Texas Border Business
By Joey Gomez
Growing up with Spastic Cerebral Palsy, aspiring musician and artist Harym Guerrero said she has always had to fight harder than most to make her dreams come true.
Now on the verge of receiving her associate degree in music, Guerrero explains how South Texas College has given her the extra push to overcome her challenges, even when those around her told her it couldn’t be done.
On the day of her interview, it was cold and rainy as she entered STC’s Cooper Center, but Guerrero said it was days like this that were the best time to create music.
“I have completed several STC ensemble courses, and we always love the ‘rainy-day stuff’, as we call it,” Guerrero said.
The 26-year-old was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at infancy and now uses a wheelchair to get around. She would go on to be diagnosed with Scoliosis and Epilepsy as a teenager.
Despite the challenges, however, Guerrero says she has never allowed her disabilities to affect her career aspirations and goals.
Now as an accomplished guitarist, music producer and author of at least three books Guerrero says tenacity, a love for life, friends and faculty at STC have enabled her to overcome any challenge that has come her way.
“I have had a very good experience here at STC. I changed my life here, and now I’m preparing to be done in December,” said Guerrero. “Everyone here has been beyond accommodating. A lot of people in my situation are always told that they’ll never be able to do this. But I was one of those who doesn’t listen to that.
Guerrero said she loves the guitar, and when she first decided to begin her journey as a guitarist no one wanted to teach her, but she eventually found an instructor in Florida who made it happen. All of her lessons were completed by Skype video conferencing.
Learning to play the instrument wasn’t easy, according to Guerrero. Her biggest challenge, she said, was finding a way to hold the guitar due to her limited hand control, but she soon discovered unique tunings that allowed her to form a chord easily.
She began to play the instrument like a piano across her lap with one finger across the neck.
Her family then custom-crafted a guitar stand that properly holds the neck of the guitar along with a blanket for the guitar body to prevent it from sliding around on her lap while she plays.
STC faculty have enabled her to grow as a musician, she said.
“Harym Guerrero is truly an inspiration and a reminder that anything is possible, overcoming adversity and doubts of many,” said Jaime Garcia, STC guitar instructor who has served as Harym’s mentor. “Her devotion, desire and discipline for music and the guitar are unmatched and key ingredients to accomplishing any goal. It has been a pleasure teaching and learning from Harym.”
Music Department Chair Daniel Cather, who instructed Guerrero in his piano and theory courses called her work and commitment inspiring.
“Harym Guerrero demonstrates something intangible that far transcends simple tenacity to pursue her dream of learning music,” Cather said. “She goes about the work with a joyful spirit and in doing so knocks down barriers to the limitations for what she can accomplish. In her piano and theory courses, she has worked tirelessly to understand the material, and it has been an inspiring experience to partner with Harym in this journey.”
Today, Guerrero is sponsored by Austin-based Journey Instruments, a company specializing in travel guitars engineered for unique artists and musicians on the road. The company crafted Guerreo’s carbon-fiber guitar to her exact specifications.
“Accessibility is a big deal. If I can find accessibility with anything I do, then I’m going to do it. It’s the same with my writing,” she said.
Along with her music passion, Guerrero has published three books so far, including her memoires, a children’s book on proper service dog handling and her experience as a guitarist with cerebral palsy.
“There are people who are disabled but who are still doing incredible things out there, and STC helped me on my own journey to cross that mountain,” she said.
For more information on STC’s music program, visit www.southtexascollege.edu/academics/music/.
You can find Harym online on her various social media sites including www.facebook.com/harymmusic/ or view her performances at www.youtube.com/channel/UCrZI0ls5pyQGhsJDnYAD44g.
