Miguel Gutiérrez: 0:00

Welcome to another episode of Charros y Clásicos, a Bosky Streams podcast. I'm your host, Miguel Gutiérrez, and I'm here with my good friend and co-host, Joel Ozuna.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 0:16

Hello, everyone. Our next guest is originally from La Joya, Texas. She holds a bachelor's in music education and a master's of educational leadership at UTRGV. She's currently the music program administrator at UTRGV. and mariachi director at Texas Southwest College. Please welcome Abigail Gonzalez.

Avigái Gonzalez: 0:33

Thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited to be here with you guys today and thank you for the invitation and I'm excited to present to you guys about our upcoming festival and everything that's happening at Texas Southwest College.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 0:47

Well, I should be thanking, we should be thanking you for the invitation since We're reporting live from your store.

Avigái Gonzalez: 0:54

Oh, no, thank you. You guys drove all the way over here. You know that coming down to San Benito, Brownsville area, it's always that drive. Everybody hesitates. But no, you guys did not.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 1:08

I see that you've expanded.

Avigái Gonzalez: 1:10

Yes, we did. Yes, we did. We're actually very excited about the expansion of our store. And we now have more rooms for our students for the music lessons that we offer here. And we're very excited about that.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 1:24

How long have you been in operations already?

Avigái Gonzalez: 1:27

For our music academy, I want to say we've been about three to four years. Four years. Yes, we started on 2020 actually, right?

Miguel Gutiérrez: 1:37

Yes.

Avigái Gonzalez: 1:38

When the pandemic hit. Oh, wow.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 1:40

We have to talk about that.

Avigái Gonzalez: 1:41

It was very interesting. Yes. Yeah.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 1:45

Okay. Okay. And was that just the storefront or just the music studio?

Avigái Gonzalez: 1:50

We originally started with just a music studio with offering music lessons here in this area. And primarily what we wanted to do is just promote the strings area because we know that you know, a little bit of, we have some challenges, if you will, on this side of town in the starting of the string programs. So one of our plans was to promote it more and give that option to students to have violin lessons, cello lessons and whatnot. And so we just decided to open up in 2020. And little did we know that two ways down, two months down the 2020 year, pandemic hit.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 2:33

So how is it that you were able to maneuver through the pandemic? We ask everybody that because we bring it up how it affected our careers, our performing, but in your case, business-wise, how did it affect you?

Avigái Gonzalez: 2:45

You know, I want to say that Karina Vela might have a better answer to that, but from what I remember would be that some students did say we we just don't want to go with the online option because we did have to offer the online lesson option and meeting via zoom and whatnot and of course that was very challenging because nobody was expecting to take music lessons during the pandemic in via Zoom. So the feedback and everything, that was just very unexpected. So I guess what we can say as far as how we were able to stand up and maintain our business was through the help of the city. And they gave us a couple of grants and money so that we could maintain our business running. And that was, I want to say, what actually helped us maintain our business. And then after that, well, we got... the, I guess, the green light to keep moving in person. And that's when everything just kind of started to unravel and growing and whatnot.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 3:48

And how was that big learning curve of having to learn Zoom and all this technology to offer online lessons?

Avigái Gonzalez: 3:54

Oh, that was a complete different dynamic, if you will. Music is one-on-one and in person and Believe it or not, you have to instruct the child from posture and how to hold the bow and how to do this, and that's very hard to do from one screen to the other. You really can't teach music via Zoom. In my personal opinion, it's very difficult to do that, especially for the voice lessons also, and you would think, oh, it's okay, they can hear you back and forth, but really it doesn't, and I think this is where the online lessons and music and everything just kind of grew, and music media started to get more creative about it and how to avoid that feedback and all of that. And then, of course, that takes money to buy all the extra gadgets that you need to have a successful lesson via Zoom. But other than that, that was basically our experience trying to explore what were our options to maintain our business running.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 4:52

You mentioned right now voice lessons. What else do you offer besides strings?

Avigái Gonzalez: 4:56

We do voice, piano. We have percussion lessons also. Mariachi, we just started our mariachi program also here in Armonia, a small little mariachi ensemble, violin and all the strings and cello. We do cello also, ukulele and guitar.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 5:15

Do you have instructors for each instrument or do you like swap sometimes or do double duty?

Avigái Gonzalez: 5:22

We do, actually. We like to have our instructors that are multi-talented, if you will, and they can offer a variety of lessons. And so we try to keep our instructors to be at least have a knowledge in two instruments.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 5:34

So talking about your business, let's go a little bit more backwards now because we want to hear about you. We want to know about you, where you're from. How did you get here? So tell us about your background.

