2020 Viva Southwest Mariachi Festival Workshop & Showcase

The Metropolitan State University of Denver Department of Music and the Latino Cultural Arts Center of Colorado proudly present the 2020 Viva Southwest Mariachi Festival Workshop & Showcase on Saturday, February 15th at the King Center Concert Hall on the Auraria Campus in Denver.

Schedule of events:
8:00am – 4:30pm – Mariachi Student Workshops
7:00pm – 9:00pm – Mariachi Festival Concert

The event provides workshops for students of all ages; including those in elementary, middle, and high school, as well as university and community participants from Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming. Throughout the day, students are taught by professional and award-winning masters of mariachi in music, song, and instrumentation (trumpet, violin, vihuela, guitarron, & voice), and ensemble performance. The day will culminate in a spectacular Mariachi Concert showcase featuring over 200 students in their respective performance groups. For the last three years, we’ve had the pleasure of presenting sold-out shows with the tremendous support from our community.

Mariachi is an essential part of the mosaic of American identity. It unites all people in a fiesta of sound that excites both listeners and participants. Attendees gain an appreciation of the richness of the Mexican culture and an understanding of history through music. Musicians and singers gain a sense of enjoyment by learning about the vast repertoire of compositions with lyrics that tell a story of life, love, challenges, and historical figures. Mariachi is a unique musical genre because of the instrumentation; guitarrón and vihuela that are only played in mariachi. Highlighted themes include love, betrayal, death, politics, heroes and can be performed anywhere and anytime and is not limited to stages. Methods and styles include Son Jalisciense, Bolero, Huapango, Ranchera, Corrido and Waltz. Performers wear traditional Mariachi clothing known as traje, as they honor their past and celebrate the present.

This unique opportunity to showcase Mariachi regionally empowers the youth to continue their professional careers as Mariachi musicians and instructors. Sessions range from beginner, intermediate and advanced skill levels.