YOUNG guitarist Zach Hinojas is amazing to see when performing on stage, thus he is being labelled as the “Wonder Boy” of Project JUAN band founded by his father Jun.
The nine-year-old is the second of the four children of Jun Hinojas, who is the founder of a local association of musicians in Bacolod.
When he was two years old, Zach's mother died and his father raised him and his siblings.
"Fatima, Zach's stepmom, helps me in raising them well (and) music helped us forget the loneliness of losing my (deceased) wife to cancer," the elder Hinojas said.
Like his father, Zach also has an ear for music and part of their past-time and bonding dwell on playing musical instruments.
"It was during the pandemic that Zach learned to play the guitar as he has nothing to do," his father said.
But before the pandemic, he already bought a guitar for Zach.
"His inclination is there but it was only during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic that he studied and trained himself with the aid of YouTube, my guidance, and the help of my fellow band members and musicians that helped Zach hone his guitar skills," Jun recalled.
For Jun, it is good that Zach is a talented young boy and a fast learner especially in playing the guitar.
When he was younger, Zach had been fascinated with the guitar already and would pick it up even if it was big and would aimlessly strum the strings, he added.
Jun stressed that Zach is his music buddy and his mini-me so far as music is concerned.