Avigái Gonzalez: 5:46

I'm originally from La Jolla. I'm a proud... Coyote.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 5:50

Way the other side

Avigái Gonzalez: 5:51

of the world. Oh, on the complete opposite side and the other corner of the RGV, if you will. But yes, I'm originally from La Jolla. My music experience started at La Jolla. And I guess I'm proud to say that La Jolla was one of the first mariachi programs in the RGV. And it was because of La Jolla that all this mariachi madness started all over on that side of town, right? And so that's where my music background kind of started, if you in the performance area, but my father was the musician in the family. And so we have always been surrounded by music. And he was a songwriter and was a mariachi performer and kind of like a mariacheno style also, surprisingly, even though Cristian Nodal claims to be the mariacheno founder. But I have a couple of recordings where my father has mariachi music and the accordion in there. And it kind of daunted me. I was like, wait a minute. Was that my dad that started Mariachino first before Cristiano Dal? No, I'm just kidding. The pioneer, right? No, no, just kidding. But yeah, he was part of that, I guess, building that different genre in that time and playing mariachi music with Norteño. And so that's where my music background pretty much started. And then from there, I guess, it's history. The one that brought me over here was Mariachi Margaritas.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 7:10

What did you originally start off as? Did you play an instrument? I

Avigái Gonzalez: 7:15

haven't Very interesting story on that. When I was younger, of course, I've always loved mariachi. Mariachi has always been my passion and I can recall from as a young kid loving and wanting to be a mariachi performer. I always knew that singing was in me. But then after seeing my neighbor who was a violin player and then my sister following those steps and she started to be in the orchestra, I wanted to be a violin player myself because I, in the long run, wanted to be in the mariachi. So interestingly enough, I did not have a great experience, if you will, in the orchestra. And so I opted out from being in the orchestra as middle school. And so I joined choir. And that's when I guess you could say I started my vocal training and loved choir and I was also in Folklorico because La Jolla that's one of the things that I just love about La Jolla you just have options you name it and you can go from choosing band percussion and also being the other side and dancing Folklorico and mariachi and choir I mean you name it you have everything and that's what I love about La Jolla they support the fine arts 100% so I'm very grateful for that because that's where I was able to explore what I truly wanted to do and yes I loved singing, but I knew I wanted to do mariachi. And so from folklorico as a freshman, I didn't know how to play an instrument, right? I mean, I knew here and there a couple of chords because my dad would teach me, I don't know, la and the guitar and whatnot. But I just felt like time was running out for me and I needed to learn an instrument. So I kid you not, and I know this is going to sound crazy, but I learned to play the guitar in two weeks. Wow. Every single day. I went up to the teacher and it was about, I want to say the last month of school. And I knew time was just running out. And I said, if I don't do this now, I will probably regret it for the rest of my life. And I have to choose an instrument. Yes, you sing, but you know that to be a mariachi, you have to have two instruments, right? And the voice is an instrument. So I realized that I just had to... push myself to do something. And so I went up to the guitar teacher in La Jolla, I remember, and I told him, sir, I want to play the guitar. And he was like, what? Are you crazy? Do you realize it's like two, three weeks left for school? And I'm like, no, no, no. Yes, I want to play guitar. And he was like, there's no way you're literally, he said, there's no way you're going to learn how to play the guitar in three weeks, Avi. And I'm like, I need a guitar. Just give me a guitar and trust me, I will. And I told him, I can sing. He's like, really? So you can sing? I'm like, yes, I can. Okay, so what do you want to sing? And then everybody, everybody's in the classroom and they're all staring at me. It's like, okay, that teacher's putting her on the spot, right? And I was like, well, I know Amor Eterno. And yes, 14-year-old Avi sings Amor Eterno in front of everybody. And then he's like, okay, I guess you can sing. And then he's like, all right, then you're going to take this guitar and here's the booklet so you can learn your chord progressions. I was like, okay, great. I take it home. Following the day, I learn El Circulo de Sol y El Circulo de Do. And he was just like... Whoa, you are serious about this. So anyhow, long story short is I just had to push myself to play an instrument because I wanted to be in the mariachi. So two weeks down the road, on the third week, school is almost over, and he's like, we're going to take you to the mariachi director so you can audition. And sure enough, I auditioned, and there we have it. And then that's when I ended up being in the La Joya Los Coyotes mariachi, which was very, very interesting. Random. Was

Joel Lee Ozuna: 11:14

that during your freshman

Avigái Gonzalez: 11:15

year? That was freshman. Yes, that was on my freshman year, towards the end of my freshman year. And then as a sophomore, well, the rest is history. You know, I have not stopped playing the guitar ever since.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 11:26

So you're talking about Emilio Cantú, right?

