Tania Lopez of Mariachi Lindas Mexicanas at the MARIACHI USA festival in Los Angeles on June 18, 2022.
The largest mariachi music festival in the United States took place this summer at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The 33rd annual MARIACHI USA centered a genre that's rooted in folk traditions and has become a symbol of Mexican culture. The show honored Vicente Fernández, an icon of ranchera music, and highlighted songs made popular by the legend.
The lineup featured an array of performers, including Grammy award-winning Mariachi Divas, Mariachi Estrella de México, Mariachi Los Reyes, Mariachi Lindas Mexicanas and Mi Tierra Ballet Folklórico. Silvia Estrada and Mayra Martinez of the Mariachi Lindas recently sang back-up to Omar Apollo's song "En El Olvido" during his Tiny Desk concert.
"Rancheras is a music genre that dates back to early 1900s (some say early 1800s), thus it will be like great-grandma singing Las Mañanitas to grandma, " said Rodri Rodriguez, the festival's founder, producer and host. She created the event to give mariachi a forum for artistic expression and a way to celebrate the rich musical traditions that so many have come to enjoy.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
Members of Mariachi Estrella de México, from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, gather to take a photo at the MARIACHI USA festival in June.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
Jorge Alvarez, the lead of the Los Angeles-based Mariachi Los Reyes, poses for a photo at the MARIACHI USA festival in June.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
Rodri Rodriguez, the creator and producer of Mariachi USA, poses for a photo at the Los Angeles-based festival in June.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
Audience members pose for a photo at the MARIACHI USA festival in June.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
An audience member wears a Vicente Fernández T-shirt to the MARIACHI USA festival in Los Angeles in June.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
Mariachi Lindas Mexicanas pose for a portrait at the festival.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
Top: Alejandro Uribe and Edson Andres of Mariachi Estrella de México, which was founded in Guadalajara, Mexico, pose for photos at the Mariachi USA festival in June. Bottom: The Boyle Heights, Los Angeles-based Mariachi Lindas Mexicanas, founded by Maricela Martinez (far left), poses for a photo in June; member Silvia Estrada is pictured at right.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
A member of Mariachi Los Reyes, poses for a photo at the MARIACHI USA festival in June.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
Two performers from Mariachi Los Reyes pose for a photo at the MARIACHI USA festival in June.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
Cindy Shae, founder of Mariachi Divas, celebrated her 23rd anniversary on the Hollywood Bowl at this year's festival.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
An audience member poses for a photo at the MARIACHI USA festival in June.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
Mi Tierra Ballet Folklórico, a dance group, poses for a photo at the Mariachi USA festival in June.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
One of the Mariachi Lindas Mexicanas fixes another member's bow at the festival.
/ Adam Perez for NPR
/
Adam Perez for NPR
Three members of the Mariachi Divas group pose for a photo at the MARIACHI USA festival in June.
This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members —
listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.
We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a
community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.
Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are
building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.
27 religious groups are suing the federal government in response to the Trump administration's policy giving immigration agents more leeway to make arrests at "sensitive locations" like churches.
In a strongly-worded letter to Catholic bishops in the United States, Pope Francis is taking to task the Trump Administration's stance on migrants, and that he's following what he calls a "major crisis" with the initiation of mass deportation.
