Humans of MC: Oscar Quintanilla

Unable to impress girls at the age of 12, Oscar Quintanilla refused to quit the guitar. Today, he has written over 50 songs and dreams of becoming a pop star. Quintanilla not only plays guitar but also bass, piano, and mixes music. A second-year student at Montgomery College, Quintanilla is pursuing a business degree and has a passion for music making.

“I think when you want to pursue music or any arts you should always have a backup plan, Business always seems super cool to me… because you can’t really drift away. It’s straightforward, I like that,” he said. Quintanilla plans to use his business degree to secure his finances and to market himself in the music world. Quintanilla may be working towards a business degree, but he has his heart set on becoming a world-famous pop star.

As a full-time student also making time to work and practice music, Quintanilla considerers himself as a busy person. “It’s hard sometimes, you get anxiety and there’s so much to do. It’s all about time management and priorities,” he said. In high school, Quintanilla used to practice for about six hours a day. Today, it’s closer to one or two hours.

Quintanilla believes that being a musician is the hardest thing. “You’re always thinking about it, always wanting to do it, in class, at work… Music makes moments more realistic than what it is,” he said. Quintanilla’s passion drives him to keep going and persevere. His love for creating music is his ticket out of reality.

Every musician has their likes and dislikes. Quintanilla hates competitions and has a slight fear of performing in public. “I like the attention, but I don’t like to be seen,” he said.

Even though Quintanilla is pursuing a business degree in addition to his passion for music, there are many other musicians out there struggling to pursue music degrees. Quintanilla offered some advice for those struggling. “Don’t worry so much, doors will open with music. You won’t have to open them,” he advised. As a high school senior, Quintanilla received admission to the NYU School of Music but was worried that he would fail without a backup degree.

In addition to studying and music, Quintanilla teaches guitar to kids at his church. “It’s a little nerve-wracking because the kids pick up your traits and I’m not a professional,” he said with a chuckle. Quintanilla calls his creations “O-pop,“ meaning Oscar-pop.

According to Quintanilla, his music writing is often done at 3 am or whenever creativity strikes. “My goal is that I just want to make music, and be better than yesterday,” he said.

Oscar Quintanilla aspires to become a famous pop star with his musical creations of O-pop. His passion for business and music will help him achieve his dreams in the music world.