Avigái Gonzalez: 11:28

Mr. Cantú, yes, Mr. Cantú. And my guitar teacher was Mr. Cuellar in the freshman academy, I remember. The ninth grade academy, yes.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 11:38

So then you went the entire high school career in the mariachi.

Avigái Gonzalez: 11:41

In the mariachi, absolutely. As a freshman, I started as a folklorico dancer, which I loved. I truly enjoyed dancing folklorico, but I just knew it in my heart that I wanted to be mariachi. And so that's where I pushed myself to learn how to play rhythm guitar and mainly just the chord progression so that I can show that I'm actually doing it and want it to be there. And so I remember having big blisters on my fingers because you don't you know you create blisters as you learn an instrument and whatnot so that was basically how my story started with mariachi and really i don't regret that

Miguel Gutiérrez: 12:20

when did you know this is what i'm going to follow professionally when

Avigái Gonzalez: 12:25

when did that's a really good question um I guess you could say throughout the UTPA Mariachi Femenil program, seeing all these girls that come from wonderful mariachi programs and creating this environment and friendships with these amazing, talented women. And I mean... You know, Dr. Guerra has always been a huge supporter of mariachi. I think that's when I realized that mariachi was something that I really wanted to pursue. And it was just one of those feelings that when you didn't have a gig in the weekends, you were just not normal.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 13:02

Right. And back then, it wasn't really considered a career.

Avigái Gonzalez: 13:07

Exactly. Yeah, absolutely. And mind you, being a woman in mariachi, it was even rare. My father even said, what are you going to be playing in a mariachi? You know that you're going to go play every weekend and you're a girl and you're not supposed to be doing that because you're going to be doing this and this and that. My dad was not 100% supportive about that, I'll tell you that, because, you know, he was old school mindset that women stay at home and yes, you're talented, but this is what's going to be expected of you if you're a woman in music. He said that. flat out. And so, and I told them, I said, but no, I think this is different. And we were living in a time of change, if you will, back in the 2000s time. It was, everything was changing and people were becoming more open-minded about things and giving ourselves more opportunities. And that's what I tried to explain to my family and my dad more than anything, because he was the musician in the family. I told him, but this is going to be different. You know, this is education. I'll be teaching students how to play an instrument. I'm not going to be playing where you think I'm going to go. And really, I've never played in any place where he thought I was going to play. So, yeah, that's that's basically how I ended up in mariachi education because of the love of playing on a stage and the reaction of the audience when, you know, they hear the first sound of that mariachi and the strength of being a female mariachi was just so empowering for me. And I realized that that was something that I wanted to do for a long time.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 14:48

What did you do? Because you studied music at the university. What did you do after you graduated? Did you go straight into the field of teaching?

Avigái Gonzalez: 14:57

That's really, that's a really good question. I have, I guess, you know, those memes where I say that where you have a path And you have from one meet from your starting point into your meet. And then it sounds like you're just going to go straight into it. And then you're going to be in the end goal in what in the blink of an eye. Well, those memes are very, very real about the whole scrabbles and all those doodles. Yes, yes. That is it's actually very interesting because I can relate. to that so much. After graduating from the university at UTPA, I wanted to pursue music education right away and be in the teaching field. But I had a really, really strong passion for music theory. And right after graduating, I applied to Texas State and San Marcos for a master's in music theory. And I got accepted. So it was quite a... of a journey because I got to experience leaving the valley. But that part of my life was not fulfilled because I was going through a very rough time at that time. My mother had just passed away and I didn't know. I mean, come on, us Mexicans, we don't know about taking... therapy, right, to cope with at that time. It's like you own it and move on. So I ended up going to San Marcos and I was up there for a year, but it was very hard. It was very hard to be by myself and then having to cope with the passing of my mother and then having all these research papers that I had to do. And it was just a wonderful experience, but I had to come back. I had to come back because financially, you know, all the loans and mind you, all of that is just kind of gets overwhelming. And so I came back and this is when I decided, okay, I need a job. I need a job. And that's when I ended up getting into the music education. And then from there, I was kind of there for a while until after a while, I just finally decided, okay, I think it's time to go back for my master's. I didn't know what I wanted to do because I was so stern that I was going to get that master's in music theory, which I wish it would have been that way. But, you know, things don't happen. And sometimes they don't happen for a very good reason. And so that's when I decided to get into educational leadership.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 17:31

How did you get... Because you're part of Margaritas, right? Mariachi Margaritas. Tell us about that. How did you get drafted in there?

