Mariachi San Jose Performs Live in Studio

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KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 25 July 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For people of Mexican descent, mariachi music is synonymous with milestones such as weddings, birthday parties, funerals or maybe just Saturday-morning chores. The genre, which originated in the 18th century in the western state of Jalisco, has morphed into one of Mexico’s most beloved styles of music that is now popular worldwide. In California, more high schools and colleges such as San Jose State have added mariachi music programs. Mariachi San Jose, an ensemble of college students, joins us in studio for a special live performance ahead of the Fourth Annual Fiesta del Mariachi. We’ll talk about mariachi’s growing popularity and the local ensembles that keep the genre strumming in the Bay. Guests: José R. Torres-Ramos, assistant professor of ethnomusicology, San Jose State University; director, Mariachi San Jose Debra Barrera, violin, Mariachi San Jose Anthony Cera, trumpet, Mariachi San Jose Abril Dorado, violin, Mariachi San Jose Jorge Dovalina, vihuela, Mariachi San Jose Thomas Hernández, harp, Mariachi San Jose Cameron Samayoa, guitarrón, Mariachi San Jose Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Comcast business can help turn small businesses into reliably up and running,
0:07.6	performance boosting, reliably connected, modern businesses.
0:14.9	Support for KQED podcasts comes from the San Jose Museum of Art.
0:19.6	Photographer Paul Ho-Hare explores homeland and family among her Hmong American community.
0:25.8	See the imaginative landscape.
0:28.1	Learn more at SJM-U-S-A-R-T.org.
0:33.0	From K-Q-E-D.
0:34.5	Music From KQED.
0:50.0	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
0:52.7	You know it's a special occasion this morning?
0:53.4	Why?
0:57.1	We've got a whole mariachi band from San Jose State live in the studio with me. Yes, it is a live music Friday show. And today we're going to dig
1:03.5	into the history and meaning of mariachi for Mexican-Americans ahead of the fourth annual Fiesta
1:10.5	Del Mariachi down in the South Bay this weekend.
1:13.3	We're going to talk about how a genre that originated in the Mexican state of Halisco
1:17.7	spread all over Mexico and now all over the world.
1:21.4	That's all coming up next front of me this morning. We've got Jose
1:45.9	Torres Ramos here. He's assistant professor of ethnomusicology at San Jose State. And there's a whole
1:52.5	ensemble of students in packed in the performance studio today. We're going to kick off the show
1:59.2	with one of their songs and then we'll meet the band.
2:02.1	Take it away.
2:03.6	One, two, no. Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Guadalajara,
	...

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