We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jeremy Vera a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jeremy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

This is such a great question! A lot of times people tend to think of an investment in financial terms only, but we, as humans, are the best investment we can make. Sure, I have a “day” job, and it’s one that does bring me joy, and very importantly it gets the bills paid! But my work with Mile High Freedom Band brings me infinitely more joy and happiness than anything else that I do. I started my music journey as a saxophone player, and later discovered what a French Horn is. In my culture, my family is from the Caribbean, so Salsa music is huge – that is where my love for the Saxophone came from. Even my brother, a Trumpet player, was in a Salsa band for years. But when I first discovered the French Horn it was love at first sight – and as a teenager I saved a lot of money doing yard work for the neighbors – which I lived in the Desert Southwest at the time, so that is a lot of sweat work when it is frequently over 110 degrees and your pulling weeds and watching out for Mojave Green Rattlesnakes. I remember first buying my French Horn, and thinking this is a whole new journey for me. This old horn – from the 1940’s – I saw at a garage sale is what I still use to this day. Of course, I haven’t forgotten my saxophone either, but music is an investment in creativity and my happiness.

So, I would definitely say that investing both time and money to be able to perform music with such awesome people such as Mile High Freedom Band has been an excellent investment, because it is an investment in my happiness, and I would not exchange being a musician for anything else in the world.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I would love to share a little about myself. My name is Jeremy, but don’t let my name fool you. I am Puerto Rican, and English is my second language, but my parents gave me an English name out of fears of facing prejudice in the United States. I grew up mostly in desert southwest cities, small towns around Death Valley and other desert areas close to the Colorado River where it is considered too hot for most people to live in. But, I survived it, oh, and without air conditioning too! We grew up in a pretty unstable living environment but one thing that was the ultimate unifier for my family is music, and I am thankful that my parents instilled that value in me. My Mom performs in various Puerto Rican style music groups (called Tuna), my uncle, Arturo Berrios, has been inducted in the Puerto Rico Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his group “The Thunders”, another uncle is a professional Christmas Caroler (Yes, that is a thing in Puerto Rico), and my brother was part of a Salsa Band in Tempe Arizona for a while.

I started my music journey on Saxophone, then in high school found a love for French Horn. For me, music was more of a pastime or hobby. I most enjoyed marching band, parades, and competitions. My other interests include dancing, in high school I was in the Mexican Folk Dancing Team (Baile Folclorico) and I have won a few dance competitions, and I also always loved architecture and scale modeling.

After graduating high school I had a bit of an interruption in my life but eventually, by my own will and perseverance, went to college, Arizona State University, where I majored in Urban Planning. Following college graduation I went to the Peace Corps, and served in rural Guatemala. That is where my love for music was reinvigorated. As a side project, I ended up co-founding a music group and eventually a music school in Guatemala with a local school teacher. Next year we will celebrate 20 years!

When I returned to the US, I lived in Washington DC and joined DC Different Drummers (DCDD), and later Mile High Freedom Band (MHFB) in Denver when I moved here. Both of these groups are part of the Pride Bands Alliance, which is an alliance of different LGBT plus allies oriented community bands across the country. We welcome musicians of all abilities, and have several different ensembles, including color guard for our marching band. After performing with MHFB for a few years, I had the opportunity to apply when the position of Assistant Director opened up. In my role as Assistant Director, I co-lead the MHFB Marching Band – which is something I love! We perform for various parades throughout the year such as the Denver St Patrick’s Day Parade, Pikes Pike Pride Parade in Colorado Springs, Denver Pride Parade, and the Broadway Halloween Parade – among others.

We would love to welcome our readers to Mile High Freedom Band (www.mhfb.org), whether it is to come and enjoy one of our concerts or parade performances, or to join us as a musician or color guard member!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, I have found that the arts simply just make people happy! We are here to perform, and engage our audience no matter how big, small, young, not so young, or whoever that audience may be. Music is like a language, if we may not speak a common language, we can still communicate emotion through music. I also love it when we play a song that people recognize and they start singing along with us! Simply put: music and arts spread happiness and joy!

Have you ever had to pivot?

Ah, yes, life sometimes is full of pivots and rediscovery. As I shared, I had a somewhat unstable upbringing. Due to the instability after graduating high school I found myself with no real plan, divorced parents doing their own thing, and no direction. I was working and breathing – that was good – but not really doing anything else. After being robbed at gun point multiple times at work – I knew I had to make a change. What about all the dreams I had for myself? What about college? Many people go to college, but for a Hispanic kid who would be the first one in the family to go to college – this was a big deal. I didn’t know who to ask about applications, essays, financial aid, none of that. When it is not your family’s reality, it feels so unattainable. But that is the decision I made, and I found the way. 4 years later I was graduating, top of my class, from a super competitive Urban Planning program at Arizona State University. And shortly after graduation I was headed to Guatemala to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer – which is where I rediscovered my joy in music!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mhfb.org
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MHFBtv