Avigái Gonzalez: 17:38

Oh, Margaritas. I love my Margaritas. They are just my mariachi sisters. I just love those girls and... Karina, she's just an amazing, amazing mariachi director. It's a very interesting story too, but I guess what I can say, she called me. She needed a guitar player slash singer. And I remember the first gig, it was at the island. That's when I met her. And I told her, I was like, okay, I didn't know who I was talking to because I had never met Karina Vela. I knew Mariachi Margaritas was up and about, right? But I just gigged with one female mariachi, which was Mariachi Azucenas at that time with Juanita. And then I remember that weekend, I was like, well, we don't have any gigs. I don't see why, you know, I could just go all the way over there. And I told her, well, I'm going to be very expensive.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 18:26

And

Avigái Gonzalez: 18:26

It's going to cost you more. No, I'm just kidding. No. And so I just ended up going to the island. And I remember when I first met her, I was just very impressed by how professional she was. She was just such an amazing director. And it just gave me a big impact on how amazing she was as a director. And then after that, she kept calling me. And then I was like, okay. And aside from that, I'll tell you, she paid me pretty well. So that was what kept me coming over here over and over. And then after that, we just kind of ended up staying as Mariachi Margaritas forever.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 19:04

So let me ask you, were you ever a culture shock playing at this side of the valley?

Avigái Gonzalez: 19:07

You know, I am going to admit that yes, absolutely. The people on this side of town are very different in a good way, not in a bad way. Actually, I felt very appreciated. You know, I don't know if it's because on that side of town, we'd just forgotten about how much we appreciated We actually add into an ensemble that people just forget, you know, to show that appreciation. One of the things that really, really, really made a huge impact on me is that appreciation that I would get from Kari as her as a mariachi director. And it was just a complete shocker that and it made me realize that there is such thing as appreciation. as appreciating people for what they provide, who they are, what their talent is. And to me, that was amazing. And that's what actually convinced me to stay here longer. And then after that, I mean, you name it, I met all the Margaritas and just beautiful people. They're just beautiful, beautiful people. And I love them. I always tell them that they're my mariachi sisters. How

Miguel Gutiérrez: 20:14

long have you been in Margaritas now?

Avigái Gonzalez: 20:17

Oh, goodness. Has it been 10 years?

Miguel Gutiérrez: 20:19

No.

Avigái Gonzalez: 20:19

It's been 10 years already. I think we've lasted quite a while already, and I do not regret that decision. I think that being a Margarita has been such a great blessing in my life, such an advantage of all the opportunities that we have had. And just showing that, and more than anything, because I'm going to say that one of my greatest passions is mariachi education, music education also in general. But I think that one of the beauties of our Margaritas is that we are all music educators and we're all in the field and we all understand music. and have that same goal in mind of keeping these students in music and string players more than anything, because that's one of the things that I'm going to dare say that this side of town lacks. We lack orchestra players, we lack violin players, and that was a culture shock for me. I mean, if that's considered culturally, I think it was something that really... took me by surprise, coming from La Jolla, that students did not have the opportunity to choose to play the violin because there was no orchestra. Now, Cari, on the other hand, here in San Benito, she founded the orchestra program. And I know we had Vicky also founded the Mercedes orchestra program, and now she's in Harlingen. And then Ms. De Anda is now one of the founders for the first mariachi program also there. And then Ana is also one of the founders for the mariachi program. Erica Soberanes was also one of the founders. I mean, you name it. We're left and right just doing things here and there that are just promoting the strings on this side of town. So that's one of the things that I find that we're so fortunate and so lucky to be a team, to be part of that sisterhood because we're in the same page with the same goal in mind.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 22:15

So tell us about the... Let's talk about what you're doing now or your current position, right? So accumulation of everything that you're telling me is basically what drove you into... Finding yourself where you're at now, right?

