By The Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza
The 26th Annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza is the largest and longest-running mariachi music festival in the United States. Each year, more than 1,000 student mariachi musicians and vocalists convene in San Antonio from throughout the U.S. to participate in musical workshops, national competitions and grand performances. The event culminates with a concert featuring competition winners and Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza will go virtual this year with dozens of online educational initiatives and a fiercely competitive online vocal competition.
Continuing with the desire to keep youth engaged through these challenging times, the producers of the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza hosted a national search that attracted top vocal talent from elementary to college age. Vocalists from throughout the nation responded, and 35 talented students from across the U.S. were selected to compete as finalists. Judges are members of the world’s preeminent Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, who will select winners based on vocal technique, showmanship and overall performance excellence in the first online competition in this festival’s 26-year history. Only one student will be named Grand Champion Vocalist of the Year and will be awarded the prestigious Gonzaba Medical Group Scholarship and represent the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza in 2021.
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Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán- Recordando a Pedro Infante
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With over 50,000 students involved in school-based mariachi music programs nationwide, much-needed online educational materials will be rolled out in a virtual setting to include tutorials, audio and video podcasts and live discussions with members of the mariachi community. Expect to see vocal and instrumental tutorials for the harp, violin, guitar and trumpet released starting December 1 through the end of 2020. Student mariachi musicians and Mariachi Vargas fans will also be able to watch and listen to insightful interviews and discussions with members of Mariachi Vargas and key influencers in the mariachi community.
The Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza is made possible with support from Gonzaba Medical Group and H-E-B – longtime sponsors of this annual music festival. The national vocal competition streams on YouTube Saturday, December 5 at 7 p.m. Register for the online newsletter at mariachimusic.com for a complete schedule.
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Previously: Take Five: Mariachi Sirenas.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on November 30, 2020