Napa Valley College Viva Mariachi returns
Mariachi los Gavilantes, Mariachi del Valle, and Mariachi Plata.
Photos by Michael Kressner in 2024.
The Viva Mariachi festival returns to Napa Valley College on April 12 for two shows at 2 p.m. and at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center.
This year, Viva Mariachi will feature performances by the all-female Mariachi Las Mariposas from Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School from Tucson, Arizona and Mariachi Luz de Oro from UC Berkeley.
Attendees are invited to arrive an hour early to enjoy a pre-show reception featuring churros and drinks from Mercadito Catering and wines produced by the college’s Viticulture and Winery Technology students. It will include a sneak peek performance by Grupo Folklórico Quetzalén, a Mexican folklórico dance group, as well as a raffle to win passes for the La Onda music festival coming to Napa on May 31 and June 1.
Alejandro Guerrero, assistant superintendent and vice president for student affairs, is coordinating the festival for the third time. The festival was originally spearheaded by his predecessor, Oscar De Haro, who still helps as a consultant.
“He still is active as a volunteer for us, and he goes to mariachi tournaments and listens to the mariachi as they compete,” Dr. Guerrero said.
De Haro came up with the idea prior to his retirement, “the idea being to introduce, the mariachi genre of music to the county, but also the expectation, hopes and desires that one day, the teachers in this area and the people, the parents from this area organize and put together a mariachi of their own, or of our own, for the county,” he said.
The staff searches universities to find available mariachis. “It’s important, because it allows the community to see the talent that exists in mariachi music throughout the nation, throughout the state, because we also need to understand that playing music is also very academic. You get to learn how to read music, how to play music,” De Haro said.
One of the groups coming from UC Berkeley represents those in universities pursuing the music route.
“And then if there’s any high school or middle school programs that are out there, we also check them out as well,” Guerrero said.
Guerrero explained there is no specific criteria for the mariachi groups. The goal is to enhance the cultural significance of the art form.
“What we’re trying to do is expose our community, Napa, to the world of mariachi. Not just the music but the art form and the educational component,” he said.
“It’s an opportunity for us to really highlight and to demonstrate to Napa and the community that mariachi is much more than something you just listen to on a Sunday, but rather an art form. It can be a life choice, maybe even a career,” Guerrero added.
Napa Valley College does not offer mariachi or folklorico classes yet. To add these to the curriculum, Guerrero said, there has to be enough students to ask for the classes.
“Napa High has a big band and Vintage has a band, but no one has mariachi, right? How powerful would it be if our schools thought of ‘How do we do mariachi at Napa High’, so it’s a culturally responsive way to approach music and music education,” he said.
Mariachi los Gavilantes, Mariachi del Valle, and Mariachi Plata.
Photos by Michael Kressner in 2024.
“Our goal is to have programs here in Napa, in our local schools, but also at Napa Valley College. Our goal is to push to have our own curriculum where you can get a degree in mariachi. Hopefully that’s something we’ll have here in the next several years. Our music director is working on helping us establish that,” Guerrero said.
“For me personally, one of the big things is that Napa Valley College is what’s called a Hispanic-serving institution. Over 40% of our students are of Latino background. We have to have a curriculum, a music program that reflects their way of growing up in the world, their traditions of their homes, and mariachi offers that. It really puts at the center, a celebration of their cultura, of their familias, of their communities.”
The festival is expecting more than 800 to attend the Saturday shows.
On Friday, April 11, from 6 to 7 p.m., the three mariachi groups will present a free show at Lyman Park, at 1498 Main St. That same Friday morning, the college will hold a matinee show for schools from Napa Valley Unified School District.
Tickets for the Saturday showings can be purchased here.
