Tucson International Mariachi Conference shines spotlight on youth

One of the highlights of the annual Tucson International Mariachi Conference every spring is the Armando C. Gonzales Student Showcase.

Dozens of youth mariachis and folklorico dancers, with generations of family looking on, get a chance on Thursday, April 24 — day two of the four-day festival that continues through April 26 — to show off what they learned in the conference workshops. They only get nine minutes apiece, but for many it’s the best nine minutes of their lives.

Ever since the mariachi conference launched in 1983 it has served as a springboard for aspiring mariachi performers including the national El Mariachi Canta Competition on Wednesday, April 23, that attracts vocalists as young as 8 from all over vying for cash prizes and a chance to take their talent to a bigger stage.

But the student showcase is arguably the most exciting. The youth groups follow the example of the legendary Los Changuitos Feos de Tucson, which gave birth to the country’s youth mariachi movement. The ensemble has been part of the festival nearly every year including this year.

Los Changuitos Feos alumni went on to form Mariachi Cobre, largely considered one of the world’s greatest mariachi.

This year’s showcase lineup comes from throughout the Southwest including New Mexico State University’s Mariachi Orgullo, the Phoenix West Valley ensemble Mariachi Los Tigres de Tolleson, and San Luis’s Mariachi Gadsen.

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Ballet Folklorico los Pumas, Compania de Danza Folklorica AZ, Mariachi Aguilitas de Davis, Mariachi Apache, Mariachi Arizona, Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School, Mariachi Campesina, Mariachi Desierto, Mariachi los Diablitos, Mariachi Estrella Juvenil, Mariachi Nueva Luna, Mariachi Pumas de Roskruge, Mariachi Rayos, Mariachi Toritos de White and NHS Folklorico Group also will perform.

Tickets for the 6 p.m. concert at Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave., are $20 through tucsonmariachi.org/tickets.

The festival includes the Espectacular Concert on April 25 at Music Hall and the hugely popular daylong Fiesta de Garibaldi at downtown’s Jácome Plaza, 101 N. Stone Ave., to close out the event April 26.

Tickets for Espectacular start at $50 through tucsonmariachi.org/tickets; it’s $20 for adults, $10 for children 8-18 and those 65 and older. Children 7 and younger get in free.

For more on the 2025 Tucson International Mariachi Conference, see next week’s Caliente.