Dreams can come true |

“All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney

There isn’t a child in this world that is not touched by Disney in some way. They dream to someday go to Disneyland, and once that dream is attained, the memories stay with them forever. Elisa wasn’t any different; she grew up loving all the fairytale movies. At the age of four, we took her to Disneyland in California, then in middle school to Disneyworld in Orlando. Elisa adored the different theme parks, and enjoyed the opportunity to see her Nino Steve Carrillo and Mariachi Cobre perform at the Mexican Pavilion in EPCOT.

As a child, Elisa was taught by her dad to set goals and to go for them. When she realized God had given her the gift of voice, Elisa began to dream of becoming a music star in the genre of mariachi. There were two major obstacles Elisa faced – she did not speak Spanish, and she did not play an instrument. Both of these were important in order to pursue that career.

As a freshman she picked up the violin, taking mariachi in school and getting private lessons in order to catch up with her peers,who had been taking music since fourth grade. She would repeatedly listen a song to memorize it. I would translate the song to Elisa so she could embody the words as she sang. I remember her laughing at what some of the songs were about such as being devastated by a lover, or putting down the male, etc. I would also have to correct her pronunciation of certain words.

Many were amazed that Elisa didn’t speak Spanish, and were impressed with how she would interpret the songs given to her.

It took courage for Elisa to try out for a competition, where she was the youngest contestant, lacked musical experience, and would be the only one who didn’t speak Spanish! But Elisa was raised to set her goals and go for them, and that’s what she did! God allowed her to live her dream in the happiest place on earth, Disneyworld!!