Angelina Partida, 15, of Kyle plans on auditioning for American Idol on Aug. 11 in Austin. (Courtesy photo)
by JEN BIUNDO
Though she’s just finished her first year of high school, Kyle resident Angelina Partida is hoping to make her dreams come true when she auditions for the hit TV show American Idol next week.
“Ever since I was little I’ve wanted to perform, be on TV, sing, act,” Partida said. “That’s been my dream for a long time. I want to finish out school, but I still want to sing.”
Partida, 15, will give fame a shot, along with thousands of other Idol hopefuls, at the auditions in Austin on Aug. 11. Contest organizers recently dropped the minimum competition age down to 15.
Though she has no formal training outside school, Partida has done well in school and church choirs and sings with a rich soul voice that fills the room. While she’s a natural alto, she sings soprano in choir.
“She’s one of those singers that has the deep soul voice, but if she needs to hit that high crescendo, she can do it,” said her mother, Angela Partida. “She has this amazing voice. She makes me cry every time.”
Partida had early health problems that left her with a damaged kidney and high blood pressure, her mother said. On top of that, dyslexia made it hard for her to excel in school. Then, in fifth grade, she discovered singing, and her world changed for the better.
“With all my health problems, it makes me feel not normal compared to other kids,” Partida said. “Music makes me feel normal. I’m not as shy, I’m not as scared. I feel free.”
Music seemed to combat the effects of dyslexia, her mother said, and learning to read sheet music helped her get a handle on the written word.
“I found it really easy to read music,” Partida said. “I just looked at it, and it came naturally.”
Music came naturally to Partida, who grew up in a family that loved music. Her own mother had some vocal training.
“I was adopted at 15,” her mother said. “I didn’t think I was worth much, and my adopted mother said, ‘Why don’t you try choir?’”
Partida went on to college on a vocal scholarship, she said, but stopped singing when she had a family of her own, with nine children, two of whom are adopted.
While she knows she’s competing against thousands of other hopefuls on American Idol and the odds are long to make it on the show, she hopes to make her dreams of a musical career a reality one day. She wants to continue her training and dreams of going to Julliard Conservatory after high school.
“There’s no stopping her,” her mother said.
