All-Star Concert highlights Fiesta del Mariachi

SAN MARCOS – The Fifth Annual Fiesta del Mariachi, the largest collegiate Mariachi festival in the United States, will culminate May 2 with a 6 p.m. concert in Strahan Coliseum at Texas State University-San Marcos.

Headlining the concert are the reknown ensembles Mariachi Cobre, from Orlando, Fla., Mariachi Nuevo Chapultepec, from San Antonio, and Mariachi de Texas State. Tickets for the concert are $10 and $15, and are available at HEB grocery stores located in San Marcos and at Interstate 35 and William Cannon in Austin.

Founded in 1971, Mariachi Cobre originated in Tucson, Ariz., under the direction of Randy Carrillo with the goal of instilling their professional and traditional mariachi style in both students and audiences. Known throughout the United States and Mexico for versatility and traditional mariachi style and ability, Mariachi Cobre has been contracted to perform at Disney World in Florida since 1982. The group can be seen at the EPCOT Center Pavilion where they perform five days out of the week.

Mariachi Nuevo Chapultepec is the succesor group to the legendary San Antonio-based Mariachi Chapultepec, which recently received posthumous induction into the Mariachi Music Hall of Fame. The impact the original Mariachi Chapultepec had in the late 1960s was immeasurable--the troupe played at local restaurants, including Mi Tierra and Mario's, then went on to back international stars such as Antonio Aguilar, Vicente Fernandez, Amalia Mendoza and Lola Beltran before the founding brothers were tragically killed in a Chicago apartment fire in 1970 while on tour. It is the spirit and legacy of the original group that Mariachi Nuevo Chapultepec upholds for modern audiences.

The concert is the grand finale of the two-day festival, which provides competition and music workshops to Texas Mariachi students. In 2003 more than 300 students comprising 18 middle and high school Mariachi ensembles participated in the festival.

The festival was honored with a nomination for the Texas higher Education Star Award for its efforts in “Closing the Gaps by 2015” a statewide initiative to attract more minorities to higher education.

For more information, visit the Fiesta del Mariachi website at www.txstate.edu/mcmusic or call (512) 245-7401.