Guitarist now performs for God

By Anne DiBernardo - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | Gen Z students in Wesley B. Wright’s English class could care less that their instructor is a guitar virtuoso and original member of one of the most notable bands of the 80s that took the world by storm and put Miami on the map. Rather, it is his charisma, intelligence, and his understanding of them and their realities that matter most.

A graduate of Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory in Hollywood, Wright has performed worldwide before tens of thousands, but the stage that still matters most to him is the one at Mass, where it all began over 50 years ago.

Fame was never a goal for Wright. His first performance was as an eighth-grader, playing folk guitar at youth Masses at Annunciation Church in West Park, where he had attended school since second grade.

“Despite my mischievous personality, I was fascinated by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and enjoyed being part of the music.”

As a child, Wright was often in trouble. His father, a pilot for an anti-Castro group, died in a crash when he was nine. His mother, Anne (who died in 2009), a devout Catholic, worked as a cook at Annunciation rectory and convent, where the nuns often redirected his misbehavior to her.

Still, he wanted to be a priest.

However, “When it came time to take the test to go to the seminary, the nun said, ‘they don’t take kids like you,’” Wright said.

Despite this, he has always consistently held on to and practiced his Catholic faith.

“The irony was, I was the kid in the school who was constantly getting suspended. They probably viewed me as though I was some kind of monster, but I was probably the only kid who was attending Mass because I wanted to,” Wright said.

He eventually became a musician, and before joining Miami Sound Machine in 1979, the 22-year-old guitarist and Miami native had already toured with a revival of the American pop band The Association.

“I joined Sound Machine because I wanted to stay local where I could spend more time with my then wife and infant son,” Wright said, who he unfamiliar with the local band at the time. He met them on the recommendation of a Cuban musician friend.

Ironically, the band was popular in the Hispanic community and relatively unknown outside of Miami, except in a few places in Central America and the Caribbean, said Wright.

Wright’s songwriting, blending American R&B with traditional Latin rhythms, alongside Gloria Estefan and “Kiki” Garcia’s work, created a crossover musical style that endured for two decades.

The Miami Sound Machine band performed massive world tours at iconic places as the Nippon Budokan in Japan and Madison Square Garden in New York. The band also performed on many countries of Central and South America and in Europe as well as most of the U.S. stages, with television guest appearances on multiple TV shows such as the “Tonight Show,” “Miss Universe Pageant,” “Solid Gold,” and “American Bandstand.”

Although it was a dream come true, Wright made it a point to attend Mass and play with local music ministries whenever possible.

Wright recalls that when he was 21 years old, a member of a famous band gave him a piece of advice that he still remembers. “He told me that someone told him to always be nice to people on the way to the top, because those people will be much nicer to you on the way back down.”

When asked what it was like to perform in front of such massive crowds, Wright said that playing for 1,000 people is like playing for 40,000 because you only see the front row when the lights go out.

However, “I played a festival in Chile, and I didn’t realize how many people were there until the encore, when they raised all their cigarette lighters, and I saw what I was later told 65,000 people on the side of a mountain.”

After writing and performing on several gold and platinum albums, Wright left the Miami Sound Machine in 1986 when Gloria Estefan went solo and formed a new band, also called the Miami Sound Machine. They remain friends.

Wright advises aspiring musicians to pursue music as a passion, not money. If it’s not your true art, find a different path. In today’s music industry, it’s hard to make a living, he said.

After leaving the band, Wright shifted his musical focus to academics and became a student mentor.

Jamie Martin, dean of English at Broward College, said Wright won the Adjunct Professor of the Year award during the pandemic. “Students have praised his charisma, his intelligence and, most of all, his understanding of them and their realities.”

“Many of the students I help are the students that not a single professor or teacher in their entire life ever noticed them or tried to help them. They deserve the same attention and all the nourishing as all the alpha students in the world,” Wright said.

Wright has taught linguistics, composition, creative writing, film, and literature. Currently, he is teaching at Broward College, but he has also taught at Florida Atlantic University, Nova Southeastern University, and St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens. He has a bachelor’s degree in print media and two master’s degrees: one in creative writing and one in applied linguistics. While he did not do a dissertation, he completed his doctoral coursework and passed his doctoral exams in forensic linguistics and literary theory.

Wright was regarded as one of South Florida’s best guitarists, but he credits his talent to God. His ministry is rooted in his Catholic beliefs, which emphasize that works must go hand in hand with faith.

“If God gives you a gift that you also use that gift in service of God’s ministries,” he said.

For over 30 years, Wright has played mandolin at St. Bonaventure Parish in Davie during the 5:30 p.m. Vigil Mass. He has also played guitar with pianist Michael Sayers at St. Gregory Church in Plantation for the past 20 years, at the 6 p.m. Sunday Mass, where he performs solely for God.

“It’s a treasure having him in the group,” said folk group vocalist Donna. “He really is amazing.”

When Wright is not teaching or playing at Mass, he performs in a local music group, Viva, which is made up of musicians who are also former members of famous bands.