A growing number of San Diego County teenagers with ties to Mexico are embracing that country's traditional Mariachi music. Earlier this month, one of California's biggest student Mariachi conferences took place in Chula Vista. It was a chance for hundreds of young troubadours to learn from Mexico's best. KPBS Education Reporter Ana Tintocalis went to the conference to tune into the music.
(The sound of a young girl singing a traditional Mariachi ballad)
Seventeen-year-old Vivian Mitre was born and raised in San Ysidro. She started singing when she was just four years old.
(The sound of Vivian hitting a high note)
Vivian is now the lead vocalist of her own band - a high school Mariachi ensemble called Tierra Del Sol. She says Mariachi music speaks to her heart.
Mitre: Just the way when you get to sing, you get to express your feelings. You're feeling down or you're feeling happy... Mariachi music expresses that.
Today Vivian is singing about the pain of a young man in love. She's being coached by Heriberto Molina, a legendary Mariachi vocalist.
(The sound of Heriberto Molina coaching Vivian as she sings)
Vivian is one of more than 200 teenagers at the conference getting this kind of intense, one-on-one instruction from Mexico's finest musicians.
They're also working in groups.
(The sound of an ensemble of Mariachi violins playing)
In this class, violinist Sergio Caratachea leads a group of admiring teenagers. He's part of Mariachi Internacional Guadalajara , one of Mexico's most famous Mariachi bands.
(The sound of Sergio Caratachea coaching the class as he plays the violin)
Eighteen-year-old Lisa Talavera of Chula Vista says she's been waiting for this day all year long.
Talavera: I play the violin and its amazing to feel the music go through you. Its our culture, its beautiful.
That's one of the reasons why musicians like Miguel Martinez come to the conference every year to teach. Martinez is a famous Mariachi trumpeter who lives in Mexico City. During the 1930s and 1940s he fought to introduce the trumpet into Mariachi music. Before then the bands were mostly made-up of string instruments.
Martinez says teaching young people is a labor of love.
Martinez: Its not easy teaching young people how to play the trumpet. It takes a long time for them to learn. But I've dedicated my life to the trumpet. I've been playing since I was 13 years old. Being calm and having patience is the key. And I will keep on having patience with these kids just like the music teachers who helped me as a boy.
Eighteen-year-old Ricardo Mungia dreams of being a famous Mariachi trumpeter like Martinez. He's been playing since he was 10 years old. He says being in a Mariachi group is more important to him than being in a rock band.
Mungia: You think Mariachi you think Mexico. And I want to carry the culture here to the U-S and let everyone feel what Mariachi is. Because rock, its good, there are good rock bands, but Mariachi is something different. Something special.
The organizer, Mark Fogelquist, believes student Mariachi groups are flourishing in California because there are more families here with roots in Mexico. He says parents and grandparents usually push kids to learn the music at first, but then it quickly becomes a passion of their own.
Fogelquist: Students come in and they say 'What is this stuff?' But, in a short while, it does connect with them. It’s amazing. It does resonate with young people. Once they get into it, it's like they catch a fever, they catch Mariachi fever, and you can't stop them.
Organizers at Chula Vista's student Mariachi conference hope it grows into California's biggest youth Mariachi event. They say its proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border and the large number of Mexican families in the area make this an ideal spot for that to happen.
Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
