Mariachi USA is like a family coming together for a reunion. Such was the feel, once again, this past Saturday at the Hollywood Bowl, as the largest Mariachi Festival in the country took place for the 35th year. The celebration was epic, with not one Mariachi group, but six and over 15,000 people celebrating under the stars.

It’s a tradition. Every year thousands of music lovers make it a point to buy their tickets to celebrate the richness of Mariachi music. They know the songs and sing along with family and friends.   For some it is a reunion of sorts because this festival is where some have met and see each other every year.  It never gets old, it is a musical ritual that includes dancing, singing along and dressing up.  This year was no different.

The Mariachi groups change, but the music remains a classic staples of Mariachi music. This year the participating groups showcased were Mariachi Cobre traveling from EPCOT Center Walt Disney World Resort where they have been playing for over 30 years. This years also included the L.A. based all women’s Mariachi Divas and Mariachi Los Reyes, and from San Antonio, Texas Mariachi Campanas de America and one of the U.S.A.’s first Mariachi groups and L.A. ‘s very own Mariachi Los Camperos.  Each Mariachi group brings their unique style and a few surprises.  Among the classic Mariachi songs were adaptations of Gloria Estefan’s Conga, and a Mariachi rendition of Charlie Daniels Band’s The Devil Came Down to Georgia which had the 15,000 “Bowl” attendees up on their feet dancing and singing…nuevo Mariachi style.

From its inception thirty five years ago, there are two things that are a constant at Mariachi USA,  Mariachi music and Rodri Rodriguez the host for the evening, and producer of this event since its inception under her banner Rodri Entertainment.

Mariachi USA never disappoints.  It is now a tradition and has become a reunion of sorts, where you bump into friends you haven’t seen in a while…other than on social media, you grab a partner and dance to the music and throw a few gritos (a loud passionate Mexican gutteral yell).  It’s a night of festive attire, with most everyone dresssing for the occasion with their cultural attire, embroidered dresses, rebozos, flower headdresses, boots, and cowboy hats. There is not another Hollywood Bowl event quite like this one.

Although the evening starts at 6PM and goes to 10:30PM, it always goes by too quickly, and before you know it the classic Mariachi songs like El Rey, La Negra, reserved for the finale, sung en masse at the end of the evening to a spectacular display of fireworks.  A perfect way to end the night! Until next year’s show which has already been slated for June 28.  Claim your tickets now at www.mariachiusa.com and join the fun! 

To further commemorate the 35th anniversary, and keep you informed about the Marachi genre until next year, Rodri Entertainment has launched the MARIACHI USA The Podcast, hosted by MARIACHI USA founder Rodri. The podcast delves into the rich history and vibrant culture of mariachi, exploring its roots, celebrating its icons, and sharing behind-the-scenes stories from the festival’s illustrious history.

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See the Fiesta of Lights featuring music from the movie before each screening. Plus, see the Mariachi Divas and Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles Live on Stage as you enter the theatre.

The fan event screening will take place at 7:00 PM on Friday, September 15. Tickets are $50 and include a reserved seat, Light Up Coco Skull Sipper, popcorn, beverage, and event credentials. Daily showtimes for Coco from September 15 through October 1 are 10:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM, and 7:00 PM.

Tickets are on sale now at www.elcapitantickets.com and https://www.fandango.com/el-capitan-theatre-aacon/theater-page or by calling 1-800 Disney-6 (347-6396). All seats are reserved. Tickets are $18 for all ages.

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Juanita’s Foods is committed to preserving and passing down Mexican culinary traditions to future generations, much like La Santa Cecilia and Mariachi Divas have done so through music. In celebration of National Menudo Month which runs through the end of January, these traditions will be in full display at the private concert entitled Menudo, Mariachi y Mas! Juanita Foods will present.

Menudo, Mariachi y Mas! aims to celebrate those traditions through food, music and culture by offering sweepstakes winners the opportunity to experience the best of Mexican culture over the course of a weekend in Los Angeles. The campaign invites menudo lovers across the country to partake in Juanita’s Menudo, Mariachi y Mas! Sweepstakes for a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles for a private VIP concert featuring GRAMMY Award-winning La Santa Cecilia and two-time GRAMMY Award-winning Mariachi Divas!

