San Diego Mariachi Students Win First Place in State Competition

 Mariachi Juvenil de San Diego, the youth mariachi ensemble at La Jolla Music Society,  won first place at the California State Fair Youth Mariachi Competition in Sacramento.

Held on July 21 for the first time since 2019, the state competition brought ten of the best student mariachi ensembles from around the state to compete in the capital. Mariachi Juvenil, beat out two other finalists, from San Joaquin and Orange County, for the top prize of $5,000.

The Youth Mariachi Competition was followed by the Viva El Mariachi, a Chevron-sponsored concert featuring Pablo Montero, Mariachi Oro, and Mariachi Los Camperos, the latter of whom Mariachi Juvenil joined on stage.

Composed of students from the La Jolla Music Society Community Music Center, an after school program which provides free instruments and free group lessons for grades 4-12, Mariachi Juvenil was established in 2001 by Serafin Paredes, a music educator who has been the director of the La Jolla Music Society Community Music Center for 25 years.

Throughout the years, Mariachi Juvenil has traveled to and performed in multiple cities including San Juan Capistrano, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Tucson, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Tijuana, Baja California, and Guadalajara. They’ve also been given the opportunity to travel to Japan and perform around Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo alongside the Greater San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Sergio Caratachea, Javier Rodriguez, and Yoshi Oshima.

Advanced students are invited to participate in Mariachi Juvenil as a way to continue their musical studies. Members of the ensemble are required to maintain a certain grade point average during high school to remain a member of the mariachi. To keep students motivated to continue their education after high school, Mariachi Juvenil gives members a small scholarship to help pay for their college expenses. 

La Jolla Music Society has operated the CMC for over 25 years. Based in Logan Heights at the Logan Memorial Educational Campus, the CMC provides free group lessons three days a week for over seven different instrument families. Students also participate in two recitals each year. LJMS awards students who meet attendance and musical proficiency requirements for two years with a new instrument to keep.