This story is part of the Nashville Banner’s ZIP Code Project. The yearlong community engagement effort assigns Banner staffers to various ZIP codes across the city, where they spend significant time listening to residents and elevating stories directly from the community.
“Stop!” Maikel Rodriguez shouted, waving his arms. “Stop! Stop!”
A group of 20 kids — trumpets, guitars and violins in hand — stopped dead in the middle of “La Bamba.” They looked back at Rodriguez, their director, with varying degrees of nonchalance.
“Start again, strong,” he said, “I don’t want to hear shyness.”