“We are so pleased to be able to offer this wonderful new musical arts program for our local youth”

MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) – Yuba Sutter Arts and Culture in collaboration with the Alliance for Hispanic Advancement is very pleased to announce their newest youth performing arts program, the Yuba-Sutter Youth Mariachi Orchestra. This is a new ensemble being formed this summer and leading into the fall school semester. The program will be open to all high school age students with or without prior musical experience. This program is being offered to the community for free including instruction and instruments at no cost to all members of the community.

The orchestra will be made up of violins, trumpets, guitars including a higher pitched guitar called a vihuela and an acoustic bass guitar called a guitarrón, and all players will also have the opportunity to take turns singing lead and doing backup vocals. Once the orchestra is ready for prime time, performers will be outfitted with traditional charro outfits.

The lead instructor for the program will be professional musician, Miguel Figueroa, who leads the Sacramento-based Mariachi Los Gallos orchestra and has been teaching mariachi for many years. Miguel will be joined by two teaching assistants to provide personalized instruction for students.  In addition to teaching the artistry of mariachi performance, Miguel also likes to show students how they can begin to make money performing once they reach a reasonable level of competency. It becomes more like a CTE program for young people or maybe it is CAE, Career Arts Education for young musicians.

“We are so pleased to be able to offer this wonderful new musical arts program for our local youth,” said Vera Correa, Alliance for Hispanic Advancement Board Member. “This will allow us to feature and celebrate an important part of the amazing cultural diversity that makes our community so strong and wonderful,” she added.

The history of mariachi dates to the 18th century and evolved over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. Modifications of the music over the years included influences from other musical genres, the addition of trumpets and the use of charro outfits by mariachi musicians. The musical style began to take on national prominence in Mexico during the first half of the 20th century, with its promotion at presidential inaugurations and on the radio in the 1920s. There are many mariachi styles, but they include rancheras, corridos, cumbias, boleros, ballads, marches, polkas and waltzes. Most of the lyrics are about machismo, love, betrayal, death, politics, revolutionary heroes, and country life. The origin of the word is disputed, but it may come from the name of the wood used to make the dance platform or the indigenous people’s name for a certain tree. 

Once the YSAC theaters are open fully, an inaugural concert will be performed featuring the brand new, Mariachi Yuba-Sutter!  If you have any questions about the Youth Mariachi Orchestra or to register your student, please write to [email protected] or call Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture at 530-742-2787.