“We are so excited to have La Santa Cecilia and Mariachi Divas join Juanita’s for our Menudo, Mariachi y Mas! promotion.  Together we will celebrate the best aspects of Mexican culture…both traditional and modern!”, said Ruben Morales, Juanita’s Foods, Chief Revenue Officer.

This total immersive cultural experience will take five lucky winners and their guests on a tour of LA followed by a private VIP concert. Winners will be treated to a special meet and greet with the bands and photo ops will be made available.

The Juanita’s Menudo, Mariachi y Mas! promotion will run on iHeart radio and Spanish Broadcasting System during National Menudo Month in January across ten of Juanita’s major US Hispanic markets. Listeners will be encouraged to enter for a chance to win through the promotional landing page. In Los Angeles, listeners are to tune-in to local radio stations La Raza 97.9 FM, Mega 96.3 FM and Real 92.3 FM for a chance to win tickets to the private VIP concert. In markets including Dallas/Ft. Worth, Phoenix/Prescott, San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, San Diego, Houston, Fresno/Visalia, Las Vegas, and San Antonio, listeners will have the opportunity to win the grand prize trip to Los Angeles including two roundtrip flights and two-night accommodations at a five-star hotel. Per diem and ground transportation will also be provided.

Juanita’s Menudo is the leading menudo brand in the US, is During the month of January celebrate National Menudo Month by enjoying Juanita’s authentic, delicious menudo all month.  Join the festivities by visiting Juanita’s website, Facebook or Instagram for details on entering for a chance to win tickets to Juanita’s exclusive Menudo, Mariachi y Mas! event in Los Angeles on February 18, 2023.   Use #NationalMenudoMonth and #MadetoShare to share on social media.

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Just a few years ago, a budding mariachi singer set foot on a world-renowned stage with only hopes of soon recording her first major studio album and dreams of making it in music. This weekend Lupita Infante returns to Hollywood Bowl as a Grammy-nominated artist to once again join Mariachi USA, the music festival that helped launch her career.

“After that experience in the first performance at the Hollywood Bowl for Mariachi USA (in 2018), a lot of doors started opening for me,” says Infante. “It was just, you know, part of the building blocks to my career.”

Infante is the special guest of the 32nd annual edition of Mariachi USA, which is welcoming back concert goers to the famed venue after more than a year of a pandemic and a previous edition that took place in the virtual world. She joins a concert that screams women’s power in a music genre that for a long time was dominated by men. Headliners include the all-female Mariachi Divas and Mariachi Nuevo Mujer 2000 and this year’s fest will pay tribute to iconic ranchera singer and actress Lucha Villa.

Infante herself is part of recent generations of female singers and musicians who have kept transforming mariachi and normalizing women’s presence in the popular Mexican music genre. In Infante’s case, she’s been doing it from this side of the border. And while she’s the descendant of one of Mexico’s most beloved stars, before becoming a professional singer she held regular jobs to earn a living and even worked as a ridesharing driver to pay for her college education.

Lupita Infante was born and raised in Downey, California, the daughter of the late actor Pedro Infante Jr. and granddaughter of the legendary singer/actor Pedro Infante. But she had to fend for herself in her artistic pursuit. Her father died in 2009, her grandfather in 1957.

“Sometimes people ask me, ‘Did you meet your grandfather?’” says Infante. “And I (am) like, ‘No.’ You know…my father was only seven when (his father) passed away.” Just like her father, Lupita says, she had to build a career on her own. 

In fact, it was several years after her dad died that the singer made one of the most important choices in her life: pursue a career in music. She enrolled at UCLA to study ethnomusicology and worked at a senior citizen center to pay for school, sometimes singing for the elderly who knew of her famous progenitors. The future professional singer also worked as a Lyft driver while attending college, though she recalls rarely serenading passengers. At UCLA she joined a student mariachi band and; one year before graduating, in 2016, Infante also put out an independently-produced album proudly released at a restaurant in her hometown.

