9/20/2024
Education and Outreach
Mariachi Joya in the Grand Lobby at The Smith Center
(Photo by Deanna Rilling)
Through the years, Las Vegas High School’s Mariachi Joya has toured internationally, opened for superstar John Legend and performed as part of 2021’s virtual presidential inauguration parade.
On September 10, the group added another major accolade to its impressive résumé – collaborating with Mexico’s world-renowned Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in front of an appreciative sold-out crowd.
“As soon as you step foot onto that stage, it's breathtaking,” said sophomore Carolina Reyes, Mariachi Joya’s student director. “Taking everything in, seeing all those different levels and then seeing them filled with people that we love was so amazing and so impacting.”
Mariachi Joya opened the night’s festivities with a 15-minute set in their trademark red charros, setting the stage for the high-energy Mariachi Vargas headlining performance to come. And to cap it all off, Joya returned to the stage to play alongside what many consider the best mariachi group in the world, collaborating on a live rendition of traditional number “La Negra” to earn a standing ovation.
“It almost felt like we were jamming out together,” said junior Brian Bautista-Perez, Mariachi Joya’s armonia section leader. “It felt comfortable, and we were just smiling the whole time.”
Afterwards, the members of Joya and Vargas spent time together offstage, taking photos with one-another, and then Mariachi Vargas told Mariachi Joya, “We’ll see you in San Antonio!”
“We're going for a competition, and they're hosting,” Bautista-Perez explained, referring to the 30th annual Mariachi Extravaganza, set for December 5-7 in Texas, which will be hosted and judged by the members of Mariachi Vargas.
“Their nickname is ‘mariachi del mundo,’ the best mariachi in the world, and they really,” said Stephen Blancho, director of mariachi for Las Vegas High School. “It’s noticeable.”
And, Reyes said, “They were very welcoming.”
As for adding a Smith Center performance to the seven-year old Mariachi Joya’s list of memorable experiences, Blancho said, “We can travel and go do amazing things, but the pressure is on even more when we do something at home, because all of our peers are in the audience. So we really want to put on a good show, because there's an expectation. Opening for Vargas at home was special.”