Photo By Joseph Siemandel | Sgt. 1st Class Ricky "Mango" Manglona, Operations Non-Commissioned Officer with the...... read more read more
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Ricky “Mango” Manglona grew up loving music and wanted to be a musician. He is now sharing that musical passion with the world and his fellow Guard members.
“It started when I was very young, just listening to the radio and singing alone,” Manglona said. “But I didn’t get formal training until I did choir. I did choir all the way through high school. That is where I got a lot of exposure, singing and performing and that is what lead me to pursuing it.”
By day, Sgt. 1st Class Manglona is the operations non-commissioned officer with the 420th Chemical Battalion in Yakima. In his off time, he’s dropping beats as “MangoThaMusicArtist.”
“I started trying to pursue a music career as a rapper, singer in 2005 and I deployed to Iraq in 2006 and didn’t stop making music. But I just didn’t pursue that career because I had other priorities at that time,” said Manglona. “I wanted to always make music and recently I got back in to the music business.”
As he started to get back into the business, he connected with a producer and in December 2021 Manglona released his first single, “Real One,” with artists Baby Bash and M-Status.
“Baby Bash is pretty well known, great west coast vibes,” said Manglona. “It was a good experience.”
In 2022, while taking part in a State Partnership Program subject matter exchange, Manglona’s music career got a boost from an unlikely source.
“I was in Thailand, doing the COVID restrictions. We were stuck at the hotel and I got talking with the wait staff and learned one of them was a producer and I said, ‘hey would you want to make some music?’ And he was like ‘sure,’” said Manglona. “I don’t think that relationship would have happened without the Guard.”
In 2023, Manglona released his next single, “Drink and Some Time,” with the help of the producer he met in Thailand, Ajahn.
“The project took about a year, but it was a great experience,” said Manglona.
Manglona is currently working on an album and videos to accompany the album.
“I want to get into film, that is something I like to do - I like to create,” said Manglona.
While the work that has been put into his multiple careers so far is all Manglona, he gives a lot of credit to the National Guard for the support.
“Obviously the financial support of having a full-time job but the opportunities to travel and meet people and grow has been amazing,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 04.26.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 04.26.2023 16:51 |
| Story ID: | 443443 |
| Location: | YAKIMA, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | YAKIMA, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 286 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Washington Guard member pursues music career while serving, by Joseph Siemandel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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