ART

by Jennifer Vasquez

18

In this sleepy community whose bread and butter revolves around the medi-

cal business and agriculture comes a visionary with revolu-tionary aspirations. A typically conservative town, Harlingen is home to li� le enthusiasm for the performing arts, save for the annual Christmas concert and occasional play. But, a new production company’s been born, and its trailblazing god of voice intends to wake up Harlin-gen and the RGV with a delightful roar.

Xavier Jaramillo is a classically trained tenor who has been singing professionally for more than � � een years. Born and reared in Harlingen, he’s taken his gi� of voice to sing here and abroad. He’s properly pedigreed with a Masters of Music in Vocal Perfor-mance from the University of Texas at San Antonio. A� er a brief stint arranging a dance album in Spain, Jaramillo opened a small studio at his home in

Harlingen teaching piano and voice to high school students. Spots in his voice studio are coveted, as his reputation for cultivating exceptional singers has drawn respect from fellow teachers and parents in the community. Handsome, worldly, and driven, Jaramillo itched to bring the joy of the arts of cos-mopolitan cities to South Texas.

Provacouture (sounds like “provocateur”) Pro-ductions was founded in Dallas in 2005 with the purpose of giving young artists a voice and avenue to share their gi� s. For his � rst production, he com-posed a rock semi-opera and integrated an avant garde fashion show highlighting local designers. It was a creative success and introduced innovative storytelling of music and fashion. Since then, Jara-millo has been living in the Rio Grande Valley on and o� for the last � ve years and observed that there is a serious lack of exquisite live theater performanc-es. “I have been a performing artist, professionally, with the South Texas Lyric Opera company out of McAllen. � ey bring a wonderful service to the RGV, but they are only one company and many

by Jennifer Vasquezby Jennifer Vasquez

n this sleepy community whose bread and butter revolves around the medi-

cal business and agriculture comes a visionary with revolu-tionary aspirations.

Harlingen teaching piano and voice to high school students. Spots in his voice studio are coveted, as his reputation for cultivating exceptional singers has drawn respect from fellow teachers and parents in the community. Handsome, worldly, and driven, Jaramillo itched to bring the joy of the arts of cos-mopolitan cities to South Texas.

Music Man