Mariachi Season Begins
Mariachi De Oro is Crockett’s very own performing mariachi, made up of students who meet year-round to take on a variety of on-campus or local events.
They started the school year off on September 4th, when they performed for Crocketts annual Back to School night. They then went on to play for Crockett teachers and staff on September 14th to boost their spirits for school year planning.
“It felt great performing for the teachers, it was nice to see some of my teachers from last year and to overall welcome the teachers for the 2019–2020 school year,” said sophomore violin player Lizbeth Sierra.
Mariachi De Oro is always working to better themselves for performances in many ways. According to Junior Vihuela/Guitar player, Rene Jiménez, this year, they have improved their chorus singing and pushed themselves to widen their song list.
Many of the performers feel as though Mariachi De Oro is a big family, with Senior Guitarron player, Aaron Perez saying, “My favorite part of Mariachi is the experience of playing and seeing everyone being joyful,” and Junior violin player, Daniela Velazquez Escobar saying, “Not only do we get to learn music and have fun with it, but it brings our group closer together.”
Mariachi De Oro was nominated for the B Iden Payne award for Best Live Music Performance, and their performance of the La Vida De Los Muertos play that they were a part of last year. The awards took place on November 4th at the Scottish Rite Theatre where they opened the ceremony but unfortunately lost to ‘Your Mother’s Copy of the Kama Sutra’.
“It was such an honor for our group to be nominated, and even though we didn’t win, we won in our hearts,” said Sophomore Guitarron, guitar and trumpet player Micahel Diaz.
Participating in Mariachi has opened up opportunities for many of its players, such as Junior Guitar and Guitarron player Elijah Flores who won a Javier Nińo scholarship for Classical Guitar.
The scholarship is given by the Austin Classical Guitar Society to honor the life of the Classical Guitarist Nińo. Flores won the award after writing an essay explaining the benefits and impact of classical guitar on his life. He received a free guitar, paid lessons, and paid competitions for him to participate in.
“I feel very honored and happy for this opportunity. I am going to take advantage of this scholarship and do the best I can to improve my musical skills,” said Flores.
