Mr. Falcon was entertainment at it’s finest. The fancy suits, the unique struts, the witty responses to interview questions, the embarrassing talents; it was truly a night to remember, all thanks to our amazing senior boys.

The show started off with each individual contestant walking out, dressed to the nines, to their desired song with a female escort. Many of the contestants chose songs that either resonated with their culture, they enjoyed as a child, or just a song that they can really jam out to. During their initial walkout, the contestants were instructed to make up either a dance, handshake, or a gesture to do with their escort, to give the judges something to remember them by. Roel Martinez, the grand champion, walked out to and danced with his escort to a song that was close to his culture.

“I chose ‘Suavemente’  as my walkout song because it was a fun and thrilling classic, inspired by what I love most, my Hispanic culture,” Martinez said. “People love to dance, and when they see something as unique and exciting as the Merengue [latin dance that he and his escort performed], they can’t help but be amazed and smile.”

The second event of the show was “Active Wear.” During this portion, the senior class officers and their sponsor, Emily Boehringer, gave the contestants the freedom to come on stage in any outfit that represents a hobby of theirs. Some of the outfits that were worn in the Active Wear portion include a football uniform, worn by Justin Haler, swim trunks, worn by Jackson Fowler, and a hunting outfit, worn by Garrett Blevins. One Active Wear outfit that specifically received a lot of attention from young female audience members was Braeden De La Garza’s outfit, which was a crop top with ripped skinny jeans. De La Garza wore this in hopes of making a statement about school dress code, which ,according to him, directly oppresses women.

“When deciding what I wanted to do for the Active Wear portion, I obviously wanted to be funny, but I also wanted to make a comment about how it was okay for me to wear those clothes at school for a school event, but a girl wouldn’t have been able to do it if she were in the same position,” De La Garza said. ” It was important to me that I shared that message, and I knew that it would resonate with all of the girls in the audience.”

The last event of the show was talent. The contestants were given the outlet to perform an actual talent of theirs, something funny, or a combination of the two. The most important element of this event was the entertainment level they provided to the audience. One of the more comical talents was the “tennis game” performed by Reese Hyatt and Brandon Anguiano. Both Hyatt and Anguiano play the saxophone in band, in which they implemented in their performance. Instead of playing a real game of tennis with rackets on stage, they pretended to hit a ball back and fourth by lightly blowing into their saxophones, which mimicked the sound of a tennis ball hitting a racket. This act was especially creative and received a lot of laughs from the audience.

“My talent partner, Brandon, made a joke about it being our Mr. Falcon talent, and I actually thought it’d be a really funny act,” Hyatt said. “We practiced it once but we wanted it to be authentic so all we planned was how the points would end. We did rock paper scissors to see who would win.”

After deliberation from the judges, four awards were given out. The “Falcon Favorite” went to the contestant who raised the most money for the Smile Train foundation, the non profit business the pageant raises money for; the winner of that award also won a free prom ticket.

Brian Vazquez, the winner of the Falcon Favorite award raised over $700 on his own, the most any contestant has ever in individually raised in all the 3 years of the Mr. Falcon pageant.

“I was always open to asking anyone if they were interested in giving back in a kind yet persistent way, and I also had a lot of friends and family that helped spread the word and bring in more donations.” Vazquez said. “It felt really nice to win Falcon Favorite but part of me wishes I raised more. This experience has taught me that giving back can be fun and rewarding.”

The 1st and 2nd runner ups to “Mr. Falcon” were then solidified, Braeden De La Garza winning 1st runner up, and Jackson Fowler winning 2nd runner up. Finally, the grand champ, the “Mr. Falcon”  was awarded a crown, sash, and a free prom ticket, won by Roel Martinez.

“I was shocked considering I was competing against other incredibly outgoing and talented people, but I felt really excited to win,” Martinez said. “I put a lot of attention to details, the movement of the dances, the Spanish, the autographs, the costume; it was honestly satisfying that my hard work paid off.”

Mr. Falcon was not only a night to remember for the contestants and escorts, but also the audience. Throughout the whole event, the audience shared laughs, smiles, and created memories. Many members of the audience weren’t new to the event, but came out again this year, in hopes for an even better show. Emma Dovers, a senior, was one of these people.

“I really appreciate all of the work that the senior class officers put into the event. Their hard work was evident,” Dovers said. “I took my boyfriend who also went to last year’s Mr. Falcon, and we both agreed that this year’s show was way better.”

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