Avigái Gonzalez: 22:29

Absolutely. Yes, absolutely. And going back, I'm going to go back to my alma mater, which is La Jolla. I hold La Jolla very dear to my heart because that's where everything started. All the opportunities made a huge difference in my life as a mariachi performer, as a musician, and even a music educator. When I came over here, that was one of the hugest shockers for me that My student did not have an opportunity to choose to play to be in the mariachi because it's not a class. Or we don't have folklorico dancers because it's not... And I'm not trying to say that the culture is not appreciated, but there is a... What's the word I'm looking for? There's a disconnection, if you will. Because... This side of town is very proud about representing culture, right? Because we have all these Charro Day festivities and all these things going on and the entire community is dressed up in their cultural Mexican attire.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 23:29

Plus the proximity of the border.

Avigái Gonzalez: 23:31

Absolutely. And so I remember when she was explaining to me about Charro, I was, oh my God, how exciting. And here I'm thinking, we don't have that over there and this, this and that. But then all of a sudden, where are the mariachis? there was no mariachis. And that was, to me, was a huge, huge shocker. And I just couldn't believe it. And then I just started to hear stories about, well, mariachi has been, don't talk about mariachi right now because nobody's going to, they're not going to like you. But I mean, I don't know. I don't know. I really didn't know what it was because I came from an area where Music was very much appreciated. And mariachi was, we got to have mariachi in the school districts. We got to have these programs open. And over here was like, no, no, no, no, you can't do that. And you will never see a mariachi program in a school district on this side of town. Now that to me was like, oh no, you didn't. And so that's where the whole concept about promoting the mariachi education here came about. And I know I'm not the first one and I know I'm not the last one and I know I wasn't the only one. I know there has been a lot of people before me and directors and music professors, in fact, that are at the university level that have always wanted to promote it. But for some reason, there was always something that would Stop it. It would block it. And so this is where the idea of the mariachi festival came in. And it was just about... And I said, okay, well, we have and we know these mariachi directs from that side of town because I'm originally from that side of town. What if we bring all of these directors, these amazing mariachi programs over here and show the community that, hey, that's a 14-year-old playing that violin with... You know, and there's that mariachi little student there singing their heart out because they love mariachi. And that's where the mariachi festival came about. And we started the planning process and we named it. And then in the first year came in and it was a complete success. And I remember we was with Mariachi Nuevo de Calitlán. And then from there is just came about into now at an institution, which is the most and the much greatest thing that has ever happened. into the mariachi festival

Joel Lee Ozuna: 25:55

how long has this festival been going on

Avigái Gonzalez: 25:58

i want to say this is probably the sixth year but it's the first year with texas southmost college

Miguel Gutiérrez: 26:05

wow so that's that's quite the story uh of what has inspired you to to to bring the genre of mariachi into town uh but what other i guess roadblocks have you faced while doing that

Avigái Gonzalez: 26:19

well That's a very interesting question. It is. How do I say this without sounding saying anything that's not going to be too abrupt, if you will, is going to sound too aggressive. But let's just say that. Gadi and I were two mariachi educators that just love what we do and we and I think you guys can relate because you guys are musicians, musicians. Real mariachi musicians and musicians overall, I think we do it for the love of music. We don't do it to be recognized or to have a spotlight or because I did this and I did that and I founded this and I blah, blah, blah. Those were the roadblocks, really. I think that what was very difficult to fathom, if you will, was... People trying to take away your work and people trying to step on your toes and people trying to steal the work that you have done. I think that has been the major, major roadblock that we have faced for the past, and I'm going to say my goodness, for a long time, for years and years and years to come until finally I think that institutionalizing it with Texas Salisbury College was the most, the greatest, blessing we could have had because it's only fair that we're promoting education and it stays in education, right? It's not just for to feel someone else's ego or for another person to say me this, me that. And to me, that was very hard to understand how people could be so selfish in that sense, and not appreciate what you did for the event. So to answer your question, I think those were the roadblocks that we faced. And mind you, it was constant fighting and stressful and trying to prove. And I'm not the type of person that I want to prove myself to anyone. I think that actions speak louder than words, right? But in this case, because I guess it was a different community or I don't know if it happens anywhere, you know, probably it does, right? But it was very like having to fight for that. How do I say it? Just... It's probably what I'm trying to say. Just... Give that recognition to the people that actually work with you to make that happen. And so we had to opt out for this mariage festival for about pandemic time, actually. And then all of a sudden it just came back to us again without expecting it. You know, we just got phone calls left and right. Hey, we need you.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 29:34

Yeah.

