UTPA Mariachi Aztlán

September 25th, 2011

Outdoor Feria del Mariachi

Since 1989, The University of Texas Pan American Mariachi Aztlán has been one of the best known musical groups on campus and off. The UTPA Maria chi program was founded by Dr. Dahlia Guerra, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at UTPA, and is directed by Mr. Francisco Loera, who is on the faculty at the Department of Modern Languages and Literature and the Department of Music and Dance at UTPA.

The UTPA Maria chi Aztlán was founded to promote Mexican Folk music and the culture of the Hispanic people for the benefit of the students and community of South Texas . The Maria chi has traveled throughout Mexico representing the U.S.A. and throughout America as musical ambassadors representing the beauty of the Hispanic music and cultural traditions and creating a bridge of cultural understanding between two countries and two peoples. Their growing reputation for performance excellence initiated the recent invitation from the White House to perform at the Oct. 19 signing ceremony of an Executive Order renewing and enhancing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, performing for President Obama himself. At a recent performance with the Houston Grand Opera, the UTPA Maria chi Aztlan premiered the stage production of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, the world’s first “ Maria chi-Opera”.

The UTPA Maria chi Aztlán has also appeared at the Tucson International Maria chi Conferences; in Ottawa, Canada; in Los Angeles, California; in Guadalajara, Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende, in Mexico; at the Maria chi Vargas de Tecalitlan Extravaganzas in San Antonio and Houston Texas; and has been invited to perform in Washington D.C. and at the Texas State Capital in Austin Texas. The UTPA Maria chi Aztlán has performed with two symphony orchestras in Mexico , including performances in Monterrey , Pachuca , and Tampico , Mexico , and has also performed several times with the Valley Symphony Orchestra in the Rio Grande Valley .

For over fifteen years, in San Antonio, Texas, and in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the UTPA Maria chi Aztlán has been selected as the “Outstanding College or University Maria chi” in nationwide competition. This past summer, the UTPA Maria chi Aztlán won at the university level and at the professional level, winning “Grand Champions” of the Maria chi Spectacular Competition 2010. The UTPA Maria chi Aztlán has won first place in the “Best in Texas” Maria chi Invitational at the Houston Rodeo, in Houston Texas , in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011 performing for over 73,000 people on each occasion.

The UTPA Maria chi has been recognized by the Texas House of Representatives (1999) and the Texas Senate (2003) for promoting the music and traditions of the Hispanic culture.