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Her mom was killed at Chiefs rally. Teen picks up the DJ mic to 'keep her legacy going'

Eric Adler, The Kansas City Star on

Published in News & Features

Thousands of people knew her, drawn to her ebullient smile. At her Feb. 23 visitation the day before her funeral, the line of mourners spilled from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Redemptorist Church onto Broadway and wrapped around Linwood Boulevard.

“I kind of just wanted to honor her and keep her legacy going,” Adriana said in choosing to unpack her mother’s equipment and take a name: “DJ Nana G.”

After her mother died, previously booked gigs obviously had to be canceled. Mike Galvan, her dad, took on the hard duty in his grief to let event planners know. Then Adriana’s stepsister, Tiffany Bañuelos, had the idea that maybe Adriana could do them. Adriana had watched her mother at gigs, taking over the mixing board when her mom was on breaks.

“My mom kind of prepared me throughout the years,” Adriana said. “It just kind of felt a little heartbreaking for my dad to have to cancel. And so I kind of stepped up and said, ‘I could try and practice and take over if that’s OK with everybody.’”

So they kept Saturday’s gig: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Guadalupe Center, 1015 Avenida Cesar E. Chavez, a $10 taco fundraiser for the Kansas City Bravos, a Mexican American fast-pitch softball team. Adriana goes on at 1 p.m. She has another event booked for Cinco de Mayo.

“It’s kind of nerve-wracking. I know I won’t be as great as her, but I’ll definitely try my best.”

 

Trying, slowly and achingly moving forward, is what the Galvans are doing now. It has been little more than six weeks since as, Adriana put it, “it all happened.”

They were all there that day, 18 family members, when gunfire rattled the air.

In the garage this week, Galvan sat nearby, watching his daughter.

“She has all her music. She’ll do fine,” he said.

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