FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS 
MUSIC PROGRAM SUCCESS

The Mariachi Northwest Festival's fourth year was another big success, attracting around 300 students to three days of professional training, and selling 1,600 tickets to two Saturday concerts and 970 on Friday night.

"Mariachi Northwest has far exceeded our goals," says Ismael Vivanco of the North Central Educational Service District, who has helped organize and direct the program.

The Saturday performances featured Mariachi Reina de Los Angeles, the country’s premier female Mariachi group; Los Hermanos Escamilla, Mexican stunt ropers; and Ballet Folklórico del Pacifico Dance Company, as well as the area's outstanding student groups -- Mariachi Huenachi of Wenatchee School District and Mariachi Los Gavilanes, the new Wenatchee Valley College group comprised primarily of former Mariachi Huenachi members.

The music festival workshops help develop and improve student Mariachi programs in the region and throughout the state, says Mr. Vivanco. The event provides other community benefits, as well.

"The festival brings the community together," Mr. Vivanco says.  "The festival helps promote the richness the Mexican and Latino culture can offer.  It provides students with an event they can feel very proud of and exposes them to role models they can relate to."

Before the Mariachi program was started in Wenatchee School District in 1994, Hispanic students were woefully underrepresented in district music programs. While 20 percent of all students were Hispanic, they accounted for only 1 percent of students enrolled in elective music classes.

Now there are nearly 200 students enrolled in five Mariachi courses at four separate schools. The district's all-star group, Mariachi Huenachi, has won two national championships and came in second twice in the past five years.

To be part of Mariachi Huenachi, students must be extremely dedicated to music. Osbaldo Chavez and his sisters Adriana and Gaby, for example, have played violin for the group for five years. They are also members of the Arco Iris Folkloric Dancers and have taken private violin lessons at the Wenatchee Music Conservatory.

"One of the keys to the success of the Mariachi Huenachi has been the quality of both the present and past directors of the Mariachi program," says Mr. Vivanco.

Former Director Mark Fogelquist did a wonderful job in developing the group, and many people may have feared his loss when he decided to move back to California for family reasons.

New Director Juan Manuel Cortez, however, has been involved in Mariachi music as a musician, composer, instructor and producer for over 30 years, including arranging music for such major artists such as Vicente Fernandez, Vicki Carr and Placido Domingo.

Ironically, Mr. Cortez moved from California to accept the Wenatchee position for family reasons. He wanted his children to grow up in a smaller city, and he doesn't miss the two-hour commutes to Los Angeles, either. 

He says he enjoys working with the student Mariachi groups, including the new Mariachi Los Gavilanes group at Wenatchee Valley College, and he can still write, arrange and produce music while living in Wenatchee.

 Mr. Vivanco says there have been other important factors in the program's success, as well.

"The support the program has received from the school district, the community and the business community as been wonderful," he says.

But the program has also had a big impact on the community.

"The impact the program has had on migrant students has been very positive," Mr. Vivanco says. "It gives these students a great sense of pride and builds up their self-esteem to strive for success."