Mariachi Festival Features Alum, Staff Member

The 18th annual San José Mariachi and Mexican Heritage Festival began on Sunday, September 20 and will continue through the weekend, concluding on Sunday, September 27.

The festival, organized by the Mexican Heritage Corporation, is one of the largest of its kind, drawing over 50 thousand people each year. Over the course of the week, the festival offers cultural music and dance classes by expert mariachis and musicians.

Throughout the week, a series of concerts have been scheduled in addition to an outdoor fair. These feature musicians and dancers such as Carlos Santana, Joan Baez, Los Lobos, Mariachi Cobre and Los Lupeños de San José, a local dancing group.

Los Lupeños will be performing on Saturday, September 26 as part of the Mariachi Goes to the Movies Concert: A Tribute to the Golden Era of Mexican Film at the San José Center for the Performing Arts.

LAHS alumnus Juan Bautista, ’00 and staff member Carmen Gómez will be performing with Los Lupeños. Gomez used to teach World Studies and Mexico Lindo at the school.

Los Lupeños, founded in 1969, has gained popularity and recognition for a variety of dances “from both sides of the border,” but is well known for the Mexican folklórico dance style.

Juan was given his first folklórico dance instruction by Gómez, and since then, his passion for dance has continued to grow.

“Folklorico dance is just as difficult as any other style of dancing, like ballet or contemporary dance; an art and form of communication that we do with our bodies,” Juan Bautista, ’00, said.

According to Juan, positioning and posture are specific to each style of dance Los Lupeños has studied, reflecting the diversity of the country.

“The style of the different regions [of Mexico], although from the same country, differ significantly,” Juan said.

The Lupeños have been practicing three hours per day each Monday and Wednesday for the past three months to prepare for the event. The group has engaged in detail-oriented work, using its recent 40th anniversary as an incentive to deliver the cleanest, most entertaining performance possible.

“Mentally, we have been trying to stay focused and … healthy to put the best show ever,” Juan said. “After all, how many times does a dance group turn 40?”

Although the group has gone through tough times over the years, it continued to perform at a variety of events and strives to promote Mexican culture and expression through its variety of dances.

“[The festival is] a sentiment of pride and joy, a way to showcase a beautiful art that is the Mariachi music,” Juan said, “music that people only relate to parties and quinceañeras, but in reality should be playing in big auditoriums like symphonies. The San José Mariachi Festival gives people the chance to learn this art and get more acquainted with the Mexican culture.”

Although it is too late to sign up for workshops, families may still attend the free outdoor festival. Concert tickets, priced from $65, $85, $125 to $150, may still be available for Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27 if purchased shortly.

Those interested can search ticketmaster.com or call 1-800-745-3000 for details. For the festival schedule, visit sanjosemariachifestival.com.