“Summer camp” is a phrase that often contains undertones of nostalgia and possibly evokes memories of participating in outdoor activities under the blazing sun.
Traditionally, summer camp has been a place that not only serves to supervise children over the break, but keeps them entertained while their parents are at work. However, local non-profit organization, “SA Girls Rock Camp” had a different vision that far surpassed just “staying busy.”
In the summer of 2016 co-founders Tiffany Farias and Echo Diaz, longtime friends and bandmates found themselves tossing around the idea of bringing a girls rock camp to San Antonio.
Camp director, Diaz had long been participating with girls rock camps around the nation prior to this conversation.
“I thought about how I was a kid, and how I always wanted to be involved with something musically in a band setting and not in a typical high school band, orchestra type setting. That’s all I ever wanted when I was young and in school to get more of an education in like…rock,” Diaz said in an interview with La Prensa.
What started as a conversation turned into GoFundMe campaign to complete the funding for the 501(c)(3) form which provides a charitable organization with tax-exempt status by the IRS and legitimizes it as a non-profit organization.
The “SA Girls Rock Camp” site serves as creative hub that allows for its participants to “learn how to play an instrument, form a band, write an original song, and play a show,” according to their official website.
This creative hub seems long overdue in a city bubbling with talented women.
Combining creativity with teamwork, “SA Girls Rock Camp” aims to equip young ladies as well as transgender, gender-fluid and non-binary youth with the tools to cultivate not only confidence, but their enthusiasm for music as well.
The camp also equips campers with access to guitars, keyboards and drums. Some of which were donated by local music store Robot Monster Guitars, located on the St. Mary’s strip downtown.
A key part of the program is the positive role models and mentors that volunteer their time to instill not only musical knowledge but also values of personal growth and positive social change.
Among the camp curriculum are topics such as history of women in rock, gender and diversity, musical instrumentation, body positivity, healthy relationships and communication and DIY band shirt and printmaking. In this way it teaches campers about all the non-musical aspects of conducting a musical project.
Through these endeavors, attendees are encouraged to explore creative outlets, enrich themselves through leadership and group work and learn more about becoming a positive influence both locally and globally.
Future goals for the summer camp include workshops in using pedals to modulate signals and harmonizing musically to introduce music on a more layered plane. Volunteers for next summer’s camp are urged to apply through the website (sarockcamp.com) to provide support as coaches, band manager or other musically related positions.
