Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Guevara with a Guitar

It’s awkward when Joaquin McWhinney’s students recognize him as Quino, lead singer of Big Mountain, the local reggae band that had a top-ten hit 15 years ago with single “Baby I Love Your Way.”

“They say ‘Why did you cut your dreads?’ or, ‘McWhinney, do you still smoke ganga?’ Reggae is associated with that.” Joaquin McWhinney is a vocational teacher at Olympian High School in Chula Vista. “Or they say, ‘What the hell are you doing here anyway?’ I tell them at some point in my career I had to make a decision: I was either going to kill myself on the road as a traveling musician or I was going to try and be a good father and husband.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

McWhinney is in his second year as an ROP teacher. “Back in the day, ROP meant wood shop, auto shop, home economics. Now, because of the whole tech boom, we are teaching multimedia, showing kids animation and web design [in vocational classes]. One of my classes teaches kids professional audio recording.”

But teaching music recording in high school can be tough. “I do a lot of yelling. All they want to do is jump on MySpace. Every day I have to put the punching gloves on to get ready for 130 kids in six classes. Part of this digital age is kids get distracted by so much media. I try and let them know they should focus on the music and not get distracted by all the bling and images.”

Quino made news three years ago when he played Chicano protest rallies with his new band Quinazo. “On May 1, we’re gonna shut this country down,” he said three years ago about the May Day events that protested anti-immigration laws. He notes that Olympian High is the “third closest high school to the border,” but that the district is conservative. “It might as well be 500 miles away. There’s a lot of Navy kids in Otay [Mesa].... I don’t spend that much time engaging in my political beliefs in my workplace. But I’m not going to give up my platform when I jump on stage.... To me reggae music still has this mystic, revolutionary part to it. I got into reggae music because I wanted to change the world. To me Bob Marley was Che Guevara with a guitar.”

Quinazo just released La Ofrenda, which was recorded at Signature Sound earlier this year. The CD-release party was supposed to be June 14 at Anthology. The club has announced that the show is canceled.

“It just wasn’t the right situation. They wanted a jazz [group]. I wanted it to be more of a political thing. They didn’t think the bill was strong enough. I decided to [stick to] my cultural roots [rather] than suck up to a sissy jazz club.”

The Quinazo record-release party is rescheduled for June 20 at the Sunset Temple Theatre in North Park (rebelink.com).

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Croome Brothers Trio, Jack Tempchin, Ricky, Swami & the Bed Of Nails, Kahlil Nash

Acoustic and electric in Del Mar, La Jolla, Little Italy, and City Heights
Next Article

Seals hook up with Beaver

Salty’s Escape is a Mexican-Style cerveza brewed with corn and puffed Jasmine rice

It’s awkward when Joaquin McWhinney’s students recognize him as Quino, lead singer of Big Mountain, the local reggae band that had a top-ten hit 15 years ago with single “Baby I Love Your Way.”

“They say ‘Why did you cut your dreads?’ or, ‘McWhinney, do you still smoke ganga?’ Reggae is associated with that.” Joaquin McWhinney is a vocational teacher at Olympian High School in Chula Vista. “Or they say, ‘What the hell are you doing here anyway?’ I tell them at some point in my career I had to make a decision: I was either going to kill myself on the road as a traveling musician or I was going to try and be a good father and husband.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

McWhinney is in his second year as an ROP teacher. “Back in the day, ROP meant wood shop, auto shop, home economics. Now, because of the whole tech boom, we are teaching multimedia, showing kids animation and web design [in vocational classes]. One of my classes teaches kids professional audio recording.”

But teaching music recording in high school can be tough. “I do a lot of yelling. All they want to do is jump on MySpace. Every day I have to put the punching gloves on to get ready for 130 kids in six classes. Part of this digital age is kids get distracted by so much media. I try and let them know they should focus on the music and not get distracted by all the bling and images.”

Quino made news three years ago when he played Chicano protest rallies with his new band Quinazo. “On May 1, we’re gonna shut this country down,” he said three years ago about the May Day events that protested anti-immigration laws. He notes that Olympian High is the “third closest high school to the border,” but that the district is conservative. “It might as well be 500 miles away. There’s a lot of Navy kids in Otay [Mesa].... I don’t spend that much time engaging in my political beliefs in my workplace. But I’m not going to give up my platform when I jump on stage.... To me reggae music still has this mystic, revolutionary part to it. I got into reggae music because I wanted to change the world. To me Bob Marley was Che Guevara with a guitar.”

Quinazo just released La Ofrenda, which was recorded at Signature Sound earlier this year. The CD-release party was supposed to be June 14 at Anthology. The club has announced that the show is canceled.

“It just wasn’t the right situation. They wanted a jazz [group]. I wanted it to be more of a political thing. They didn’t think the bill was strong enough. I decided to [stick to] my cultural roots [rather] than suck up to a sissy jazz club.”

The Quinazo record-release party is rescheduled for June 20 at the Sunset Temple Theatre in North Park (rebelink.com).

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Next Article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.