Universidad De Oriente

Teacher: Brenda Jiménez

Student: Perla Olivares Hernández

Subject: English IV

Essay: Amazing people…Tony Melendez

INTRODUCTION

Amazing people? I thought I’d talk about people with weird and fantastic abilities, but then I remembered someone who I went to see like 7 years ago at the World Trade Center. This man who made me feel goose bumps, because he showed me that sometimes we complain a lot about our issues, material needs and even our low self-esteem, and sometimes we can’t see that we have all we need to succeed.
Tony was born without arms due to the ravages of a drug prescribed by a doctor's order to his mother during pregnancy. The drug "Thalidomide" should calm the effects of nausea in the first half of pregnancy, but its effects left a terrible result, thousands of children are born with deformities, no arms, no feet or lacking both.

As a child, Tony saw his dad play guitar and felt a great desire for it to be playing well, until one day his dad put the guitar on the floor. "Tony," he said, "Go wash your feet." They were washed and sat down to play guitar for the first time. Never let it discourage physical condition, and with much effort and practice, learned to play skillfully with his toes.

Amazing People… Tony Melendez.
José Antonio Melendez Rodríguez was born on January 9, 1962, in Rivas, Nicaragua, is a Nicaraguan American guitar player, composer, singer, and songwriter who was born without arms. Tony was born without arms because his mother was prescribed thalidomide a drug used to help calm morning sickness during her pregnancy. He was brought to the Los Angeles area from Nicaragua to be fitted with artificial arms. He wore them until he was ten, when he disposed of them. "I didn't feel comfortable," he explains, "I could use my feet so much more." His proficiency with his feet extended to more areas than just day-to-day care. He remembers that "at first, I started playing push-button organ. Then in high school I began playing around with the guitar and harmonica." He also began writing his own songs. Whether it was "playing around" with music or merely adjusting to a normal high school routine, Tony never let his handicap get in his way. "I was pretty secure in what I could do," he says. It was also in high school that he became deeply involved in the Catholic Church. "I went when I was a kid because my parents took me. I drifted away as I got a little older. When I was in high school, my brother kept saying 'come on, you've got to go. It's great!' So I went again and made a lot of friends, and wound up changing my life in the process. During this time, he considered becoming a priest but couldn't, because priests were required to have an index finger and thumb. The news disappointed him but he persevered in his church activities, using his talents as a guitarist and composer for masses and church related events. Demand for him increased to the point where he was directing and singing in music groups at up to five masses on a given Sunday. It caught people's attention, including someone with the group organizing activities for the monumental visit of Pope John Paul II in 1987. "Someone pulled my name out of somewhere and asked me to go to a meeting," Tony recalls. "I wasn't sure what it was." It turned out to be an audition and Tony was accepted. "I was really excited when I heard."
Since then Tony has traveled across the United States and forty foreign countries, making countless television appearances, including The Today Show, Good Morning America, Geraldo, CBS This Morning, The Late Show with Arsenio Hall, 700 Club, Robert Schuller, and prime-time network specials for Variety Clubs and Very Special Arts. He also performed at The World Series, where he sang the National Anthem for the fifth game of the 1989 series. Tony has had the opportunity to give four additional performances for the Pope, twice in the Vatican and another in the Pope's homeland of Poland, and in Denver Colorado for World Youth Day 1993. Along with television and major personal appearances, newspapers and magazine articles have appeared on him throughout the world. Now an author his best-selling autobiography, A Gift of Hope, was published in 1989 by Harper & Row. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including special commendations from President Reagan, The State of California, Variety Clubs of America, Very Special Arts, The City of Los Angeles, and countless other civic and charitable organizations. He has also received the first annual Inspirational Hero Award from the NFL Alumni Association at Super Bowl XXIII in Miami. A highly talented composer and musician, Tony recorded his first album in 1989, a collection of contemporary Christian songs entitled, Never Be the Same, which resulted in nominations for Best New Artist of the Year from Cashbox Magazine and the Gospel Music Association. His debut Spanish LP, El Muro Se Cayo and the Walls Came Tumbling' Down, was released to critical acclaim by Latin radio stations across the country. Ways of the Wise, Tony's second Christian album, includes the musical talents of Gary Chapman and Phil Keaggy. The fall of 1990 CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) Magazine Top Pop List charted Ways of the Wise, Tony's first single released from the album, at #3. Currently, Tony resides in Branson Missouri, which is most known for its small-town hospitality and world class entertainment. "Lynn and I love each other deeply and music brought us together. So, one day we’ll share all of these memories with our children. Music has opened the door to my dreams and I will keep singing, continue to share my life, and keep making' music for all who will listen."
Bibliography

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Mel%C3%A9ndez

http://www.mercaba.org/TESTES/tony_melendez.htm

http://www.ewtn.com/spanish/radio/concierto_tony/tony_melendez.htm