Nuestra Cultura Mariachi Festival

About Mariachi Los Camperos

Three-time Grammy Award winner, Mariachi Los Camperos was founded in 1961 by Jose Natividad “Nati” Cano Ruiz. Mr. Cano played a fundamental role in the development of mariachi music in the United States by training and mentoring new generations of mariachi musicians. The Mariachi “Giant” was a visionary leader that wanted to take the mariachi performance out of customary locations such as Cantinas and into concert halls where celebrities performed. Nati Cano fulfilled his dream by presenting Los Camperos and performing at casinos in Las Vegas, Reno, Sparks, Lake Tahoe and other places where mariachis had never previously performed. Los Camperos became well known and in 1964, they were the first Mariachi to perform in New York’s Carnegie Hall. In 1969, Mr. Cano opened the first ever Mariachi Dine and Show at “La Fonda Casa de Los Camperos” now known as a Landmark in the city of Los Angeles, California. Today, mariachi restaurants all over the world are modeled after La Fonda.

Over its 57-years of history, Mariachi los Camperos have recorded and performed with many artist including: Pedro Fernandez, Pepe Aguilar, Angeles Ochoa, Eugenia Leon, Lila Downs, Alejandro Fernandez, Luis Miguel and many more. Including, the collaboration on Linda Ronstadt’s 1987 milestone album, “Canciones de Mi Padre” and Ronstadt’s sequel album, “Mas Canciones” (released in 1992), they toured with the singer nationwide.

On October 3rd, 2014, Los Camperos mourned the death of Nati Cano. His passing was greatly felt by followers, students and performers worldwide. Mr. Cano left the group to the musical director, Jesus "Chuy" Guzman whom has served as the musical director since 1992. Chuy Guzman is known for his musical arrangements that highlight the skills and voices of the group. He is widely recognized as arranger, director, instructor, and musician in the genre of Mariachi music. Mr. Guzman has served as head instructor for numerous international mariachi festivals in the United States and Mexico. He is the Musical Director for the Mariachi Master Apprentice Program (MMAP) in San Fernando and continues as the instructor for Music of Mexico, at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Under Guzman’s Direction, Los Camperos released a 2015 Grammy-nominated musical tribute to Nati Cano called: Tradición, Arte, y Pasión, this album gave Mariachi Los Camperos their 4th Grammy nomination.

In January of 2018, Mariachi Los Camperos became the featured Mariachi to start in the First Mariachi Opera “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna”, having their first presentation in the Big Apple, New York City, New York.

Mariachi Los Camperos continue to salvage the richness of our music and culture in effort to display and pass the mariachi traditions, as Los Camperos continue to open doors to influence the new generation of mariachi musicians throughout the world.

Nuestra Cultura Mariachi Association to host 4th Annual Mariachi Festival for Mariachi students from throughout Texas on ”Saturday, April 23, 2022, Brownsville, TX.

Nuestra Cultura Mariachi Association (NCMA) , along with Incarnate Word Academy, and Texas Southmost Collge, will be hosting the 4th Annual Mariachi Festival. The festival will start on Friday, April 17th with various workshop sessions and competitions.

The event will culminate on Saturday evening April 23 with a Grand Concert by student Mariachi groups as well as a special performance by 3X Grammy Award Winning Mariachi Los Camperos, from Los Angeles, CA., who will be at the festival offering students master classes over the two days. The event will be held at the Jacob Brown Auditorium in Brownsville.

Over the past four years, the Mariachi Festival has been highly successful and has hosted Mariachi students from all over the state of Texas. High school Mariachi students have come from as far as San Antonio, El Paso, San Marcos, Rio Grande City, McAllen, La Joya and many other cities and communities. Commented Berta Guerra, Festival Director and Executive Director, “This event is put on solely to promote awareness and the continued growth of Mariachi music and Mariachi Education throughout the State of Texas; primarily in the region of the Rio Grande Valley.” Added Guerra, “NCMA helps to promote the understanding of Mexican heritage and culture through Mariachi music, by highlighting and featuring regional talent at this festival.”

Nuestra Cultura Mariachi Association is dedicated to providing different opportunities to directors and students through competition and performances at the festival. The Mariachi Festival is the largest Mariachi festival in South Texas and is once again poised to be a great success. The event will also feature the vocals of Brownsville’s Mariachi Margaritas, the Rio Grande Valley’s premiere mariachi group of 11 extremely talented artists.

The public is invited to come out and support the 4th Annual Mariachi Festival as it provides continuing instruction and higher education of Mariachi music for area-wide youth.

More about Nuestra Cultura Mariachi Association – NCMA

NCMA is based in Brownsville and is a 501(c)3 Texas Domestic, non-profit organization that exists solely to provide Mariachi instructional music education. It was established on October 16, 2018, and is headquartered in Brownsville, Texas.

Host or Publisher Nuestra Cultura Mariachi Association