettes will sell T-shirts and other merchandise to fundraise for their costumes and other expenses.
They are also looking for sponsors.
To help or see what they are up to, including upcoming performances, go to their Facebook page.
