A Close-Up Look At People Who Matter : Sisters Reach Zenith Singing for the Pope

The church and music were integral parts of growing up for Kathy Medrano and her sister Liz Aguilera; their father Raymond saw to that, teaching each of his eight children how to play an instrument and sing.

After years of performing at churches, concerts and community events in bands made up of family members, Medrano and Aguilera reached a musical and spiritual pinnacle last weekend when they sang before Pope John Paul II as part of El Coro de La Ciudad de Los Angeles.

A 50-person chorale made up of singers, ages 18 to 35, from parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the choir was one of 10 chosen to sing before the Pope. Thousands had sent audition tapes to a committee in Washington, D. C., for consideration.

The engagement was no ordinary gig. In fact, Aguilera says, it was not a gig at all.

“We weren’t paid for it, it was a pilgrimage,” Aguilera said. “It’s part of our ministry. People who say ‘gig’ want money and they’re not putting their hearts into it. You’d be surprised how many people say things like, ‘I have a gig at this church.’ I tell them, ‘It’s not a gig. You’re singing for God.’ ”

Aguilera, 30, ought to know. A music teacher at San Fernando’s parochial Santa Rosa Elementary School and music director at St. Ferdinand’s Roman Catholic Church in San Fernando, she sings at as many as four masses a weekend.

In Denver--after a 22-hour bus ride from Los Angeles--Medrano, Aguilera and their fellow singers performed at six sessions over a weeklong period. During the Papal Mass on Sunday they joined 700 others in singing traditional Spanish liturgical songs before the Pontiff.

The group waited until after the Pope left before singing the somewhat less reverent “Hail Holy Queen” from the movie “Sister Act.”

“Overwhelming,” said Kathy Medrano, 26, of the experience. “Just being in the presence of all those Christian believers made it very special. It was a wonderful feeling.”

Being involved with music was a given for the San Fernando-raised Medrano family, which also includes brothers John, Jim, Julian and Richard and sisters Anna and Theresa. All still live in the northeast Valley.

“There was an unwritten rule that you were in the family band by the time you were 11,” Medrano said.

Brother Julian, who serves as chairman of the San Fernando Planning Commission, was playing guitar in the family band, which first went by the name “The Relations” and later “The Medranos,” at age 10. His father taught him how to play the guitar and keyboards.

As the youngest sibling, Kathy said she was inspired by her older brothers and sisters, although she wishes that her dad had taught her to play something other than the accordion, which she called “a child’s worst nightmare,” because its weight makes it hard for a kid to handle.

“It was a really motivational upbringing,” said Kathy, who works for a San Fernando Valley-based crisis intervention hot line.

“We grew up in the barrio,” said Julian. “So my father knew he had to do something to give us alternatives to gangs and drugs. He figured a good, solid upbringing with strong religious overtones would do the job.”

The Medranos’ mother, Lupe, was anything but a passive observer: “She kept us practicing when we wanted to watch to TV,” she recalled. According to Julian, the Medranos still break out their instruments for impromptu jam sessions at family gatherings.

“We have so many interests now that have led us into different fields,” he said. “But every time we get together to play, there’s always talk of a reunion or getting the band back together. We always find that common bond.”

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