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All-Female Mariachi Band Breaks the Mold

Creator:
Published:
January 29, 2024
June 27, 2020
Watch how this all-female mariachi band is breaking the mold in a male-dominated arena.|Watch how this all-female mariachi band is breaking the mold in a male-dominated arena.

In a field that can be a bit macho, this all-female mariachi band in Texas has broken through. "We've got a unity with this group and a sisterhood, so being able to experience that together and share our music with the audiences and our passion for the music has been pretty special," Valerie Vargas explains.

Transcripción de Video

Carla Medina: Siempre digo que haría esto gratis. Sólo que resulta que nos pagan por ello. Es un verdadero placer salir y entretener a la gente. Hay tanta emoción ligada a la música que es un papel muy satisfactorio.

Narrador: Conocida como una de las mejores bandas de mariachi de Texas, el grupo es único. En un campo que puede ser un poco machista, esta banda femenina se ha abierto paso.

Ángela Campos: Tal vez no todo el mundo sabe que la música de mariachi es un género musical dominado por los hombres.

Carla Medina: Sabes que hay muchos estereotipos con respecto a las mujeres en el mariachi, y creo que eso ha sido algo grande.

Valerie Vargas: Tenemos unidad con este grupo y una hermandad. Por lo tanto, el poder experimentar todo esto juntas y compartir nuestra música con el público y nuestra pasión por ella, ha sido muy especial.

Ángela Campos: Es realmente impresionante inspirar a otras chicas que son más jóvenes para que puedan ver que también pueden hacerlo.

Narrador: A pesar de romper el molde como un grupo femenino, Las Altenas toca el fuerte y apasionado estilo de música clásica de mariachi.

Ángela Campos: El canto tradicional del mariachi es una canción, la comparación con... Así que es muy diferente, más agresivo al rascar las cuerdas.

Narrador: Unidas por su pasión por el mariachi, estas mujeres han derribado barreras y se han acercado a el público de jóvenes y mayores.

Carla Medina: Hay muchas veces en las que la gente llora cuando les cantas porque les recuerda a un ser querido que amaba esa canción, o "Esa fue nuestra canción de amor cuando nos casamos y escuchamos por primera vez".

Mariachi en el coro, mariachi en la banda, ambos están dentro de los instrumentos, con voces, pero la diferencia, creo, es que uno siente todo. La emoción que viene con la música de mariachi es lo que la distingue. Es algo espiritual. Te hace regresar. Me hace pensar en mis antepasados, mi abuelo que era músico, mis padres, mi familia y los acontecimientos de la vida. Todo está ligado a un lugar espiritual donde se ve la belleza, se ve a Dios, y todo se une al final.

Video Transcript

Carla Medina: I always say I would do this for free. We just happen to get paid for it. It's just a real pleasure to go out and entertain people. There's just so much emotion tied to the music that it's a really fulfilling role.

Mariachi, San Antonio, Texas.Narrator: Known as one of Texas's greatest mariachi bands, the group is unique. In a field that can be a bit macho, this all-female band has broken through.

Angela Campos: Maybe not everybody knows that mariachi music is a male-dominated genre of music.

Carla Medina: You know there's a lot of stereotypes when it comes to women in mariachi, and I think that's been a big thing.

Valerie Vargas: We've got a unity with this group and a sisterhood. So being able to experience that together and share our music with audiences and our passion for the music, it has been pretty special.

Angela Campos: It's really awesome to inspire other girls who are younger so they can see that they can do it, too.

Narrator: Despite breaking the mold as an all-female group, Las Alteñas play the strong, impassioned style of classic mariachi music.

Angela Campos: The traditional mariachi song is a song [plays violin] comparison to [plays violin]. So it's a lot different, more aggressive in digging into the string.

Narrator: Joined by their passion for mariachi, these women have broken barriers and broken through to audiences, young and old.

Carla Medina: There's so many times when people just go to tears when you sing to them because it reminds them of a loved one that loved that song, or "That was our love song when we first got married."

Mariachi in choir, mariachi in band, they're both within instruments, with voices, but the difference, I think, is that you feel everything. The emotion that comes with mariachi music is what puts it aside. It's a spiritual thing. It just takes you back. It makes me think of my ancestors, my grandpa who was a musician, my parents, my family, and life events. It's all tied to a spiritual place where you see beauty, you see God, and it just all comes together in the end.

Live Bold.

Creators:
Grotto
Published:
January 29, 2024
June 27, 2020
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