It would be until a few years later that her hard work would start to pay off. Infante met Rodri J. Rodriguez, the promoter and founder of Mariachi USA, who invited the relatively unknown singer to perform at the festival in 2018. “I was just beginning my professional career as a singer,” she recalls, adding that Rodriguez “truly was the first person who kind of opened the door for me and gave me an opportunity.”

The following year, Infante released her first major studio album La Serenata, which earned her a Grammy nomination and also a Latin Grammy nod.

“So, returning now to Mariachi USA, after all of these amazing things that have happened since the first time, is truly… an honor,” says Infante. “It’s very celebratory for me and I feel, you know, I’m in a different place in life and my career, and I’m just really happy to be able to share that with Mariachi USA fans who are going to be there.”

The singer will perform songs from her award-nominated album along with Mariachi Divas and a new song she wrote a few weeks ago. With another set of songs with a different band, Infante will join the tribute to Villa, this year’s honoree. The octogenarian artist, who won’t be attending the concert, is known for classic hits like “Media Vuelta,” “La Cruz del Cielo” and “Viva Quien Sabe Querer” and also starred in films El gallo de oro, Me cansé de rogarle and Mecanica Nacional, which won her an Ariel Award for Best Actress. “I think Lucha Villa is…one of the greats” of Mexican music, says Infante. “We are honoring her and everything she’s done for women in mariachi music.”

Mariachi USA will take place Sunday, Aug 22. Other performers include Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán, Mariachi Los Reyes, Mariachi Los Toros and the dance ensemble Mi Tierra Ballet Folklorico.

For more information and tickets, visit https://ticketmaster.com.

Featured Photo: Lupita Infante (Credit: Mariachi USA)

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After being interrupted by Covid last year, the Mariachi USA music festival is returning to the Hollywood Bowl on August 22, from 5 PM to 10 PM.

“Undoubtedly Volver Volver will never be louder than on Sunday, Aug. 22, so join us and get ready to fill it up,” quips Rodri J. Rodriguez, founder, producer and host of the yearly music festival. Rodriguez refers to the iconic song made famous by Mexican charro singer Vicente Fernández in the late 1970s that has become synonymous with mariachi music. 

The heartfelt ballad speaks of a desire to go back to a lover’s arms after a broken romance. It’s one of the most played mariachi songs on YouTube, with the original version raking in 138 million plays.  

“Volver” means to return in Spanish. And that’s what the annual music fest is doing this summer thanks to vaccinations and other pandemic protocols that have allowed huge venues and public events to resume. 

The 32 second edition of Mariachi USA will feature two-time Grammy-winning, all female Mariachi Divas, Mariachi Nuevo Mujer 2000, Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán, Mariachi Los Reyes, Mariachi Los Toros. Also performing will be special guest Lupita Infante, a Grammy-nominated singer, as well as the dance ensemble Mi Tierra Ballet Folklorico. The event will pay homage to Lucha Villa, one of Mexico’s greatest female mariachi singers.

Infante, a granddaughter of Mexican singing and acting legend Pedro Infante and daughter of the late actor Pedro Infante Jr. will make her second appearance at Mariachi USA, having last performed in 2018. “I was just beginning my professional career as a singer, you know, songwriter musician,” says the singer. Infante credits Mariachi USA’s Rodriguez with opening doors for her when the singer didn’t even have an album out yet. Her 2019 debut album La Serenata received a nomination for a Grammy for Best Regional Mexican Music Album. The following year, her song “Dejaré” was nominated for a Latin Grammy. “So, returning now to Mariachi USA, after all of these amazing things that have happened since the first time, is truly…an honor.”

As for the retuning Mariachi Divas, Cindy Shea, founder of the all-female group said, “Planning the Divas performance at Mariachi USA after surviving the pandemic made me realize how dependent I was on the energy of a live audience” and added. “Not until I was forced to produce and perform virtual concerts did I realize how vital a live audience is, and we’ve planned a very dynamic set to celebrate with mariachi fans.” Founded in 1999, Mariachi Divas was the first all-female mariachi to be nominated to the Grammy. They’ve won the award twice since then.

