PATTERSON, Calif. — Not long after dozens of students filled Patterson High School's theater to capacity Thursday, the cheers and screams became deafening. Pedro and Brian Tovar, founders of the Mexican band Eslabon Armado took the stage.
"My first thoughts were really excited," said Patterson High junior Gabriela Matias. "Because I've been hearing their music ever since middle school."
It was no ordinary school day for Matias, and for the Tovar brothers, it was no ordinary concert.
"This is the city where we all kind of started playing and started to pursue the music," Pedro said. "So we had to come back."
Before the Billboard and iHeartRadio Music awards, before the collaborations with world-renowned artists like Peso Pluma and Juan Gabriel, and before breaking records as the first Mexican regional band to hit the top 10 of Billboard's Hot 100 list, Pedro and Brian sat inside the classrooms of Patterson High.
"The biggest change has just been life. It just goes on," said Pedro before telling the crowd of students gathered that he uploaded the band's first album in the school's library. "We did music, we stuck with it and it turned out to be good."
For nearly a year, the band had tried to plan to stop by their alma mater, but with international success came a busy schedule. Now, ahead of a concert in Stockton on Friday, the group knew they had to make the plan a reality.
"They all see us as an inspiration," Brian said. "We just came here to say, 'Everything's possible.'"
That message wasn't lost on junior Chantal Cota as she recorded on her phone and sang along to her favorite songs.
"I'm very thankful that they came out here just for us and to make time for us," said Cota who got a selfie with Pedro as he walked the crowd while singing their 2020 hit "Jugaste y Sufrí."
Over the course of nearly two hours, the group spoke to students, took selfies, looked back at yearbooks, visited old classrooms and teachers and handed out free merchandise. Among the merchandise were free tickets to Eslabon Armado's Stockton concert.
"I think them listening to us since we're kind of their age too, they'll be a little bit inspired to not give up and keep on going," Brian said. "Next year maybe... maybe two years... but we'll for sure come back soon."
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