Mariachi Chula Vista
Mission San Juan Capistrano held its sixth annual Battle of The Mariachi Festival on Saturday, May 22. This popular event, attended by approximately 4,500 enthusiastic fans, featured talented Southern California mariachi bands, which competed for cash prizes before a panel of judges that included Director, Producer, and Cinematographer Al Gonzalez.
The group “Mariachi Chula Vista” won the first-place prize of $2,000, a trophy, and a professional photograph of their group.
Made possible thanks to the generous support from the Thomas J. and Erma Jean Tracy Family Foundation, the festival was part of the 2010 Imagination Celebration — an annual spring Festival of the arts for children, teenagers, and families, presented by Arts Orange County and the Orange County Department of Education each year.
Battle of The Mariachi Festival Winners were:
1st Place ($2,000, a trophy, and a professional photograph of the group)
Group: Mariachi Chula Vista
Director: Mark Fogelquist
City: Chula Vista
Phone: (619) 392-6618
2nd Place ($1,500, a trophy, and a professional photograph of the group)
Group: Puno de Oro
Director: Gabriel Zavala
City: Anaheim
Phone: (714) 504-1762
3rd Place ($1,000, a trophy, and a professional photograph of the group)
Group: Mariachi Imperial de San Diego
Director: Sergio Fernandez
City: San Diego
Phone: (619) 392-7071
Honorable Mention ($750 and a framed certificate)
Group: Mariachi Aguila Real
Director: Saul Zecena
City: San Diego
Phone: (760) 265-2480
Shining Star — The Individual Musician Award ($500 and a framed certificate)
Group: Mariachi Corazon de Montclair (Trumpet Player: Jesus)
Director: Douglas McKenna
City: Montclair
Phone: (626) 377-8866
Held in the Mission’s Central Courtyard, festivities included a day full of live mariachi music, authentic Mexican food, a Ballet Folkloric dance workshop, a Mariachi 101 workshop, and a puppet theater with performances throughout the day.
The event was emceed by Mechelle Lawrence-Adams, Executive Director of the Mission and Laura Garciacano Sobrino, a pioneer female mariachi and a positive role model for the new generation of mariachi musicians (featured in an NBC segment) and an honoree for the Latinas: The Spirit of California exhibit, CA Museum for Women, History and Arts, 2005. Sobrino is the former director and lead violinist for the “Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles,” and was originally responsible for searching for the female talent in that mariachi. Sobrino is currently the musical director and violinist for the new all-female mariachi show group “Mariachi Mujer 2000” and lives in Whittier, CA with her husband, Dan, and two children, Nicté and Nazul.
