Now in its fourth year, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Festival de Mariachi has expanded its programming to five days. With a mission to showcase and celebrate mariachi music in the Coastal Bend, the festival was founded by Andrea Montalvo-Hamid, Jim Moore, Amanda Marquez, Dr. Rai Morales and Dr. Kenneth Iyescas in 2020. After attending what is considered the largest mariachi gathering in the world, Encuentro Internacional del Mariachi y la Charrería, the group felt inspired to bring a similar event to Corpus Christi.
Since its inception, the festival has seen tremendous growth and support. “The festival has expanded every year since it began and is now five days of performances,” shared Jim Moore, TAMU-CC Director of the Performing Arts Center and a co-founder of Festival de Mariachi. “We’re also including groups beyond typical mariachi such as the Corpus Christi Chorale and Folklorico dance.”
The first of five days begins Apr. 3 at 6 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center with free performances by Mariachi en la Isla and Alcorta’s Compania de Danza Folklorico. On Apr. 4 at 7 p.m., attendees have the opportunity to watch the Corpus Christi Chorale perform alongside local musicians with a full Spanish program. On Apr. 8 at 8 p.m., Mariachi Mariposas, the all-female ensemble based in the Rio Grande Valley, will provide a powerful performance. The award-winning group began in 2012 and has since delighted audiences around the world.
“We’re excited to include Folklorico dance with Alcorta’s Compania de Danza Folklorico and about the presence of women in mariachi,” Moore shared with excitement. “Mariachi Mariposas performs on Friday night, Corpus Christi’s Mariachi Corazon Del Mar on Saturday during the day, as well as two platicas with female leaders in research and performance in mariachi. We’re also thrilled to be partnering again with the Corpus Christi Cathedral on a Spanish Mass on Sunday, 11 a.m., where there will be up to 40 mariachis participating in the service.”
The festival will also include performances by area and regional school ensembles including Del Mar College’s Mariachi Del Mar, Sharyland High School Mariachi Nuevo Cascabel, Las Vegas Academy of the Arts Mariachi and the CCISD All-Stars Mariachi. One of the beautiful aspects of this festival is the gathering of so many talented groups to perform in one place.
As Mariachi en la Isla Ensemble Director and professor of music at TAMU-CC Rai Morales stated in a 2022 interview for The Bend, “The ability to create music is a special gift and one that is available to everyone. The fact that so many individuals from different backgrounds can unite through mariachi music is so inspiring and such a beautiful sight to see.”
For the full schedule of events and ticket information, visit the Festival de Mariachi webpage and make plans to attend one or more of the incredible concerts between Apr. 3 – 7.
