'It's the flavor of life': Local mariachi band works to keep Mexican music authentic
The majority female mariachi band works to keep its sound authentic in hopes future generations will carry on the tradition.
The majority female mariachi band works to keep its sound authentic in hopes future generations will carry on the tradition.
The majority female mariachi band works to keep its sound authentic in hopes future generations will carry on the tradition.
Continuing tradition and bringing beautiful music to Nebraska, that's the goal of Mariachi Femenil Tecalitlan USA.
The majority of female mariachi bands have played in Iowa and now Nebraska for years. Music is a passion for these band members, with many picking up instruments from a young age.
Band member Karen Pola describes the experience as beautiful.
"For me, that's what music is; it's the flavor of life," Pola said in Spanish. "Playing rancheras, cumbias, songs of pain, all that, people feel that, and you can translate that to them."
Named after Tecalitlan, the land of mariachi, the band strives to keep its sound authentic.
It's Band Leader Rosana Negrete's hometown.
"The first generations of Mexican music, had more passion, was more sentimental," she said in Spanish.
It's that feeling she wants to bring back with every note.
Each sound of her trumpet is a battle cry for preservation as the sound of Mexican music changes over time with new variations of songs.
"We are losing the Mexican culture and this is rescuing it a little. I think it's a necessity, so we don't lose it," Negrete said.
She said there are few Mexican music groups in this part of the country and even fewer female mariachis.
"I think it's time women stand out during this time, to show we are all equals, and we're defending that," Negrete said.
Mariachi helps mold women like Tania Garcia Ranjel.
"What you learn in mariachi translates to everyday life, it helps your self-esteem, your confidence, it helps us develop as people," she said in Spanish.
She said it ties her two identities together.
"Growing up here, growing up there in two worlds and it's what we have in common in these two worlds," Garcia Ranjel said.
Negrete wants to see the soul of mariachi live on in future generations.
From childhood, she's taught her two children about music. Zadkiel and Aylen now perform with her group.
"It's become a big part of my life,"Aylen said. "I'm grateful that thanks to my mother, I would join the mariachi and learn different instruments and sing and show this pride, to be able to play Mexican music for other people."
Her favorite part is seeing the joy it brings to people's lives.
"When we play cumbias or other songs, people stand up and they dance, and I love to see people enjoying themselves," she said.
Negrete hopes to one day teach others so that music never dies. Her goal is to eventually open a music school or give classes.
If you'd like to book Mariachi Femenil Tecalitlan USA for your next event you can contact them at (515) 808 -1224.