2023 – Rebecca Gonzales
San Jose, California native Rebecca Gonzales began playing classical violin at age 10. Her intro duction to mariachi music came in 1972 when Mark Fogelquist invited her to participate […]
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2022 – Mark Fogelquist
Mark Fogelquist received his BA and MA in Ethnomusicology from UCLA. His master’s thesis (1975) was the pioneering academic work on mariachi music. From 1973 to 1993, Fogelquist directed Mariachi […]
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2019 – Laura Sobrino
Remembering Laura Sobrino (1954–2015) Laura Garciacano Sobrino was one of the earliest professional female mariachi musicians in the United States. The multiple contributions this Watsonville, California native made to mariachi […]
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2018 – Manuel Valle Villalpando
Widely repected in the Mariachi word, legenday performer and studio musician Manuel Valle Villalpando holds the distinction of being the most recorded mariachi trumpet player in history. Manuel was born […]
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2017 – Don Gasper & Silvester Vargas
According to Silvester Vargas, the mariachi founded by his father, Gasper Vargas, made its debut on the eve of Independence Day in their home town of Tecalitlán, Jalisco on September 15, […]
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2016- Noberta Fresquez
Noberta Fresquez has been around music and entertainment her entire life. This influence along with her roots in southern New Mexico undoubtedly helped her come to love the music of […]
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2015 – Jose Hernandez
Jose Hernandez has made and continues to make an indelible mark on the music of mariachi. Individually and through his group Mariachi Sol de Mexico, Jose has contributed mightily to […]
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2013 – Mario Santiago
Though he was born in Ameca, Jalisco, Mario de Santiago Miranda- better known as Mario Santiago- considers the village of Guachinango, Jalisco his hometown. It was there he grew up and where […]
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2014 – Federico Torres
Guadalajara native Federico Torres began playing trumpet professionally at age 14. In 1956, he moved to Mexico City where he spent the next several years playing with Mariachi Perla de […]
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2012 – Natividad “Nati” Cano
Natividad Cano was born in 1933 in the tiny village of Ahuisculco, Jalisco, about 30 miles west of Guadalajara. The son and grandson of mariachi musicians, he began playing the vihuela at […]
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