New Notre Dame Mariachi Group
Mariachi is a beautiful genre of Mexican music, with multiple different instruments and styles of singing for each group. The instruments included in a typical Mariachi group are trumpets, violins, guitarrónes, vihuelas, and guitars. The guitarrón is the bass instrument that keeps the style in rhythm, while the guitar and violins create the harmony from that guitarrón. This wonderful combination of instruments creates the angelic sound of mariachi music.
Notre Dame has a variety of cultural clubs, which each have their own separate dancing curriculars outside of school — one being Folklorico. Folklorico is the traditional Mexican style of dance, with different styles belonging to different regions of Mexico. For the Jalisco style of Folklorico, which is the main style the Folklorico group performs, Mariachi is played in the background for the dances. While Notre Dame has a Folklorico group, they have not yet had a Mariachi group to accompany them until now!
Latinas Unidas has created a sub-group for students who either have a history in playing instruments or want to create that history, which is a brand new Mariachi group! Leading this group is Ofelia Mares ‘26, a student with a background in Mariachi. The idea for this group began from her own experience with her Mariachi group of six years, with the vision of embracing Mexican culture in a way she loves alongside other students. She says this group will be, “all about connecting with the culture, even if it's not your culture.”
Details on the Mariachi group schedule are still to be determined, but the plan is that it will function similarly to an after school program, with practices after school, during lunch, and possibly during breaks. Excitingly, this group will be a conjoined group with the Bellarmine students! It’s a great opportunity to showcase a mariachi group with both boys and girls, considering it’s usually either just one or the other. They will be performing for events such as our annual Diversity Showcase and Las Posadas, as well as, hopefully, Notre Dame Folklorico performances!
Mariachi music is a gorgeous style of music, and with this new group, we’ll get to hear the beauty of classical Mexican culture!
