Article Published

Article_1421619329352

Feature News | Monday, February 24, 2014

'Word Up' with the Word of God

Seminarian preaches the Gospel through rap and online videos

Alvaro Vega, with a Christian fish symbol carved into his hair, speaks his faith in his video "I Believe."

Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO

Alvaro Vega, with a Christian fish symbol carved into his hair, speaks his faith in his video "I Believe."

BOYNTON BEACH | Alvaro Vega has rapped at the Vatican. He's argued for God before a glaring judge. He's climbed a cliff and gazed at heaven from the summit.

He did it all in his new video "I Believe," a hip-hop number that he has also performed around the Archdiocese of Miami. "I Believe" puts him in the very rarified ranks of rappers who are also seminarians.

Alvaro Vega poses near a stained glass window at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary where he is studying for the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Miami.

Photographer: JIM DAVIS | FC

Alvaro Vega poses near a stained glass window at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary where he is studying for the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Miami.

The video blends his writing and performance talents with the technological skills of his brother, Carlos. But his reasons for the video are basic.

"Nowadays, people are afraid to say they believe in God," said Vega, 31, who is studying for the priesthood at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. "Society believes Christians are idiots and fools. I wanted to be able to stand strong and be proud of my faith."

Walking the grounds of the seminary — where he first showed the video in September — the smiling, polite young man looks and acts very differently from Communion, the black-shirted rapper with a Christian fish symbol carved into his hair, belting out lines while gesturing broadly. 

But the lyrics are very Christian — and very Catholic:

I believe in the one who gave his life on the cross
And redeemed humanity without counting the cost.
I believe in the Bible and every word that’s written
And in the Magisterium and Catholic tradition.

Alvaro Vega is freed from chains by an angel, played by Nicole Colom, in his video "I Believe."

Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO

Alvaro Vega is freed from chains by an angel, played by Nicole Colom, in his video "I Believe."

The 4:26-minute video on YouTube, offers some evocative images. In one, Vega gives his jacket to a poor man, who stretches out his arms to put it on — a form that merges into a crucifix. Vega meanwhile chants, "In every poor person is the face of Christ."

Another sequence puts Vega in a dungeon, with shackled wrists. An angel appears and dissolves the shackles, and he raises his hands. "If you believe in Jesus, put your hands up in the air and sing," he says.
He also confronts social issues, waving off placards for abortion, atheism and homosexuality: 

Babies are killed before reaching the carriage;
Moral values nowadays are being disparaged.
I believe that only love could overcome hatred
And bring us to respect human life which is sacred.

The video has the blessing of Msgr. David Toups, rector at St. Vincent de Paul. 

"We don’t go to every generation like we went to the last," he said in an interview. "And Alvaro is offering to the younger generation the timeless message. It's a gift that I don’t have and Alvaro does."

Vega goes way back with rap and hip-hop, even as an avowed "cradle Catholic" attending St. Bonaventure Church in upper-middle-class Weston. He especially admired Eminem, "a white guy in an African American arena. I'm a Hispanic guy in hip-hop culture."

Siblings Santiago and Daniela Orozco, from left, join their cousin Manuela Orozco as angels in the "I Believe" video. They're all friends of the family of Alvaro Vega, who stars in the video.

Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO

Siblings Santiago and Daniela Orozco, from left, join their cousin Manuela Orozco as angels in the "I Believe" video. They're all friends of the family of Alvaro Vega, who stars in the video.

He started his own rapping at 17 years old. He performed for friends and online, going by a name that he won't repeat because "it embarrasses me," he says with a bashful smile. Meanwhile, he earned a degree in electrical engineering from Florida International University.

His change of heart came in April 2008 when he read "The Imitation of Christ," by Thomas a Kempis. Opening the book at random, he learned four unnerving lessons.

First lesson: "I could die at any moment, and I wasn’t prepared to see God. My soul is eternal, but I wasn’t paying attention to it."

Second lesson: "Every talent is given by God. And I was misusing it for fame, money, my own little kingdom." 

Third lesson: Make Jesus the center of his life, not "like a background character in my life story."

The fourth lesson was Jesus' command to each follower to "deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." Said Vega: "I knew what that meant — to say no to my own ambitions and desires and yes to God, so God could come and live inside me."

The result was "an incredible peace," Vega said. "God was real, and he was with me and loved me." 

Almost immediately he sensed a call, he said. He talked with his mother, Gloria, then with Father Edmond Prendergast, pastor of St. Bonaventure. He attended a vocational awareness retreat at St. John Vianney College Seminary and "felt a peace of the Lord." 

Alvaro Vega surrounds himself with scripture in his video "I Believe."

Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO

Alvaro Vega surrounds himself with scripture in his video "I Believe."

His parents were delighted, said his father, Manuel. He said they wanted one of their four sons to become a priest, but didn’t know which one it would be.

They even took in stride the fact that God's choice was their rapper son. "I'm very happy," Manuel said. "God has different ways to call people. Sometimes we don’t understand why."

Alvaro entered the seminary in 2009, setting aside hip-hop for two years. "I had to get my soul in order," he explained. "But the music never left me. I started dabbling again, but using my talents to preach the Gospel."

He wrote "I Believe" in 2010 in Spanish as "Creo en Dios," along with a friend, Christopher Cerros. Family and friends praised the work and urged him to translate it into English as well. 

Taking the stage name Communion, he performed along with pop singer Nicole Colom at a coffeehouse in Miami and Catholic Underground / Catholic Craze at St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center in Coral Gables. He has also done the rap at several churches.

The video was a collaboration with his brother, Carlos, with whom he had produced stop-motion animation — something like TV's "Robot Chicken" — as boys. They cast Colom and three children as singing angels, plus two seminarians as the judge and the homeless man. Carlos himself played a priest.

After taping against a green screen, Alvaro and Carlos — now a filmmaker who goes by c.m. de la Vega — gathered online images of clouds, rocks, fields, gates and a medieval-looking city. Carlos even made Colom's angelic wings flap, using the Puppet tool from Adobe After Effects.

The Vegas spent half the summer editing the video, Alvaro said. "We wanted to approach the job with professionalism, to make it a quality project for God."

And he's already started follow-ups. One is a doo-wop parody of the song "White Christmas," along with fellow seminarians. The "Right Christmas" video, has Vega rap an interlude between solos by Chris Adams and Mark Labelle.

Another follow-up is a music video of "Creo en Dios," which Alvaro and Carlos hope to release very soon.
Vega is also working on two other pieces. One is "Jesus By My Side," on God's faithfulness through life's troubles; another is "Smile," with Colom singing about "how our true source of hope and joy is God." 

He works on the pieces during breaks such as Christmas and summer, considering seminary formation his main responsibility. But he says he is happy to perform whenever invited, especially in settings like youth rallies and retreats. 

"God is pleased with first fruits," he says, referring to the ancient practice of giving God the first of the harvest. "I consider this to be my first fruit to God." 
Alvaro Vega preaches about the poor, represented by seminarian Oswaldo Agudelo, in his video "I Believe."

Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO

Alvaro Vega preaches about the poor, represented by seminarian Oswaldo Agudelo, in his video "I Believe."

Comments from readers

Paul - 03/02/2014 11:15 PM
I have watched this impressive video several times and each time I am more impressed. I encourage the Vega brothers to continue using their extraordinary talent in similar productions.
De La Vega - 03/01/2014 06:46 PM
Awesome! Great article! Hard work & Perseverance, keep up the work, brotha!
Joe - 02/26/2014 07:52 PM
Keep up the great work! Thank you for using your talents to build people up.

Powered by Parish Mate | E-system

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply