When it comes to show choir hairstyles, it’s easy to think of high poufs and hair spray, but boys need to keep their hair styled for show choir too. That is where Byron Mosquera stepped in: To fill a haircutting niche.
Mr. Mosquera isn’t only the show choir director, he has also been cutting hair for students and faculty for over a decade.
When Mosquera was in school, he always had a terrible experience with barbers. This inspired him to learn how to cut hair and avoid the barber cost.
“I was the kid who would go to either a barbershop or a salon and tell them ‘hey, please don’t chop off my hair,’ and the first thing they’d do is cut my bangs off,” he said. “So I thought, well, if I’m paying someone all this money to mess up my hair, I might as well pay nobody to mess my hair up, but myself.”
When Mosquera was a student at Homewood High School, shaggy hairstyles were trending. As a result, when he was in show choir, he’d always have hair in his eyes.
Mr. Thorne, the former show choir director, used to get mad at Mr. M because his hair was never cut short enough for the shows. Mr. Mosquera once competed in a show choir competition where the judges commented on his great performance, but noted that they couldn’t see his face or his facial expressions.
Mosquera began cutting hair when he was in college. In college, he would cut his hair and his friend’s hair, primarily out of necessity. Without prior experience, “It was a lot of trial and error and a lot of Youtube video watching,” Mosquera said.
He first started cutting hair for show choir boys at a 2014 competition. Mr. M previously had long hair, so he was proficient in cutting all different hair types.
“There was a kid that was just like me who had really long hair, so out of necessity, they asked me if I would cut this kid’s hair,” Mosquera said.
Ever since, Mr. M continued giving haircuts to show choir boys, even during the off-season. Junior Hunter Gonzalez is very happy with his haircuts from Mosquera.
“I get it the same way every time, and everytime I’m happy with it,” he said.
Show choir boys aren’t the only people Mosquera cuts hair for.
Finite math and photography teacher Matthew Oberneder also receives haircuts by Mosquera. Back in 2021, Mr. M and Coach Obernerder would eat lunch along with Ryan Hepp. Haircuts became the topic of conversation one day, and Oberneder said he needed one.
Mosquera volunteered to cut his hair, which would only include a simple buzzcut, and Oberneder agreed.
“First time I loved it, and I’ve been going back ever since,” Oberneder said.
An important part of show choir culture, Mr. M’s haircuts are one of the ways the show choir gets ready to perform, and ready for the numerous competitions.
