Viva Mariachi
Please consider a gift of support for this annual event celebrating music, community, and learning.
On campus student housing available Fall 2024
Thank you
Sponsors of 2024!
¡Viva Mariachi Festival at 鶹ӳ!
Dates: Saturday, April 12, 2025
Times:
- Saturday matinee concert (2 p.m.)
- Saturday evening concert (7 p.m.)
Location: Performing Arts Center (PAC), Bldg. 100
¡Viva Mariachi! at 鶹ӳ offers a unique opportunity for our community to learn how these programs are thriving throughout the U.S because of their effective role in student success, all while enriching the cultural vitality and musical traditions of their institutions and surrounding communities.
SPONSOR ¡VIVA MARIACHI! AT NAPA VALLEY COLLEGE
Your contribution to the festival ensures the vitality of this cherished annual cultural celebration, which brings together the vibrant spirit of music, community, and education.
NVC's generous donors and sponsors allow us to keep ticket prices low, reimburse performers for travel, and cover operational costs of the event. They are also assisting us with developing local mariachi music education programs for all ages.
The festival connects our community to higher education and offers an opportunity to see firsthand how mariachi programs are thriving in the U.S and how they serve to enhance students’ academic performance.
Mariachi programs enrich the cultural vitality of educational institutions and surrounding communities.
¡Viva Mariachi! is fully funded by the generosity of supporters, sponsors, and patrons.
Please consider a gift of support or sponsorship of this rich, cultural event celebrating music, community, and learning in the Mexican tradition.
2025 LINEUP
Berkeley, CA
Mariachi Luz de Oro participated in 鶹ӳ's inaugural Viva Mariachi Festival in 2019. The student-run mariachi has grown since then and are pleased to be returning to 鶹ӳ.
Established in 2013, Mariachi Luz de Oro is a musical group performing traditional and modern mariachi music. Their mission is to promote musical and cultural diversity by increasing exposure to the Mexican art form of mariachi.
Since 2019 when they participated in the ¡Viva Mariachi! Festival, the group has grown from 14 members to over 30 and they aspire to continue growing to have a long-lasting group that influences the lives of the youth in the community for the better, and to increase the musical and multicultural awareness of students, staff, and community members.
The group has performed at several charitable and private events in the Bay Area and has also hosted its own community celebration events. This group is now composed of members from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Tucson, AZ
The award winning Mariachi Aztlán de Pueblo High School was founded in the Fall of
1992 as a curricular component within the Pueblo Magnet High School Performing Arts
Department. Celebrating their 27th anniversary this year, they are comprised entirely
of Pueblo Magnet High School students ranging in age from 14 to 18 years old. The
mariachi program has grown from eleven students in its first year to well over one
hundred and thirty students currently. Students are offered three levels of mariachi
music: Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced/Performing group – “Mariachi Aztlán ”.
Students entering the performing group must, after audition and acceptance, maintain
a high level of academic achievement in order to remain on the “first team”. Their
extensive practice and performance schedule also demands most of their free time.
The twenty-two-piece Mariachi Aztlán is motivated by pride and dedication to their
cultural heritage of Mexico.
The group plays authentic mariachi music, arranged and conducted by teacher and director,
John Contreras, himself a mariachi musician with over thirty years of experience.
Dressed in their elaborate traje de charro outfits, the group boasts a repertoire
of traditional mariachi music.
As Tucson’s most popular youth mariachi, they have gained a reputation for excellence,
sharing the stage with many of the world’s finest Mariachi ensembles, Symphony Orchestras
and world-renowned artists like Pink Martini, Rufus Wainwright III, Calexico and Rita
Moreno. Through their music, they are continuously promoting a manifest pride in their
cultural background and are an excellent example of the best our youth has to offer.
East Los Angeles, CA
Founded in 2021, Mariachi Las Mariposas is an all-female ensemble of 12 young women.
Notable upcoming performances include being the opening act on August 18, 2024, for the anniversary celebration of Mariachi Divas, the internationally acclaimed all-female professional mariachi group from Los Angeles.
Mariachi Las Mariposas embodies empowerment, beauty, elegance, and grace. Their presence challenges traditional gender roles and showcases the diversity within mariachi music
This group is led by teacher and mariachi director, Guillermo Gonzalez.
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