Mariachi is alive and well in Coyote Community thanks to a first of its kind at Alice Independent School District.
A culture forgotten in our Hispanic youth is at the top of El Coyote Mariachi’s playlist.
El Coyote Mariachi is a group of 36 high school students playing and singing their hearts out in Spanish. On Thursday, Feb. 20, they were practicing for their first trip ever to state competition in Seguin on Friday.
"Mariachi is my life now. It was all a blur. I was just so surprised. I was so shocked. I was so excited to be able to experience something new for the first time,” Sierra Solis, a freshman member of El Coyote Mariachi said.
"It takes a lot of practice and a lot of ganas,” Gabriel Ramos, a senior member of El Coyote Mariachi said.
Solis, Ramos and their fellow musicians have taken a language they don’t know and conveyed emotions behind the lyrics to every canción they play, submerging themselves in mariachi.
"One of the main things in mariachi is showing the pride and the words behind it mean and are sentimental to a lot of people,” Ramos said.
Juan Carlos Gonzalez has been the head director of El Coyote Mariachi for Alice ISD since its inception five years ago.
Mariachi started in Alice through an after-school program and was only held a few days a week. But Gonzalez said it gained popularity and the district decided to have a mariachi class at William Adams Middle School and the Alice High School.
He said the hard part for mariachi students is the language something judges rate them on. But the students practice the language. Solis and Ramos agreed and said that they have to take the Spanish words, find the English translation, and then practice the lyrics with the emotions.
“It’s not easy,” Gonzalez said. “(But, being state-bound for the first time is) monumental cause it's never happened before. So, it's really awesome. And these kids - someone said - are a force to be reckoned with and I completely agree."
Gonzalez said they are not competing against other schools. They’ll be competing against themselves for a Division 1 rating to bring home and add to their growing awards.
El Coyote Mariachi is scheduled to take the stage at Seguin High School’s Performing Arts Center at 1:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21.
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