San Benito County Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz celebrated his uncontested 2016 re-election campaign on April 9, at a gathering hosted by Robert and Aracel Rodriguez at their home in Hollister, with more than 100 people in attendance. One of the highlights of the event was the live-music performance by Mariachi Juvenil Alma de Mexico, a music academy and performing arts group based in Gilroy with a satellite operation in Hollister.
According to Anthony Moreno, musical director for Mariachi Alma de Mexico Performing Group & Academy of Music, the nonprofit organization is supported by the Hollister Dual Language Academy and rehearses at Mr. O’s Academy of the Arts in downtown Hollister. Students are attracted to the program through word of mouth in the community.
Mariachi and its Roots
The roots of the Mariachi go back hundreds of years. It was the music of country people; music that celebrated the joys, the struggles, and the triumphs of the Mexican people. The Mariachi was a version of Spanish theatrical orchestra containing violins, guitars, and a harp. Groups were small and not generally known outside of the region from which they came.
The musical form and ensemble of the Mariachi developed differently from region to region. The ensemble that is familiar today began to take shape in the the nineteenth century in the state of Jalisco. In other areas such as Veracruz and Huasteca, the northeast region of the country, the ensemble evolved differently. By the end of the 19th Century, the cocula or the vihuela, two violins, and the guitarron were the instruments of the Mariachi.
By the 1950’s the Mariachi ensemble was becoming more flexible and orchestral without losing it’s traditional base. The classical guitar, two trumpets and more violins were added to make the ensemble more adaptable and able to play different styles other than the son (a type of traditional folk song that is an essential element to the mariachi repetoire).
The Mariachi at Special Occasions
The Mariachi has continued to be a huge part in the celebration of the moments of the lives of the Mexican people. In a society where young people of the opposite sex are kept separated, the serenata is a means of communication from a young man to a woman that he is courting. The serenata is a musical message of love delivered by the Mariachi on his behalf.
It is common to be woken up with the sounds of Las Mananitas in the early morning. This is a traditional song used to celebrate saint’s days and birthdays. Mariachis are commonly one form of entertainment at baptisms, weddings, holidays, and funerals. The Mariachi continues to be a common and essential source of entertainment in Mexico and now more and more in the Southwest region of the United States.
According to the group’s web site, music lessons, dance lessons and vocal lessons are offered to both youth groups and adults interested in studying the Mariachi traditional performing arts. The organization has a flexible policy to admit students based on family income and student needs.
Based on the performance at the De La Cruz celebration event in Hollister, children from ages 6 through 17 demonstrated considerable skill and talent playing violin, trumpet, guitar and singing solo and choral arrangements of Mariachi song standards.
For more information, visit its web site: http://www.mariachi-alma.com/.
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