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Playing guitar on the Ellen show

By Francisco Cardenas, age 11 | January 27, 2022

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ROCKIN’ IT Francisco Cardenas, a sixth grader at Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School, is a talented musician and was invited to play guitar on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. (Photo: Michael Rozman/Warner Bros)

I was born in Venezuela, and I emigrated from my country to the United States in 2017. Since then, many good things have happened. It has not been easy, but I have had very nice experiences.

I started to play guitar when I was 4. My dad was the person who inspired me to play guitar. He used to teach me basic things on the instrument, but then I started taking private lessons with other teachers. In 2020, through a post I made on my Instagram, the Gibson brand offered me the opportunity to be in the G3 (Gibson Generation Group), which is a group where young talented kids are partnered with this awesome brand. Then, one of the producers of the Ellen show contacted me after seeing me in a post on Gibson’s Instagram account.

After a week, the producer told us that Warner Bros. Studios had approved me to go to Los Angeles. My dad and I flew from Houston to LA. When I got to the studio, they had a dressing room for me with my name. I felt like a rock star!

I met the production team at the studio, and they were amazing! They made me feel like I was part of their team. When it was time for me to get on the stage and play guitar, I got really nervous, but when I started playing, I started to enjoy and live in the moment. In the interview I felt really calm and comfortable. Ellen is just amazing, and she made everything easier.

This interview was an experience that I will never forget, thanks to God and the music. They both brought me amazing and incredible experiences. For now, I will keep working with the same dedication and passion to achieve my goals with music. So each one of you can do the same thing with anything that you guys find passion for. Keep rocking.

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