¡Viva Mariachi! Festival Returns To Napa Valley College April 1

NAPA, CA — On Saturday, April 1, the sights and sounds of traditional mariachi music will return to Napa Valley College's Performing Arts Center with the 3rd Annual ¡Viva Mariachi! Festival. The one-day event includes a matinee performance and an evening performance, each featuring nationally renowned performers celebrating the rich heritage and cultural traditions of México.

The performances, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., will feature three award-winning mariachi ensembles: Mariachi Los Gavilanes from Monaco Middle School in Las Vegas, Nevada; Mariachi Cantares de Mi Tierra from Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa; and Mariachi de Uclatlán from the University of California at Los Angeles.

“With the tremendous success of our inaugural festival in 2019, we are delighted to return with our third annual festival concert,” said Dr. Alejandro Guerrero, interim associate vice president of student affairs at Napa Valley College. “We had to put the annual event on hold as a result of Covid and we are excited to bring it back to the community at the affordable price of only $15 per ticket.”

Mariachi Los Gavilanes de Monaco Middle School has been serving the Las Vegas community since 2002 and features a 14-member ensemble, ages 12-14. One of the nation's largest mariachi programs, Mariachi Los Gavilanes has represented the Clark County School District with performances in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. In November, they placed third at the 2022 Mariachi Extravaganza Mariachi group competition in San Antonio, Texas.

Luther Burbank Center’s (LBC) Mariachi Cantares de Mi Tierra features a 29-member ensemble of musicians, ages 10 to 18. The group, which recently opened for the world-famous Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan and has been invited to the annual mariachi competition in Tucson, Arizona, in May, is led by LBC’s music specialist, José Soto. All of the performers in the year-round program have previously participated in one of the Center’s three-week mariachi camps, where they learn critical social and emotional skills including perseverance, leadership, cooperation, and collaboration, in addition to technique, musicianship and stage presence, through the lens of mariachi.

UCLA's Mariachi de Uclatlán features a 14-member ensemble and is the first collegiate mariachi group in the nation, founded in 1961. Hosted by the university's Department of Ethnomusicology, Mariachi de Uclatlán is a student group dedicated to the performance of traditional Mexican music. For the past 30 years, they have been under the leadership of Jesús “Chuy” Guzmán, who won a Grammy Award in 2020 for Best Regional Mexican Album, as a part of Mariachi Los Camperos.

¡Viva Mariachi! is sponsored by Arts Council Napa Valley, Napa County Hispanic Network, Napa Valley College Foundation, Golden State, Damian Maldonado Memorial Foundation, Sheriff Oscar Ortiz, Trinchero Family Estates, IWP LC, Bernie Narvaez Insurance Services, Paul J. Dohring, and others. Founding supporters Sandra Nichols and Guadalupe Cid are returning this year.

Tickets are selling fast, so don’t wait till they are sold out. For information and tickets, visit tinyurl.com/2023VivaMariachi.