From Cantinas To Classrooms: Mariachi Music A ‘Sanctuary’ For Students

Kids ranging in age from elementary to high school are able to learn mariachi music, and share it with others.

By Norma MartinezDecember 11, 2017 9:30 am,

From Texas Public Radio:

If you’ve ever eaten at a Mexican restaurant or attended a Mexican wedding, or other celebratory occasion, you’ve probably encountered a band of mariachis. Now, mariachi music has expanded beyond the usual haunts. Mariachi programs have blossomed in schools nationwide in the last couple of decades.

At a mariachi workshop held in San Antonio, as part of the recent 23rd Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza, students from across the country half-filled one of the ballrooms inside the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. The violins were grouped in the right corner. The guitars took up several rows on the left half of the room, and the trumpets sat some rows back, behind the violins.

Read more: