Isaac Resendez, left, with Herencia Mariachi Academy out of Corona, California, and Kevin Zuniga with Mariachi Los Potrillos of Cholla High School jam together as the other workshop students take a break at the 37th annual La Frontera Arizona Tucson International Mariachi Conference at Casino del Sol in 2019.

 Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star

The Tucson International Mariachi Conference is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

That’s 40 years of trumpets, vihuelas, violins and guittaróns backing powerhouse vocalists through full-throttle mariachi staples, like “Guadalajara” and “Los Laureles.”

Forty years of students learning the ins and outs of their instruments from professional musicians, and sad rancheras moving our fathers, mothers, nanas and tatas to tears.

The conference has made some changes this year in its first time back in-person since the start of the pandemic.

Here is what to expect.

Juan Pizon sings to the accompaniment of participants at the first Tucson International Mariachi Conference in 1983.

Returning “home” to downtown

Rather than taking place entirely at Casino del Sol on West Valencia Road, its home since 2012, this year’s conference will be returning to venues around the downtown area.

Its main events, the Armando C. Gonzales Student Showcase, Fiesta Garibaldi and Espectacular Concert will being held in the Tucson Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave., and in the open patio area between the Music Hall and the Leo Rich Theater.

Conference board member Adrian Perez said they had already planned to move back downtown in 2020, but had to scrap the in-person conference as the COVID-19 pandemic was just getting started.

“The desire was to bring the whole event home to downtown Tucson where it had happened for years,” Perez said. “Downtown has seen a lot of redevelopment since we’ve been at the casino. There are a lot of new restaurants and things for people to go out, explore and see.”

The student showcase, featuring the 500-plus mariachi and folklórico students from across the region who are signed up to participate in the conference’s workshops this year, begins at 5:30 p.m., May 6, at the Music Hall. Tickets are $15 through tucsonmusichall.org.

Fiesta Garibaldi, an all-day mariachi celebration with up to 20 local groups performing, including Los Changuitos Feos, Mariachi Aztlán de Pueblo High School and Mariachi Rayos del Sol de Tucson High, will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 7, in the patio area at the TCC. Admission to the fiesta is free.

Anilem Estrada, second from right, smiles as she plays the violin with other students during the opening day of the 2018 Tucson International Mariachi Conference. This year the event is back downtown.

The big show, the conference’s Espectacular Concert, sports an impressive lineup. Mariachi Los Camperos, a conference staple from Los Angeles that continued on after the death of its founder and longtime leader Natividad “Nati” Cano in 2014, is on the bill.

As is Mariachi Cobre, Tucson’s hometown heroes, who went on to become the house mariachi band for Epcot Theme Park at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Cobre performed at the very first conference and group leader Randy Carrillo has been credited with proposing that Tucson host a large-scale mariachi event in the first place.

Making her conference debut will be Lupita Infante — singer, composer and granddaughter of famed Mexican musician and actor Pedro Infante. Lupita Infante was recently signed to Sony Music Latin, her first deal with a major label. Her debut album, “La Serenata,” which was released independently in 2019, was nominated for a Grammy for Best Regional Mexican Music Album in 2021.

“It is cool to get her early on in her career,” Perez said. “And she is a good role model for the female students at the conference; a young, female mariachi on the rise.”

As an added bonus, the conference will host a ceremony at the Espectacular Concert that will mark a change of the Tucson Music Hall’s name to the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall.

The concert starts at 6:30 p.m. on May 7, and tickets are $50-$150 through tucsonmusichall.org

Local musician Ruben Moreno shares his talents with trumpet students during the workshop sessions of the 34th La Frontera Tucson International Mariachi Conference in 2016.

An expanded footprint

In addition to the staple performances at the conference, organizers are experimenting with new events at different venues this year.

On May 5, they will host a Cinco de Mayo party at the MSA Annex, 267 S. Avenida del Convento, featuring dance performances from Compañia de Danza Folklórico and a set from longtime local party band Los Gallegos. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with Los Gallegos taking the stage at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance through tucsonmariachi.org and $20 at the door.

“The Annex already has tons of great programming,” Perez said. “We used a lot of what they typically program for their own events as a catalyst. Plus, it has a lot of cool restaurants and shops.”

The conference is also bringing in Grammy-winning ensemble, La Santa Cecilia, out of Los Angeles. Named for the patron saint of music, La Santa Cecilia has a sound that moves effortlessly between modern pop, rock and folk, and traditional Latin musical styles ranging from bossa nova to boleros.

Like Lupe Infante, Perez said, La Santa Cecilia attracts a younger crowd, folks who might not normally attend an event put on by the mariachi conference.

Grammy winner and Tucson native Linda Ronstadt sung at Mariachi Espectacular at Tucson Community Center on May 9, 1986.

“La Santa Cecilia casts a wide net in terms of its audience at concerts,” Perez said. “There is this stigma that traditional Mexican music is dying out. We are trying to expand it, but still be rooted in that. Having Santa Cecilia as one of the headliners of this concert is one way to explore that.”

Perez said the mariachi community in Tucson has always been strong.

“A lot of parents and family members in Tucson get super excited when their sons and daughters get involved with mariachi through school programs,” he added. “The fanbase grows through the generations.”

But as one of the younger members on the conference board — Perez started as a student at the conference in 2007 — he and some of the other fresh faces are always looking for new ways to broaden and evolve their offerings.

“The intent is to grow the base and expand the demographic,” he said. “We want to make it inclusive to everybody.”

La Santa Cecilia takes the stage at the Rialto, 318 E. Congress St., at 8 p.m. Friday, April 29. Tickets are $25-$38 through rialtotheatre.com.

For more information on any of the conference concerts, visit tucsonmariachi.org

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