Clear Creek ISD is currently home to the second Mariachi band in any Galveston County school district.
On Monday, the newly formed band played a concert with a holiday theme at the district’s Education Support Center. During their performance, students wore redtrajes de charro, a type of attire inspired by a Mexican horseman.
Students from schools throughout the district participate; some have played an instrument for the first time, while others have experience in other musical programs like choir and orchestra. Parent Sonia Tamez has three children enrolled in the program. Mariachi is one way she shares her culture with her children, she added.
“We really cherish this kind of music,” she remarked. You simply hope that as you become older, your children will pass some of that on to the following generation.
Although the origin of the word “Mariachi” is unknown, the Houston Symphony claims that it predates the 1860s and may have even come from the indigenous language of Mexico. Mariachi originated because farm workers in the Jalisco region of Mexico who could play were reportedly paid more than those who couldn’t.
Mariachi was made a statewide competition by the University Interscholastic League in 2019. According to the Texas Standard, Mariachi has been taught in several districts since the 1970s. However, a little more than ten years ago, Texas City ISD established the first high school band in Galveston County.
The Clear Creek Education Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to support Clear Creek’s program. The district’s Director of Visual and Performing Arts is Greg Goodman. According to him, the district also intends to collaborate with the Mariachi band from the University of Houston during classes in the forthcoming semester.
The Guitarron and Vihuela are quite different methods from the guitar, according to a musician I spoke with from the University of Houston’s mariachi school. We’re learning that together, Goodman replied, because I honestly didn’t know that either.
In the forthcoming semester, Goodman said he intends to distinguish kids with more experience from those who are just beginning out, even though Clear Creek’s band is currently a larger group. He claimed that the district’s sizable Hispanic population served as the initial impetus for his decision to launch the program.
In a news release earlier this year, he stated, “We looked at the students that we serve and wanted to bring culturally related music and activities to our kids.” This genre is appealing to some children. For those who wish to take part, we wish to provide this option.
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