Soaring trumpets and vibrant vocals will resonate across Ball Junior High School this upcoming school year as young mariachis across the Anaheim Union High School District learn the traditional Mexican genre.
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The Anaheim Union High School District school board recently approved a partnership with the Mariachi Heritage Society to launch the afterschool ensemble program, which will teach mariachi history and how to play instruments to up to 40 students.
Lessons will be headquartered at Ball Junior High for two days a week for 33 weeks, through May 31.
“I think it’s just important that we have culture-responsive music in addition to our amazing music programs,” board Trustee Jose Magcalas said. “I know it’s not just about the music, but it’s the history, it’s the clothing, it’s the whole thing and I think it is a beautiful addition to our programs.”
Grammy-nominated Mariachi icon José Hernández founded the Mariachi Heritage Society in 1991, a nonprofit whose mission is to teach mariachi music in grade schools throughout the county.
The nonprofit already teaches mariachi music in schools across the Anaheim Elementary School District, with lessons led by Hernández’s daughter, Crystal Hernández.
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Crystal Hernández, 26, is a sixth-generation mariachi musician who said she hopes to carry on her family’s legacy in teaching the musical style to younger generations and by eventually joining Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, the country’s first all-female mariachi group.
Crystal Hernández will teach the AUHSD afterschool program; the program’s inception feels like “a natural next step,” she said, especially for the elementary students who want to continue learning the genre in their teens.
“Sometimes, we’re the first people that expose these kids to mariachi music. We see how these kids start, basically with no experience with playing an instrument, and then by the end of the semester, they’re playing a song and singing a song,” she said.
“Seeing them start their journey in their instrument and in mariachi,” she said, “that’s my favorite part.”
The AUHSD board has designated up to $33,480 in district funding toward the program. Interested students can apply to enroll in the program through their school’s course registration.
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