Sounds of pew pew can be heard from a game of “Call of Duty.” For most, this may sound like normal sounds coming from a video game as a group of kids hang out, but that’s not the case for Yahir Rodriguez.

For Yahir, these sounds are the origin of Los Elegidos, the cumbia y corridos band he formed with friends and family. It was over PlayStation games of “Call of Duty,” going on missions together and ambushing each other on the virtual battlefield that they found the bond over music that made them bandmates. 

“I have a grupo band—my cousins and my friends that used to play on the Playstation are in the band,” Yahir said. The band consists of a group of seniors, including Yahir’s cousin, Ramiro  on accordion, Ramiro’s friend Omar on bass, and family friend Josue on drums.

The current nominee for Prom King is the lead singer and guitar player of Los Elegidos. He loves singing and keeping people entertained with his music.

Yahir’s development as a musician really took off when he was a sophomore during the pandemic year. He was given a guitar and learned how to play it by watching YouTube videos. Playing became an obsession.

The idea to start a band came from Yahir and Ramiro’s fathers. At a family get together, as the two were—what else?—playing “Call of Duty,” the dads approached the boys with the idea.

“I already had a guitar for a year, and my cousin got an accordion,” Yahir shared. “One day at a party at my cousin’s house, my dad and my uncle both came to us and told us we were going to start a band. Just like that. We were excited.”

This was the start of their musical journey. Shortly after they began, Ramiro suggested they get his buddy Omar to join in. And Josue, who was part of the “Call of Duty” group, wanted to get involved, too, so he convinced his parents to buy him a drum kit.

After practicing for a few months, Los Elegidos scored their first gig at a backyard birthday party for Josue’s mother on July 6, 2021. While they had already played for family, the party was a large affair with a lot of unfamiliar faces. They were a little nervous because around 100 people would be seeing them perform.

But that soon went away. “We were scared, but we were also confident because we knew we could make people dance,” Yahir said with a gleam in his eyes.

Today, nearly two-and-a-half years later, Yahir and his bandmates practice 3-4 days a week with his band. Los Elegidos has played over 50 gigs, traveling as far as Indio and Bakersfield on word of mouth and the popularity of their cumbias. They even played at the funeral for their dear friend Larry Regalado, Ramiro’s brother and “Call of Duty” battalion member who sadly passed away of cancer.

Now, as high school comes to an end for Yahir, he is at a crossroads. He wants to continue pursuing a career in music with Los Elegidos, but wants to do this at the same time he attends college. He’ll continue to play gigs, and looks forward to getting to the point when the band can record music in a studio. 

While his ultimate goal is to pursue his musical career, he doesn’t want it to change him. “In music, if you’re not humble you’re not going to make it because you are going to be enviciado,” he said. “There’s artists that were changed because they got a little money. They started acting different.”

For now, Yahir is the same laidback, charming guy he’s always been. You can find him in the cafeteria at lunch, playing for his friends and anyone that wants to stop by to listen. And when he is not playing music, you will catch him on the dance floor, dancing or playing soccer with his friends.

Or maybe logging on for another game of “Call of Duty.”