Allow me to introduce the nine 2016 graduates of Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School.
Or more accurately, allow them to introduce themselves via this video.
They are a remarkable group of young men and women. Smart, accomplished, disciplined and ready to take on whatever the world sends their way.
This week most of them start scattering to the four winds, heading off to start their journeys to become educators, aeronautical engineers, musicians, music therapists, filmmakers, military members and more.
Whatever they pursue they will undoubtedly do well and represent their community at the highest level.
And while this clip focuses on this rather large group of grads from the Mariachi Aztlan program, they are simply representative of so many who graduated this past spring from Tucson High, Sunnyside, Cholla and many more, as well as graduates moving on from the group that started the movement – Mariachi Los Changuitos Feos. And that’s just the mariachis. Many more are heading off to colleges and careers from a wide swath of equally formative folklórico groups around the city.
Mariachi Aztlan Class of 2016 in San Francisco
Like generations of youth mariachis and folklórico dancers that graduated before them they are lifting our community on so many fronts and spreading their talents throughout the United States. They are pollenating startup organizations in the new communities they live and study in, and inspiring others wherever they go.
It has been an honor to see these talented young people grow, mature and become the leaders of tomorrow. And it is an honor to share their stories and tales of others who came before through The Mariachi Miracle.
Best of luck to all of you as you find your way in the world!
- Daniel Buckley
Producer/Director
The Mariachi Miracle
