Early on in the history of mariachi music, the performers were overwhelmingly older men — excluding women and young people in many cases, according to Jose Jimenez. Today, as the International Mariachi Conference prepares for its 44th festival, he said that the executive board may need to put a cap on the number of participants — with the number of registrants climbing above 1,300 young mariachi musicians.
“Through the whole history of the mariachi conference, it has grown, it has shrunk, it’s been on the precipice of elimination — and in the last three years, coming back to downtown, we have been on a growth trajectory,” said Jimenez, longtime executive board member for the International Mariachi Conference. “There just seems to be a lot of energy behind it.”
The five-day International Mariachi Conference will run from Wednesday, April 29, to Sunday, May 3. The performers include mariachi performers as well as ballet folklórico dancers as young as 8 years old, up through recent high school graduates. According to the executive board member, the students hail from various school districts, including Tucson Unified School District, Sunnyside School District and a few schools Phoenix and Las Vegas. The event schedules is as follows:
El Mariachi Canta Competition — April 29
Student Showcase — April 30
Espectacular Concert — May 1
Fiesta Garibaldi — May 2
Mariachi Mass — May 3
The conference kicks off with Jimenez’s favorite event: El Mariachi Canta Competition invites performers younger than 21 to compete in an American Idol-style singing competition. According to Jimenez, the applicants submit a video audition that is sent for review to the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley, where the mariachi education program identifies qualifiers for the competition. The winner of the singing competition will receive a cash reward.
“I like all the events, but I love that one — it is smaller, focused and concentrated,” the executive board member said. “I’m the chair of it, so I may be biased — but the fact that it takes place at the MSA Annex also allows for people that didn’t even know it existed to partake and so I have really learned to enjoy that one event in particular.”
The student showcase, located at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, is a competition between schools, where groups perform for a panel of professional judges for nine minutes each. Jimenez explained that this year’s showcase will be split into two groups due to the volume of participants. The Espectacular Concert will feature various professional mariachi performers, including Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez.
The final two days of the conference include the Fiesta Garibaldi and the Mariachi Mass — each centered on mariachi music, with a focus that differentiates them from the rest of the five-day celebration. The Fiesta Garibaldi is a festival featuring nine food vendors, serving traditional and contemporary Mexican cuisine and an arts and crafts showcase with local artists — all with the backdrop of more live mariachi music and folklórico dancing.
For the Mariachi Mass, a local Catholic Priest at St. Augustine Cathedral will lead the solemn celebration, accompanied by the dancers and musicians.
“Mariachi mass is beautiful — there’s a whole procession and a dedication to the conference that goes on, all accompanied by a 10-member mariachi group,” Jimenez said. “Traditionally, there is such a thing as mariachi mass and the musicians know the mass and will guide you through it in mariachi style.”
While the International Mariachi Conference is a recreational event that celebrates Hispanic arts and culture, Jimenez also noted that one of its primary missions is education. He said that for three days, students work directly with professional mariachi musicians and folklórico dancers — many of whom perform later in the week — giving participants the opportunity to learn from experts at the top of their field.
With the conference date on the horizon and as more registrations continue to pour in, Jimenez said that he hopes the audience will grow as quickly as the participation has.
“Despite being a 44-year-old organization, we are still growing — and there’s still a lot of room to grow and my hopes are always to bring in the local community from all parts of town,” he said. “Tucson is the birthplace of youth mariachi in the world and we think we have something beautiful.”
International Mariachi Conference
WHEN: Wednesday, April 29, through Sunday, May 3
WHERE: Various locations
COST: Varies by event
INFO: find event locations and ticket pricing at tucsonmariachi.org