Photo by Owen Wong ’23

The Mariachi Club meets during both Community Period and after school. They performed at the Fine Arts Extravaganza on November 22.

The new Mariachi Club announced on Aug. 21 that the first ever Mariachi ensemble would make its way onto campus, aiming to incorporate traditional Mexican music into school events for the first time. 

The leader of the club, Dr. Jonathan Robinson, along with student leaders Yorrick Lazcano Ramirez ’23 and Bryan Zazueta-Silvain ’23 said the club was inspired by the Black Musicians Union, which expresses African American culture through music. 

The Mariachi Ensemble is an all-inclusive learning environment about Latin American culture through the music they play. Dr. Robinson said that he hopes that the club will inspire other ethnic groups to bring their culture to Brophy, through music. 

The Mariachi Club plays Hispanic tunes, yet students are not required to be Hispanic nor have prior music experience. “The first thing we ask students is if they have an instrument, and if they do not, we tell them to tell us so that we can provide them with instruments,” Ramirez said. 

Students also have the opportunity to be a vocalist for the ensemble if they are uninterested in playing an instrument. 

The group is focused on raising awareness of Latin American culture’s relevance, specifically incorporating traditional Mariachi music into daily student life. The musical group is planning to collaborate with Hermanos Unidos in the future during the week of the Mass of the Virgin Mary because of its significance in Hispanic culture.

 Ramirez said, “Maybe not this year, but in the years to come we can do that, but first we need to focus on the foundation of making a Mariachi Ensemble.”

 Some students are in multiple clubs, which may meet during their meetings. But Ramirez said the club meetings after school for practices will benefit their attendance rate, since other students have other clubs during those C1 or C2 times.