Mariachi Águila le echa las ganas at holiday concert

For the past 17 years, Melo has taught students at Chávez Huerta Preparatory Academy the language of music and Spanish through the art of mariachi, the Mexican musical genre known for featuring folk musical instruments alongside violins and trumpets in a variety of Mexican singing styles such as rancheras, corridos, and boleros. The United Nations recognized mariachi as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2011. 

More than 85% of the students at Chávez Huerta Preparatory are of Hispanic and Latino descent, according to US News and World Report, and the program links middle and high school kids in Melo’s classes to their heritage.

“I love mariachi music, I’ve been hearing it since I was little from my parents and from the rest of my family that lives in Mexico,” said Adrian Vargas, 17, a graduating senior who plays the guitarrón, a large guitar with a deep well that acts as the mariachi’s bass.

“I’ve heard a lot of songs and I just love playing them because it reminds me of when I used to hear them a lot,” said Vargas, who began playing the guitar as part of Melo’s mariachi program in the second grade. 

In total, around 140 students from elementary through high school form the corps of the ensemble. But competition for the advanced group of 15, who travel for performances and wear traditional blue mariachi trajes at shows, is fierce. 

“The main challenge for me is to make sure that they develop a passion because they might have an interest, but if they don’t have a passion, then that interest for learning an instrument might end quickly,” Melo said. 

“What I really love about this is the diversity,” said Melo. He said most of his students are Hispanic and, “they couldn’t speak Spanish, but they wanted to do Mexican music. I thought, ‘I don’t know, this might be a blessed opportunity for me just to be a part of this community.’"

Matteo Garcia, 12, is among the youngest players in the advanced group of Mariachi Águila.
Photo: Chase McCleary, Rocky Mountain PBS

In addition to a participation fee, the kids fundraise for what Melo calls the “nonprofit band” through performances at places such as the Latino Chamber of Commerce and US Air Force Academy.

As one of a few public school mariachis in Colorado, including a program at the St. Vrain Valley School District, Mariachi Águila, which means Eagle Mariachi, represents a wave of music programs linking students’ Mexican culture to academic programs, according to Hispanic Outlook, an education magazine. As of 2021, the magazine reported there were more than 500 Mariachi programs in public schools across the United States.

In Colorado, Metro State University will host the 6th Annual Viva Southwest Mariachi Conference on its campus next Spring. Metro State, which has its own competitive All-State youth ensemble called Mariachi Estelares de Colorado, said it hopes the conference will build a “pipeline of talent from the community to higher education and professional careers.” Last year, the event featured Mariachi Estelares, Denver’s Mariachi Sol de mi Tierra, and Lupita Infante at Levitt Pavilion.

Matteo Garcia, 12, is one of the youngest members of Mariachi Águila’s advanced performance group. He hopes to play the trumpet professionally when he grows up. 

“I do a lot of things after school, and this and playing soccer are my top things,” said Garcia. His mother teaches Baile Folclórico, another Mexican cultural tradition, at the school.

Folclorico Dancers performed alongside Mariachi Aguila at the Chavez Huerta Preparatory Academy’s 2023 Holiday Concert.
Photo: Chase McCleary Rocky Mountain PBS

“I want to pursue music and be educated more about it,” he said. “I want to go abroad somewhere that mariachi has a big influence and play with some of the mariachi groups, like in Mexico.” 

Like many of Melo’s students, Garcia first started playing music during the pandemic. Melo said the limitations of teaching online cost him years of creating musicians. The trumpet section, a casualty of the era, is at a rebuilding stage.

Tuning instruments, particularly for new players, became a major challenge that he’s still overcoming, Melo said.

“I had to go to their homes during COVID, tune their instruments, and then go home and teach from there,” Melo said.

Danna Escarcega, 14, sings alongside Samuel Leon at the Chavez Huerta Preparatory Academy’s 2023 Holiday Concert.
Photo: Chase McCleary Rocky Mountain PBS

But a core group of players, including 14-year-old Danna Escarcega, now a freshman at the school, maintained their music studies during the pandemic. Escarcega, who played piano, was recruited by Melo to join the ensemble when she was in the second grade.

“Mr. Melo told me that my fingers could be good to play the violin and I was like, ‘Yeah! I like it, it’s a classy instrument,’” she said.

Escarcega uses the skills she learned as a mariachi to teach herself to play new songs from sheet music she finds online at church. Playing “Amor Eterno,” the song made famous by legendary Mexican singer Juan Gabriel, connects her to her grandmother who passed away, she said.

“I feel like when I sing that song, or when I listen to it, it brings me a lot of memories,” she said. “A lot of happy memories, not only sad memories.”

“Amor Eterno” was not on the set list at the holiday concert Wednesday, but “Cariño,” with a tighter horns section, and a mariachi version of “We are the World” made the cut. 

Garcia, in his blue traje, was ready for the show in front of his friends and family.

“I do mess up occasionally but it’s not the end of the world,” Garcia said. “Most of the time, the audience doesn’t really notice.”

Mariachi Águila’s next confirmed public performance is Cinco de Mayo.

Gabriela Resto-Montero is the managing editor at Rocky Mountain PBS. Gabrielarestomontero@rmpbs.org.

Chase McCleary is a multimedia journalist at Rocky Mountain PBS. Chasemccleary@rmpbs.org.