The Sun City Girls: The Story behind El Paso’s First Professional Dance Team
Esme Ojeda
City Beat Magazine
Oct 27, 2013
It all began with a funeral. Richard Rivera Jr., CEO of CBE Artist Management Company, was working and living in Los Angeles when he received the news that his grandmother in El Paso had passed away. Within the month, his other grandmother had passed away as well. Rivera then took some time off and flew down to El Paso help his family deal with the situation and help pick up the pieces.
During his stay here in El Paso, he was invited to an event at a local pizza place. It was a party sponsored by the El Paso Diablo Diamond Girls. “I was in shorts, and a pink cabana shirt, and I stood out like a sore thumb,” recalled Rivera. “The event was very disorganized. To be honest, the pizza place didn’t even care that these girls were there.”
Rivera then began to talk to the girls. He took the opportunity to talk with the girls about his company, CBE Management, and began to discuss the nuts and bolts of the entertainment company, and what his company does for talented individuals. “I found out that not only did these girls not get paid, they had to pay for their uniforms. All they got from the Diablos was a patch, some kind of emblem. It was basically volunteer work.” He dug a little deeper and found out that most of the girls were very educated. “Most of them had degrees, and they were working two jobs, just so they could keep doing what they loved to do. They’re trying to get to this next level of success, but they’re being capped off because there’s no other road. This supposed ‘dance team’ was not giving them what they needed to get to that next level.”
One of the girls then asked Rivera, “How much do I have to pay you?” Rivera said, “Right then and there, I knew that something was wrong. The entertainment business model here in El Paso is: We will promise you the world, we will deliver on zero, and we will use you to our advantage. I knew something had to change. These girls had the drive, but they just didn’t have the direction.”
It was then that Rivera had the idea that would later turn into the Sun City Girls. “I realized that there was a marketplace here in El Paso for talent management, and I knew I could do something substantial for the city. So I talked with some people back in LA that I trusted, and they said, if I can pair these girl with some brands, not only can I pay them, but this could be something real, what it’s supposed to be. From then on, what was just an idea became a reality.”
CBE Management Company was started back in 2009. Rivera explained, “What we do is that we help guide talent to become the best that they can become. We are not an agent, but a sort of stepping stone to an agent. We are a business manager. We focus on actors and models. We’re a commission based company, so we don’t make any money unless our clients do.” Rivera warned that the Entertainment Industry is not as glamorous as it sounds. “I’m on the phone with casting directors all day long. My clients are competing with 30,000 other hopefuls in LA, and not everyone is going to want our client. You need drive, passion, but more importantly commitment. We don’t want a pretty face, or even talent. What we want more is commitment.”
Veronica Rojas is the Vice President of CBE Management Company. Although Rivera and Rojas run CBE, their main focus in the Sun City Girls. Rojas was Rivera’s right hand man in making the Sun City Girls become a reality. While Rivera was in LA, Rojas was here in El Paso doing business and trying to get this new idea off the ground. A native El Pasoan, Rojas was Rivera’s key to the city, letting him know what the marketplace was here and whether a professional dance team could work here in El Paso. After a year and half of scouting the marketplace incognito, Rojas determined it was time to launch this new dance team. Rivera then moved to El Paso, making the Sun City Girls his main focus. Rojas said, “The quality of life is definitely changing here in El Paso. And I think its time that El Paso had something to show for it. I believe a Professional Dance Team is exactly what El Paso needs.”
In July, CBE announced that they would be holding auditions for the Sun City Girls. Rivera explained the tough road that the girls had to follow. “We had about 150 girls audition. There was only 32 spots, 16 team members, and 16 alternates. After we selected the 32, we put them through a dance training camp and a boot camp. We made them train at 5:30 A.M., every morning. That helped weed out the girls that weren’t committed enough.”
Rivera said that at the beginning, all the girls were excited. “They all wanted to be on top. But the second they had to do the work, that was the hairline fracture that separated those who wanted it, and those who didn’t. As the training process went along, some began dropping out. These girls had never seen anything like this before.”
“In LA, these girls come off the conveyer belt, ready to take that spot. Here in El Paso, not so much,” said Rivera. “When the girls found out that they might not make the team, they began dropping like flies.”
Even when the girls were chosen for the top spots, it still wasn’t guaranteed. They had only signed non-disclosure agreements up to that point. When Rivera finally gave them the 15 page contract that would make it official, the girls were overwhelmed because they had never seen anything like that before.
Rojas said they had to explain everything in the contract, detail by detail. “We had to really make them understand what these girls were getting into. It was a long process. It was exciting because afterward, they felt relieved to be part of this company.” And for not being exposed to this type of professionalism, Rojas said the girls are adapting very well. Rojas said, “They’re doing a tremendous job. It’s incredible because not many girls would sacrifice to be here every morning at 5 in the morning.”
Rivera stressed to the girls that they are not only representing CBE Management, but they are now representing the City of El Paso. “We even made them take down all their social media. No Facebook, no Twitter, no anything. They represent a professional company. Think of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and prestige that comes with being part of it. That is what the Sun City Girls are for El Paso. They are professional athletes.”
Rojas also added that they don’t want any surprise party photos ending up online. “We explained that they have to learn how to conduct themselves because they represent El Paso. As ugly as it sounds, people will be judging these girls. As soon as they step out of their house in the morning, they have to be ‘on’.”
Rivera added that Sun City Girls represent the All-American Girl. “We believe in the American Dream, that if you work hard, you can achieve anything. We want our girls to represent that: the well rounded All-American Girl. We even have the flag on their uniforms, because we want to give homage to our Country, to Ft. Bliss. We might not be solders, but we are American, and we want to represent that as best as we can.”
Rivera and Rojas said that they want the Sun City Girls to be great role models. They specifically looked for girls that had leadership skills because they want little girls to be able to look up to the Sun City Girls. Rivera added, “Everyone in the family can be proud of these girls. Mom, Dad, Grandma, they’re all going to be proud. El Paso is going to be proud. We are El Paso’s team.”
Rivera is proud that the Sun City Girls are bringing a level of professionalism that El Paso has never seen before. “Before, a photographer would take photos of a model for free, and just give her a CD with photos. But technically, he owns that image. The model is then being used and not making any money off it. We want that to change. People in El Paso need to know that that’s not how the Entertainment Industry works. And by showing these girls how it should be, they will begin to hold people in El Paso to higher standards. And that’s how we plan to raise the bar here in El Paso.”
Although the Sun City Girls haven’t been officially revealed, they are already getting plenty of publicity. On the Sun City Girls Website, there is a countdown, counting down the days until the city of El Paso will meet their new Dance Team. Rivera said that for now, the Sun City Girls will be performing for the El Paso Rhinos. He did not want to say what else they will be doing, but that all will be revealed in time.
“We just started. We’re in year one, and we’re still baking. We don’t want to commit to anything until we know that our product is ready. But I’ve gotten so much feedback already, so I know the Sun City Girls will be exactly what the city needs,” said Rivera.
To learn more about The Sun City Girls, about the countdown, or about CBE Artist Management Company L.L.C, visit www.thesuncitygirls.com.
