Striking a chord: Insights into the Mariachi Club
The Panther sat down with members of the Mariachi Club to discuss their efforts in helping spread Mexican culture to everyone. Photo courtesy of Lino Sanchez
All was quiet in Argyros Forum. Students plugged into their laptops pounded away at sticky keys as Qdoba and SubConnection employees catered to their hungry patrons. It’s the typical white noise for a student at Chapman University. Suddenly, the faint sound of Chapman Radio was drowned out by a guitarron, violin and various other instruments played by members of the Mariachi Club. Their unanticipated flash mob brought a spark of excitement to the study grounds, turning a sea of tiresome students and employees into a full blown concert.
Chapman’s Mariachi Club is a performance group on campus where all students are invited to come learn a mariachi instrument. Mariachi originates from Mexico and is a commonly practiced folk genre. The club’s typical meetings include announcements of upcoming events and discussions of music, along with sectional and full ensemble rehearsals.
Senior business administration major Andrea Vasquez is a proud member of the Mariachi club. Vasquez, who had never played an instrument before, now plays the vihuela, a string instrument. She told The Panther how despite her lack of background in playing, the club was welcoming regardless.
“It's a very inclusive club, and it's open to any major,” Vasquez said. “Sometimes, people think you have to be Hispanic to be in the Mariachi Club. It's totally welcome to anyone, and you can have any instrument background too. Sometimes, there's people who have never played an instrument before, myself included, until joining this group, and I have never felt judged for not knowing how to play an instrument.”
“It’s a very inclusive club, and it’s open to any major. Sometimes, people think you have to be Hispanic to be in the Mariachi Club. It’s totally welcome to anyone, and you can have any instrument background too. Sometimes, there’s people who have never played an instrument before, myself included, until joining this group, and I have never felt judged for not knowing how to play an instrument.”
Although playing an instrument was new territory for Vasquez, performing was not. Mariachi club became her opportunity to continue being in the spotlight past the high school level and scratch her itch to be on stage.
“Throughout high school and middle school, I did choir and musical theater, so music production to me was something that I've always been interested in and also performing,” Vasquez said. “But throughout my time at Chapman, because my major’s not music related, I didn't really have an outlet to be able to continue to do (performing and music) until a friend had told me that there's actually a Mariachi band.”
Mariachi Club is important to senior music education and vocal performance major Jess Tonai because it helps connect her to her culture.
“It’s just a very special place, especially for Mexican students or any Latinx students to connect with the musical part of their culture,” said Tonai, who serves as the vice president of the club. “It's something that is hard to find at a lot of universities, and most people don't have a program like that at their high school. So it's really cool to have the opportunity to play these instruments and learn the music from people who have a lot of experience.”
“It’s just a very special place, especially for Mexican students or any Latinx students to connect with the musical part of their culture. It’s something that is hard to find at a lot of universities, and most people don’t have a program like that at their high school. So it’s really cool to have the opportunity to play these instruments and learn the music from people who have a lot of experience.”
Students who attend the club have the opportunity to learn from its president Lino Sanchez, a junior music education and trumpet performance major. Sanchez plays Mariachi gigs with his siblings, and has garnered lots of experience prior to running the club.
“(Mariachi) has always been a very important part of my life,” Sanchez said. “I've been playing it since I was three years old, so I really wanted to be involved in school somehow. My sister's the one who started the club (during COVID-19), so it was also a great passing of the torch moment for me to take over when she (graduated).”
Other than weekly meetings, the club also has concerts that they attend and a few extra performances like their impromptu gig in the Student Union.
“For us, our concerts are the ones that are mandatory, but then in addition to that, we also have various performances throughout the semester,” Vasquez said. “Especially this past year, our band has become more popular than we expected, and now we are more in demand, and we've had some organizations throughout campus such as the Latinx Club reach out to us to perform.”
As a junior, Sanchez hopes to continue to see the impact of the club grow as it continues to reach a wider audience on campus, especially now that they’ve garnered a bit more popularity.
“I would love for (the club) to grow and grow the community here,” Sanchez said. “Maybe in the future, (the club will) be able to perform in Musco (Center for the Arts) and have different levels of Mariachi (within the club). Right now, it's like everyone is in one (group), and we work to accommodate different varying skill levels. But I think in the future, it'd be great to have multiple levels and to really give everyone a chance to learn and to excel and be surrounded by people that are at their same level.”
After her successful leap of faith into Mariachi Club, Vasquez encourages all interested students to follow in her footsteps.
“I think people should join the Mariachi Club to learn something new,” Vasquez said. “I know it might be a little bit intimidating to start a new instrument that you might have not heard of before, but (we) are super welcoming and won't judge you for not knowing how to play it and rather encourage (you to) just try something new.”
Information about upcoming events can be found on their Instagram and the Chapman Events calendar.
“I think people should join the Mariachi Club to learn something new. I know it might be a little bit intimidating to start a new instrument that you might have not heard of before, but (we) are super welcoming and won’t judge you for not knowing how to play it and rather encourage (you to) just try something new.”
