New Mariachi Program Hitting the High Notes at Pima Community College
Return of Mariachi Education at Pima a Passion Project for Instructor
TUCSON, AZ – It has been more than a decade since Pima Community College last had a mariachi program. So, Pima alumnus and adjunct instructor Don Fuentes wasn’t quite sure what to expect in fall 2022 when he reintroduced mariachi at Pima … He was pleasantly surprised.
The first happy surprise was that more than a dozen students signed up for the one-credit Mariachi I ensemble class. The second was that they all were very talented musicians.
“It was a risk. I didn’t know who was going to show up and I didn’t know what their level was going to be. As it turns out, many of them have high school experience and some are in their early 20s and have played around town,” Fuentes said. “From when we started rehearsing in class, I thought, ‘Okay, we do have potential. We can actually perform.’”
During the 2022-2023 school year, the new Mariachi Azteca has performed at benefits, showcases, concerts and other events all around Tucson. The musicians’ performance outfit until now has been a black top and black pants. The ensemble members are receiving their trajes de mariachi - traditional mariachi suits – on Friday (April 14), just in time for their biggest performance to date.
Mariachi Azteca will be dressed in the new trajes, black trimmed in Pima blue, as they take the stage at La Frontera’s Tucson International Mariachi Conference, which includes a student showcase on April 20. Mariachi Azteca is part of the lineup for the Armando C. Gonzales Student Showcase, 6 p.m., April 20, at the Tucson Convention Center, Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased though the TCC Box Office or ticketmaster.com.
“It’s a thrill to take part in this great community event, especially in our first year. I am so proud of what this group has been able to accomplish in such a short time,” Fuentes said.
Pima last had a mariachi program in the early 2000s. It started as a non-credit Art for Personal Development course at Desert Vista Campus in 2001 and went on hiatus after a few years. Fuentes remembers seeing the group perform and even attending a few classes while in middle school. “And they were awesome,” he said.
Fuentes took music classes at Pima from 2005-2009. He joined the concert band led by former Music Department Head (now faculty emeritus) Mark Nelson and took weekly trumpet lessons with current bank director Victor Valenzuela, all of which helped inspire him to pursue music and become a music educator. After Pima, he went on to earn his bachelor’s in music education at New Mexico State University and his master’s in Music with an Emphasis in Performance (Trumpet) from the University of Arizona.
“I loved the idea of doing music all day … I felt like it was it was my calling at the time. It still is,” said Fuentes, who also teaches mariachi at Pistor Middle School.
As far back as 2013, as Fuentes was finishing his bachelor’s, he envisioned providing high school mariachi students with an opportunity to continue their academic study of the musical genre at Pima – immersing them in music theory, private lessons and opportunities to play with musicians from all over. (University of Arizona also has a mariachi ensemble – Mariachi Arizona.)
“They deserve to have something where they can keep playing mariachi and get higher level instruction, not just peak in high school,” Fuentes said.
In summer 2021, Fuentes reached out to then-Arts Dean Steven Higginbotham and shared his ideas. It slowly took shape from there. Fuentes passed out fliers and visited high schools with mariachi programs to recruit students. A budget was provided – instruments and trajes are expensive! And with fingers crossed, the first Music 122 Mariachi Ensemble 1 class was launched in fall 2022, followed by Music 124 Mariachi II in spring 2023. Fuentes hopes to expand the offerings in the future.
“The students were excited. Of course, a lot of them were nervous. I could feel that. I was nervous. This is my first experience (teaching college),” Fuentes said. “They were also asking me, ‘What is the level of this class? Is it for beginners? Is it an advanced class?’ I didn't have an answer for them. I said, ‘You know what, it depends upon who shows up. We’re all taking a risk here. Let’s see what happens.’ Once they started playing, their passion kicked in. And it’s been fun ever since.”
CONTACT:
Libby Howell, APR, Executive DirectorMedia, Government and Community Relations
520-549-9093, ehowell1@pima.edu