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Since 1925, the East LA Classic has remained a community tradition that highlights the long-standing rivalry between the Roosevelt Rough Riders and Garfield Bulldogs. But the competition and legacy go beyond the football game.
On the field alongside athletes, drill team members — one of several spirit teams — also show off their Eastside pride.
At Roosevelt High this year, the team is bringing back a tradition many remember: white cowboy boots and hats, a nod to traditional “Rough Rider” uniforms from decades ago.
For Ricardo Esquerra, one of the lead drill coaches at Roosevelt, it was especially important to carry on this legacy. He was born in Boyle Heights and graduated from Roosevelt in 1987. This year, he returned to coach at his alma mater after coaching at Garfield High School for 25 years.
“I’m home and I feel happy,” said Esquerra. “I am truly blessed to be back and to have another opportunity, and I want to put my footprint on this school because I always felt that this is where I belong.”
Esquerra is also proud to bring back military drill, which involves more synchronized movements and formations than traditional drill. With the Classic just days away, Roosevelt’s drill team has been working hard to create a performance that will move the audience while also honoring history and legacy.
“Perfection is impossible, but having the ability to put your best foot forward and make yourself look like one team out there, and make it memorable for everyone, that takes work,” Esquerra said.
We asked Esquerra about the importance of tradition, hard work and the dedication that goes into the drill team
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
BHB: How did you become a drill coach? And how does it feel to come back to your alma mater and lead the drill teams?
Ricardo Esquerra: I had several opportunities along my coaching way to teach military drill teams. I was coaching a lot of junior highs back in the early to mid-’90s. So I took on that sport purely by accident. And then as it grew and I moved along in my career, I got an opportunity to coach Garfield cheer along with drill … And 25 years later, seven national teams, countless state titles, working with the biggest bands LAUSD has ever seen, all enriched me so much. You’re not defined by a school, you’re defined by what you do and who you are, and what you represent, and how you can bring a community together and have a rivalry… You don’t just make the Roosevelt community [proud], but the whole entire Boyle Heights Eastside area proud.
BHB: What do the trainings for the East LA Classics look like?
Ricardo Esquerra: We started practicing back in March … We practice four times a week during the training peak; it’s three hours. But it’s intense. Practices are going to increase a little bit more. We’re going to include Saturday because we’re going to try to go to East LA Stadium so that we can get our footing on the stadium and make sure that we know our positions and know our place. So it’s a lot of work.
I mean, little do the Roosevelt and Garfield communities know that not every high school experiences this. [Other] rivalries are not the same. I mean, you could go to some of the bigger rivalry games, but they don’t get as much media coverage as Roosevelt and Garfield.
BHB: What traditional drill techniques or movements are you bringing back to the team, and why was it important to you to preserve them?
Ricardo Esquerra: I’m bringing back military drill team … When the girls start learning sharpness, everything that they execute gets even sharper because of their military drill team techniques. I am also bringing pom back. Pom is a staple in any football game. You go to college football games, you go to pro football games, you see pom-pom leaders out there, and you see them doing a great job. So it’s part of an American apple pie. Now, coming from a Latino background, I like to say it’s part of the Mexican enchilada.
I brought the boots [back] just for fun, and they got such a warm welcome. People really like the boots and cowboy hats. It’s something that is dramatic. I think a lot of us identify not only with Roosevelt but with the mascot, the Rough Rider. I think since the late ‘70s, all the way up to about the late ‘90s, Roosevelt was always sporting the boots and the cowboy hat. And when you have something going for such a long time and you get rid of it, people tend to miss it. I’m gonna keep it as long as I’m coaching here.
BHB: What’s the difference when you’re performing or when you’re getting ready for the Classic rather than just a regular football game?
Ricardo Esquerra: We practice harder. Everything is just detailed work. There is just so much going behind the Classic that you almost want to make sure they look as good as they are going to be able to look. Perfection is impossible, but having the ability to put your best foot forward and make yourself look like one team out there, and make it memorable for everyone, that takes work. Especially at that level where you have thousands of people looking at you.
BHB: What’s one of your most memorable moments working at any past East LA Classics?
Ricardo Esquerra: I’ve been asked that, and I thought about it many times, and it’s always the same response: 1996. I was allowed to participate and help choreograph one of the biggest bands Garfield ever had, which was [more than 400] band and drill members. And when I saw all that hard work, it was phenomenal. It was just beautiful. That image hasn’t left my mind.
BHB: You also lead alumni drill teams; can you tell me a bit about that?
Ricardo Esquerra: Leading alumni is a lot of fun because you get them as adults. Adults are funny, especially when they’re trying to recapture their youth, like me. They think they can do everything. So you go through the stages of finding out and realizing what they can and cannot do. But they also start realizing that if they apply themselves, they can do anything. Right now, the Garfield Alumni Elite, they’re forming a foundation so that they can support Garfield High School, auxiliary units like band, flags, color guard, cheer, the whole gamut of them. And not only supporting them where they have financial gaps, but creating scholarships so that they can move on and do more.
BHB: If a student wanted to join drill, what should they prepare for before joining the team, and what do you think they’re taking from it after they graduate?
Ricardo Esquerra: Get prepared for hard work. It’s not easy. Most people, when they see drill team members, they see the nice outfit, the cowboy hat, the boots, the lipstick, the dancing, and it looks like fun, and it is. But there is hard work behind it. The determination, the tenacity, to be able to move right foot, left foot. You know, if you don’t know how to dance, build coordination.
And I constantly have been told by a lot of my previous members that are now adults, and they come and they tell me, ‘Richard, we really got to thank you because you gave us structure, you gave us regimen. I was able to go to college and know exactly what I needed to do in order to go to the next level, and I had to pay attention to the details.’ That’s what they take away.