Another all-women ensemble is Los Angeles-based Mariachi Nuevo Mujer 2000 prides itself on continuing the legacy of the pioneering female mariachis that have gone through its ranks, including Laura Garciacano Sobrino and Marisa Orduno. The group is currently led by Patricia Fernández.

“Meeting high standards in musicianship, our goal involves surpassing previous stereotypes, as each member of this ensemble represents tradition, culture and education all in one,” states the band on its official website.

For its part, Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán is a 12-piece group that has performed regularly at Mariachi USA featuring what’s reportedly one of the top three horn sections in the mariachi universe. Founded in 1965 by brothers Pepe and Fernando Martínez Barajas, their family legacy continues with a third generation that included current leader Angel Martínez Arreguín.

Another L.A. talent, Mariachi Los Reyes is a popular group that has accompanied stars like Luis Miguel, Ramon Ayala, Lupillo Rivera, the late Jenny Rivera in their live performances.

Mariachi Los Toros could be defined as a mariachi of the third millennium as it was founded in the early 2000s, also in Southern California. Directed by Carlos Parra, the group has collaborated with Mexican rock band Mana and performed along with the American rock group Faith No More.

As usual, the festival will include live dance performances. Mi Tierra Ballet Folklórico, a group from Las Vegas. “Our folk group puts an artistic style to Mexico’s folk dancing, innovating and interpreting its various regions that are full of diversity,” says the band on its website. “Although we are far from our homeland, we keep our history alive through this form of dance, Mexican ballet folklórico.”

The tribute to Lucha Villa will be a highlight of the evening. She was one of Mexico’s best-known female mariachi singers as well as actress. Born in 1936, her music hits include “Media vuelta,” “La Cruz del Cielo” and “Viva Quien Sabe Querer.” Villa was featured in the 1996 album Disco del Siglo: Las Tres Señoras along with another two greats of Mexican music, Lola Beltrán and Amalia Mendoza. The album was produced by Juan Gabriel. 

The founder of Mariachi USA hopes the festival will contribute to a sense of normality after a year and a half of the pandemic. “Our celebration this year is bittersweet,” says Rodriguez. “We have all felt the devastating toll of the pandemic, the most tragic being the loss of loved ones.” She adds, “As we show up daily, doing our very best, reinventing, purging, shifting, we must remember to involve ourselves in art and music…All of us at Mariachi USA strongly believe that what we do nourishes the soul and motivates the spirit and simply… heals.”

For more information and tickets, visit https://mariachiusa.com.

Featured Photo: Mariachi USA (Photo: Mariachi USA)

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This June would have been Mariachi USA’s 31st annual at the Hollywood Bowl. However, it was canceled due to the global pandemic. 

Celebrating family, pride and tradition continues in the safety of fans’ homes as Mariachi USA promises to bring audiences mariachi performances they have so been missing these last six months. 

“We are not going to let a global pandemic defeat us…the fans need their mariachi now more than ever, so the show must go on!” said Rodri J. Rodriguez, creator, producer, and host of Marachi USA

The one-hour televised music special will feature performances by Mi Tierra Ballet Folklorico and mariachi favorites Mariachi Tapatio from New York, Mariachi Lindas Mexicanas from Los Angeles, Mariachi Campanas de America, Mariachi Las Alteñas and Mariachi Azteca de America from San Antonio, Texas, Mariachi Los Reyes from Los Angeles, Mariachi Los Arrieros from McAllen, Texas, Ellas from Los Angeles, Mariachi Nuevo Tecatitlan from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and grammy award-winning Mariachi Divas from Los Angeles, California.

“We have all had interesting and enlightening challenges in producing this show; recording from our homes, editing by Zoom, shooting pyro from dry lake beds – it’s been quite a loving adventure that is creating fascinating storytelling and life-altering experiences!” said Rodriguez. “From the stage of America’s #1 venue, the Hollywood Bowl to a backyard in East LA, to The Alamo parking lot to a street in Montebello, a schoolroom in McAllen to a horse field in Guadalajara…strip away the glitz and the lights and you still get puro Corazon, puro Mariachi!”

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