Upbeat melodies and passionate voices were synchronized as the university’s Javelina Mariachi ignited the stage on Monday, Nov. 18, at the Smith Recital Hall.
The Javelina Mariachi performed eight songs, each highlighting the Hispanic culture on campus. Throughout the show students performed solos and duets that had the audience captivated.
“Mariachi is a big part of our culture, some of these songs I remember growing up listening with my grandparents….I think it’s super important that we don’t forget about the past and I get to honor it through the performance of some of these pieces,” Director of Mariachi Sammy Posada said.
The Javelina Mariachi gave out emotional performances as they commemorated the importance of keeping traditions alive.
“It’s a different style of music, people have jazz and then you have mariachi. You have a swing and then you have caballeros, you have different types of styles and it’s fun to keep these styles alive,” Alexis Ramirez, violinist in Javelina Mariachi, said.
The fast-paced song, El Fandanguito had the audience clapping and dancing in their seats.
The concert concluded with a duet by Alyssa Guerra and Benjamin Torrez performing La Madrugada arranged by David Rivera
“I felt like we gave a great performance; it’s been a different year. We are under new leadership, we are also all multiple majors, so not all of us are music majors. That being said, we are able to come together and collaborate and hopefully give out a beautiful performance.
“My favorite part of tonight’s show would be [performing] El Fandanguito because that one was a challenge, given the level of difficulty for each instrument itself; it was a challenge and then to come together and put the difficult piece together as a whole was interesting and very successful,” Alyssa Guerra, violinist and vocalist of Javelina Mariachi, said.
The Javelina Mariachi received a great audience reaction as they sang along to the traditional tunes and gave a grito in between songs.
“ I thought the kids did really well, like I said earlier doing the recital I have a lot of pride in this university …I have a lot pride in the fact that I get to come back and kind of pass down some of the stuff that I learned from here. I thought the kids did a really good job; it’s really exciting” Posada said.