Students filled the auditorium Dec. 18 with anticipation for the annual Mr. Coral Gables pageant, one of the most popular events of the year for students at Gables. The pageant allows male representatives of different groups and clubs to showcase their dynamic dance moves, unique talent and personal stories to win over the hearts of the judges and crowd. The winner of the pageant is crowned Mr. Coral Gables, making him the ceremonial student representative of the school.
The theme of this year’s event was ‘A Night at the Movies’, with movie theater themed tickets and decorations in the auditorium. Leading up to the event, rehearsals for each contestants’ talent exhibitions were held, with supporting students also being involved in the performances. The Gablettes, who also played a part in the show, began preparations months in advance. Contestants participated in countless practices prior to the event, memorizing choreography for their group-dance and personalized performances.
“Since this is such a big event for us Gablettes, we’ve been preparing for a while just to make sure we have everything down and ready for our part. Obviously we practice a lot regardless, but when it’s preparation for an event, there’s a bit more urgency and kind of need to have everything perfect,” sophomore Stella Gonzalez said.
To kick off the show, the contestants took to the stage to perform a synchronized dance amid loud cheers from the crowd. Shortly after, the Gablettes took their place on stage as they performed their introductory routine. As the crowd began to build with excitement, the Gablettes left the stage to make room for the contestants individual pageant introductions. Each contestant was introduced with their stage name and brief monologue, sporting swim suits to fit with the theme of a male pageant.
“The swim suits are needed for the male pageant, dressing up in the beach gear for the introductions was super fun. Lots of guys flexed, danced or hyped up the crowd during their introduction,” junior Rafael Hanono said.
After one last performance, a co-dance between the contestants and the Gablettes, the top ten contestants were announced to move onto the next round and be able to showcase their personal talents. However, the audience was met with a pleasant surprise as it was announced that this year, for the first time, there would be 11 contestants advancing to the following round. The chosen group of contestants featured Mr. Band, Mr. Bhangra, Mr. Soccer, Mr. Volleyball, Mr. Film, Mr. Water Polo, Mr. Math Honor Society, Mr. Italian, Mr. Interact, Mr. International Baccalaureate Honor Society and finally, Mr. Football.
Shortly after, the 10 chosen contestants began showcasing their talents, with Mr. Band performing first. For his talent, Aidan Remedios performed a precise piano recital, seeing as he had played piano for a majority of his life. His skills wowed the audience with his display of musical talent.
Following him, Mr. Bhangra, who showed what his club was all about, showcased a dance recital to the song “Sticky” by Tyler, the Creator. Incorporating elements of traditional Punjabi culture into his dance, he gave an inspiring performance, perfectly representative of his club.
After them, Mr. Soccer, Sky Carrizo entered the stage with backup dancer, Santiago Bergonzi and a speaker, with which he presented a dance to the song Jingle Bell Rock. Midway through his performance however, his speaker cut out, and he finished the song with his own vocals, mimicking the popular scene from the movie “Mean Girls”.

When Mr. Soccer left the stage, it was time for Mr. Volleyball, Nicolas ‘Nico’ Delgado’s performance. At the start of his performance, a video he pre-recorded was displayed on a projector on the stage. In this video, he could be seen running towards the auditorium throughout the school and as he arrived at the auditorium entrance in the video, his video cut and he broke the fourth wall, running through the real auditorium aisles to surprise the audience. Dancing to “One Way or Another,” backup dancers in matching shirts emerged onto the stage and gave his dance the extra charisma it needed to win over the audience.
Following him, Mr. Film, who had the stage lights turned off for complete darkness. As he entered the stage in obscurity, he could only be seen by LED sticks which were attached to his body, along with his backup dancers. He danced in the dark to songs such as “Single Ladies”, “Baby” and “YMCA”.
After he exited the stage, the lights were turned back on and the stage was set for Mr. Water Polo, Rafael Hanono, who displayed his unique passion for martial arts, performing a series of martial arts moves to the rhythm of an agressive melody in the background.

After him came Mr. Math Honor Society, senior Bryan Martinez, who performed a piano recital. He was joined by vocalist and mistress of ceremony Melissa Hernandez to sing a duet and perform a dance inspired by the hit movie “La La Land”. The two danced and harmonized in perfect synchrony, which captivated the audience with each string of melody.
“Personally, I’m probably biased, because I like the movie so much, but the performance from Mr. Math with the La-La Land duet was my favorite. Both of them worked so well together and everything, the choreography, the vocals and the piano came out amazingly,” sophomore Carolina Sesin said.
Following was Mr. Italian, Massimo Vendrame’s performance, who performed a comedic skit in the form of an opera recital, quite far from nailing the notes.
After Mr. Interact had a puppet show set wheeled on stage. Much to the amusement of the audience Mr Interact’s head could be seen poking out of the head holes in the set along with 3 backup puppets. The puppets had a baby-like appearance and got a few laughs out of the crowd as they danced to songs such as “Kung-Fu Fighting”, “YMCA” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling”.

Mr. IBHS came next, as Sebastian Martinez displayed his passion for science while he gave a speech about courage. Tying the spirit of courage to his performance of lighting his hand on fire, he wowed the audience with his display. During his speech, first year chemistry teacher Mr. Michel joined him on stage to assist with his performance as Mr. IBHS proceeded to light his entire gloved hand on fire, before swiftly putting it out and clearing the stage.
Mr. Football held the last display of the night. His video was played anyways, in which a series of pictures documenting his life could be seen as he took to the stage. The sentimental video opened up to a stage of five characters from Scooby-Doo, who chased each other across the auditorium as Mr. Football gave a rendition of the theme song “What’s New Scooby-Doo”.
As the panel of judges, a group of Gables Alumni, who would be selecting the top five were introduced, the audience and contestants waited in suspense. After a short discussion, the judges revealed their decision to the hosts of the pageant. The final five contestants were Mr. Volleyball, Mr. IBHS, Mr. Football, Mr. Math Club and Mr. Water Polo.
The final five contestants had undoubtably proven their skill, but the judges wanted to evaluate the final contestants on a personal level. Each contestant was individually interviewed by the judges to determine not only their character, but dedication to Gables and its community. As the judges were given time to evaluate the answers and choose their winner, the Gablettes gave a final performance to the song “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree”.
When the judges had come to a decision, the contestants were asked to rejoin on the stage to be presented their awards. The first award was given to Mr. Volleyball, who won ‘Most Talented’, followed by ‘Fan Favorite’, which was given to Mr. Bhangra. The next award, runner-up of Mr. Coral Gables, was presented to Mr. Football, which left the other four contestants waiting in suspense to hear who would be crowned Mr. Coral Gables. The winner of Mr. Coral Gables, which was presented by last year’s runner up, Keller Evans, was finally revealed to be Nicolas Delgado, Mr. Volleyball, who celebrated ecstatically along with his other contestants while confetti covered the stage.
“It’s awesome that [Mr. Volleyball] won. He really worked on this, and it’s something he’s had his eye on for a while. The whole process was also pretty fun, with all the rehearsals and preparation and I’d recommend doing it to anyone that’s interested,” senior Evan Noval said.
Going forward, the contestants of Mr. Coral Gables all strive to continue to exemplify the values for which Gables represents. The long-standing Gables tradition serves as one of the most important events of the year, showcasing the school’s talent while also bringing back alumni to cherish in old memories. As for the juniors who competed, they will likely have their eyes on next year’s prize, to be crowned Mr. Coral Gables in 2025.