'I had faith in the community': Houston's Mariachi Festival continues to grow and showcase talent
What is the sound of Houston?
The easy, and largely accurate, answer is rap. Houston established itself as a force in the genre thanks to DJ Screw, who paved the way for a mid-2000s breakthrough that included Slim Thug, Chamillionaire and Paul Wall.
Mariachi Festival
When: Friday-Sunday
Where: Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas
Tickets: $29 and up at performingartshouston.org
YOUNG MARIACHIS: Houston students join lineup at 6th annual Mariachi Festival this weekend
It could be jazz and blues, heard daily at clubs and restaurants across the city. The vibrant sounds of Tejano or zydeco. Even punk or synth-pop, both of which have dedicated followings throughout the city.
But if you listen closely, all over Houston, you'll hear the blaring horns and soaring voices of mariachi music. It's the soundtrack for family celebrations and holidays. It weaves through school auditoriums and neighborhood festivals. It's equally fit for backyard parties and world-class stages.
Once seen as tradition preserved, it has become a tradition reinvented. That sense of motion powers the Mariachi Festival, a three-day showcase of music and culture. The sixth annual event runs Friday-Sunday at the Wortham Theater Center.
"Most people have never seen a mariachi other than at a restaurant. So if I'm from, let's just say Friendswood, I'd be lucky to find a good concert to go to for mariachi," says Ben Mendez, executive director of the Mariachi Festival. "But everybody in the Houston area can come here and enjoy a real show. We try to make it exciting, because for a lot of people, this is their first time being exposed to what we do."
The Mariachi Festival began in 2019 as a small event at Talento Bilingüe de Houston in the East End that attracted about 250 people. At the time, Mendez considered it a "grand success" and was inspired to build on the event's mission to create and support mariachi and ballet folklórico programs in schools. This year's event will be the fourth at the Wortham Theater Center and counts more than 200 volunteers.
"I had faith in the community that they would come out and support us, and they did. Everybody liked the cultural aspect, so we decided to keep doing it, and we just got bigger and bigger," Mendez says. "Every night is a different show. We try to attract some of the best mariachis that we can find in Texas."
This year's lineup includes Mariachi Imperial de América and Mariachi Pumas from the University of Houston, along with McAllen's Mariachi 7 Leguas, Mariachi Mariposas, an all-female group from the Rio Grande Valley, and Mariachi Del Bosque from Conroe. The lineup also includes Mateo Lopez, recognized as the youngest mariachi singer by Guinness World Records in 2019 at four years old, who appeared on "The Kelly Clarkson Show."
For many of the performers, mariachi is part of a proud lineage. Even attendees are asked to dress for the occasion. Traditional Mexican dresses and guayaberas on Friday and Saturday, formal wear on Saturday.
"Performing mariachi is more than just playing music, it’s a way of carrying my culture with me wherever I go," says Esmeralda Regalado of Mariachi Del Bosque. "When I put on the traje and sing or play, I feel proud of where I come from. It's not just entertainment — it's tradition, history and emotion all wrapped together. It makes me feel close to my heritage, even when I'm far from where it began."
Mariachi music originated in Mexico, and modern-day crowds use it as a celebratory soundtrack for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and other life events. It has permeated pop culture, with singers appearing on "America's Got Talent" and "The Voice." A mariachi ensemble accompanied Shakira during a June tour stop at Toyota Center. That same month, Metallica singer James Hetfield sported mariachi pants onstage at NRG Stadium. Two years ago, the Alley Theatre in Houston centered the musical play "American Mariachi" around female musicians in the '70s.
Much of the festival's focus is on youth and education. The National Youth Vocal Mariachi Competition gives performance opportunities to singers in four age divisions: elementary, junior high, high school and college. The festival also features a High School All-Star Mariachi Group and will include performances by Sam Houston High School Mariachi and Klein Collins High School's Mariachi Estrella de Mi Tierra.
"Today, I see mariachi as everyone's tradition," says Carlos Lara, co-director of Mariachi Estrella de Mi Tierra alongside his wife Erin Lara. "Regardless of ethnic boundaries, uneducated responses to social differences and unchecked political agendas, the traditional Mexican art form of mariachi has proven to be an unbreakable form of expression that only unifies and strengthens the bonds amongst the youth of this world."
Un grito for that one.
