Aggieland Mariachi keeps Mexican culture alive on campus. The student organization performs traditional music and sets goals for their organization to grow and further reach the ears of people on campus and in College Station.
Founded in 2002, the group has made their mark on campus, from their colorful outfits to their traditional instruments, all intended to showcase Hispanic mariachi music. Even after two decades of success, the group has high hopes of future success — particularly, they plan to host an annual mariachi festival, and members want to upgrade the band from a student organization to an official program.
Economics senior and president of Aggieland Mariachi Ivan Sanchez said by joining, he is continuing the family legacy begun by his siblings.
“Both of my brothers were mariachis before me,” Sanchez said. “My oldest brother was in the A&M group. They inspired me to join it as well. It seemed like a lot of fun. It’s one of the highlights, in my opinion, of Mexican culture.”
Aggieland Mariachi has been an opportunity for Sanchez and other members to express their heritage at Texas A&M. Mathematics senior and mariachi member Angel Correa said the group has provided members with exciting new opportunities — like the chance to experience the Mexico-Brazil match last summer.
Correa explained the improvisation involved in mariachi and performers having to figure out some pieces as they go.
“A lot of mariachi is actually jazz adjacent in terms of their chord progressions [and] key signatures,” Correa said. “I feel like a lot of people don’t really know about the musicianship that takes place in mariachi.”
Correa says Aggieland Mariachi is hoping to get its name out around campus.
“We also have our spring concert that we want to really put out there, so people can actually just see the mariachi,” Correa said. “I think we’re going to have local mariachis as well, so you could just really put yourself in the culture and the music.”
Agricultural journalism sophomore Benjamin Juarez says the band is a close-knit community.
“Everyone’s very welcoming and nice,” Juarez said. “I remember going for my first rehearsal. Ivan — he was the president at the time too — he was always just very chatful and encouraging with everything and the performances … despite any stresses that I had, whenever I’d come over here, I just felt like I would be able to be myself and be OK.”
The band’s first festival, Viva Aggieland, saw great success last spring. Sanchez said the event’s emotional impact is a reason to turn it into a tradition.
“Families who came out with their kids [would say] thank you for exposing them to our culture and this beautiful music,” Sanchez said. “After experiencing that, I said, ‘No, I’ve got to at least run for president one more year and make sure we have the festival down to the point where it’s a tradition.’”
The impact of the first festival has given Aggieland Mariachi a goal: Making the event even bigger in the future.
“We want to grow our festival,” Juarez said. “Mainly, we want to have a better setlist, a stronger setlist. We’re also in talks of switching from being an org to more of a program and getting a director.”
Practice goes a long way when it comes to learning the music style of mariachi, Correa said.
“You don’t need to be the most experienced musician to start,” Correa said. “You can always start, and you’ll learn as you go. It’s a fun genre to play. It’s a very diverse genre to play, so just enjoy it. If you want to try it, get into it.”
Sanchez says that band members are grateful for the opportunities to spread their culture across Aggieland and the local community.
“One thing I would want to add is just the gratefulness for everyone on campus,” Sanchez said. “They’re very welcoming, and so I’ll always be grateful for that — for giving us a spot to host our festivals, to play at the soccer game, to come out and [to] perform for organizations.”
Rick • Sep 20, 2024 at 5:23 pm
Viva!!
Aggieland Mariachi!!!