The end is getting close for The Mariachi Miracle. Both the film and book will be released in 2022 and the story of how Tucson has been transformed by its youth mariachi and folklorico dance programs will head out into the world. But to get there we have to raise the final money to finish and get us on the road.

A goal of $35,000 by the close of 2021 has been set, and to help us get there we’re offering some rewards.

The Arias family and VIP Printing and Promotions has offered 10 canvas prints to raffle off at $5 a shot, and so a selection of 30 of the best youth mariachi and folklorico images from the shooting of The Mariachi Miracle has been assembled. To enter just make a donation on any size in $5 increments (i.e. $5, $10, $15, etc.) through the Donate buttons on any www.mariachimiracle.com  page. Once a total of $100 comes in from the $5 donations we’ll write the names of the folks who contributed in that category and randomly pull a winner from the hat. So basically if you contributed $25, that gives you 5 of the 20 total chances, so your chances are one in four. We’ll then reach out and contact you and you can choose which of the 30 images you’d like to have a canvas print of and we’ll get it your way.

VIP has offered 10 such prints, so if you don’t win out in the first round there will be nine more to follow.

These are limited edition prints and beautiful images that make a fine holiday gift.

For donations of $100 or more we’re offering a “sure thing” glossy 8×10 photo of the image of your choice, and for $500 and up a 17” x 25” glossy print is offered. Again, you choose the image and a custom glossy print is made. If you’re in Tucson it will be hand delivered to you. To make the donation tax deductible follow the instructions at http://www.mariachimiracle.com/support/ .

With your help on May 1, 2022 the Tucson debut of The Mariachi Miracle will be held at the Fox Theatre downtown and then out into the world the film and book go!

The Mariachi Miracle has been a  ten-year project examining how youth mariachi and folklorico groups have, over nearly sixty years, helped transform the socio-economic, educational, political and artistic fabric of our city. Nearly 250 interviews were conducted with the people who lived it – former and current mariachi and folklorico students, parents, educators, administrators, political leaders and more. In addition hundreds, if not thousands, of community events, concert performances, workshops, school sessions and of course the Tucson International Mariachi Conference events have been filmed for this project, generating just shy of 1,000,000 still images as well as a mother lode of video content. All of this will go into future spinoff projects, as well as the Mariachi Miracle.

The goal of The Mariachi Miracle is to make the case that these important music and dance programs from private programs and public schools do so much more than merely teach music and dance. They connect students to their cultural roots. They make school a place students look forward to going every day. They connect students and families to their communities and make them active agents in problem solving from an early age. They help create a more civil society. They decrease gang and criminal activity. And most of all, they put kids on a path to their dreams through college scholarships and through the life skills that become engrained in the students as they become great musicians and dancers.

In addition they show parents that they have the skills to organize and get things done in their communities. And often they give back in unexpected ways to other cultural communities in Tucson.

Tucson is a very different place today from 1964 when Mariachi Los Changuitos Feos became the nation’s first youth mariachi. Our youth mariachis and folklorico dance communities have helped create those transformations and have earned a place alongside the saguaro cactus as symbols of modern Tucson.

While the film and book focus on Tucson, the lessons carry over to other communities where youth mariachi and folklorico programs have taken root. It’s hoped that the film and book will become a resource for both Tucson groups and other communities to make the case for how important these programs are everywhere, and how the mariachi movement is changing America.