Héctor Jardón Tapia & Laura Lucero Rodriguez Lamont Parent Profile

From the moment we sat down together, it was clear how proud Héctor Jardón Tapia and Laura Lucero Rodriguez are of their son, conductor Héctor Jardón Rodriguez (AD ’22, MM ’20). In our conversation, conducted mostly in Spanish, both mother and father became visibly emotional when reflecting on their son’s success.

The family comes from Toluca, Mexico, about an hour west of Mexico City, where both parents grew up. Music runs in the family: Héctor Sr. is a singer and guitarist, and Laura’s father was a musician who sang and played the violin. “Music is a blessing to me,” she said.

With relatives in Denver, Colorado had been a longtime vacation destination for the family. They shared fond memories of skiing, hiking and photographing the Rockies. Héctor Jr. was excited to relocate to Denver, with his parents’ approval, to pursue his undergraduate degree at Colorado Christian University. (The conductor joked: “I liked snow… before I moved to Denver.”)

It was at CCU, where he was studying saxophone, that the young Héctor first took a conducting class. “I just fell in love with it,” he remembered, and he proved to be a natural. “As parents, it is very special that our son could become a conductor,” his father said. Laura added, “We’ve always wanted to support his dreams.”

For the proud parents, watching Jardón Rodriguez’s Artist Diploma conducting recital was especially meaningful. He led the Lamont Symphony Orchestra in an ambitious program of works by Aaron Copland, Antonín Dvořák and Silvestre Revueltas, a Mexican composer. The elder Héctor loved hearing the piece by Revueltas, which was a collection of extracts from the composer’s score to the experimental 1936 film Redes (English title: The Wave). “It’s a difficult, complicated piece,” Héctor Sr. commented. “I’ve seen fragments of the film; the music is really the important part.”

Jardón Tapia and Lucero Rodriguez had to make many adjustments during the pandemic, especially with the cancellation of so many concerts, parties and other events that help to pay a musician’s bills. They were happy that their son’s studies at DU continued uninterrupted, and, at the time of our interview, many musical engagements were starting to return in Mexico. Said Héctor Sr., “None of us have gotten sick, and that’s what really matters.”

Laura looked over at her son and said, “It’s thanks to God and his blessings that we are here,” not just health-wise, but at DU specifically. “It takes a lot of ability and talent to do what he does.” Héctor Sr. added, “We are very fortunate that the university considered Héctor for this opportunity. It’s a great honor.”

Lamont, likewise, was honored to host the visitors, and grateful to have Héctor Jardón Rodriguez as a prominent, baton-wielding member of its community.