Avigái Gonzalez: 29:35

this and that, and are you willing to come back? And we thought about it because we were so attached to the project because we knew the impact that the project had already made in the community. But long story short, short story long, we ended up coming back and I don't regret it. And now we are at Texas Health Most College and I think that's even better this year.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 30:01

I've gone to some of the the workshops that your festival has had for students. And I think they're very, very good workshops. I think they almost rival to other establishments. But I think you've done some really good work.

Avigái Gonzalez: 30:19

Thank you. I appreciate that. Within the

Miguel Gutiérrez: 30:20

small amount. I mean, you're saying six years. I mean. Kudos to you. That's really, really good work. And in retrospect, do you see that affecting the numbers of students within the programs? Have you seen a change in that?

Avigái Gonzalez: 30:33

Absolutely. I get emails left and right inquiring about the music program at Texas Southmore College. I get calls from students, and mind you, these are high school students. And of course, I take the call, I take the student, I respond, because we want to be able to have mariachi on this side of town. We want to be able to promote, and you know that mariachi, right after mariachi, I'm sorry, y'all, but orchestra is bound to... Tag along, you know, right after mariachi. And so thanks to the part of the mariachi festival, we now have five beginner mariachi programs at BISD. And that is a huge, huge, huge change for this side of town. Big milestone. Yes, yes, yes. And one of the things that I like to share because it's stuck to me since then is Because Gadi is from this side of town and she knows how much the challenge, the challenge that it was to promote strings education on this side of town. But when in our conversations, she mentioned something that I was like, that is so true. She said something like, you know, this what's happening with mariachi education today is It was a sleeping lion. And then from there, there was no way that anyone can stop it. And sure enough, that's exactly what's happening. We have now the five beginner mariachi programs and we're so excited that our margaritas are at the forefront of these mariachi programs. And that means that we just keep fighting. We just keep going as a

Miguel Gutiérrez: 32:22

team. Yeah, it's something that, you know, Joel and I have discussed before is that lack of strength. in Brownsville, the lack of an orchestra program. I mean, not just because, you know, classical music is being affected, but also the funneling of people going into mariachi or having programs that can rival the other side of the valleys programs because they've been around longer, but a lot that's helped them is these string programs.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 32:49

Absolutely. That's something I always believed is, you know, having an orchestra and a mariachi is a win-win.

Avigái Gonzalez: 32:53

Oh, yeah. For the students, for the programs. And you know that orchestra and mariachi has always been connected. You know, string player, you find those violin players in the orchestra program. And some of these bass players play the guitarron. And some of these cello players play the guitar because that's how we build our mariachi in, well, former San Benito teacher, we used to recruit our students like that. And they would learn a second instrument because of mariachi after school. And you recruit those students from the orchestra program.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 33:29

Wow.

Avigái Gonzalez: 33:29

And they read music.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 33:31

And you see that professionally too. I have friends in the symphony that they play mariachi music

Avigái Gonzalez: 33:35

too. Absolutely.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 33:36

On weekends. So it's something that, you know, they coexist. Yeah. And we should push that with students as well.

Avigái Gonzalez: 33:42

Absolutely. And I am a firm believer that... hopefully in the future, in the long run, we will have this side of town just as huge in mariachi and orchestra like on that side of town. And I'll be very honest, one of the people that I do admire a lot from that side of town, and I know that it started through La Jolla programs, which are my former directors and Dr. Guerra herself. She was always a fighter for these programs. And I think that it has to take It has to start somewhere. And we got to recognize that because of these people, now we have that fire to do the same on this side of town.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 34:29

Where do you see, with this new position that you have, where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Avigái Gonzalez: 34:37

That's a really good question. I hope to be able to have... a big music program at the community college level with Texas Southmost. And of course, with all these pathways and these connections to other universities, I hope to have had and made a difference in the community and that mariachi education has grown and that mariachi education continues to grow and have a lot of mariachi programs. The future of Mariachi Margaritas. We have to start getting our new margaritas in, you know. And part of the challenging area was the string players. We lack that violin player. And I think that's one of my motives also that we have to create that path to the students, create that opportunity to also be in mariachi and have their mariachi programs and mariachi professional groups here too.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 35:41

Going back to the festival, can you tell us more about the headliner?

Avigái Gonzalez: 35:43

The headliner will be Mariachi Sol de Mexico for the Mariachi Festival. And we are very excited to have Sol de Mexico here because I think Mariachi Sol de Mexico is the first time that plays on this side of town, right? Yes. Yes. And I think that it's the first concert, the first clinics. And of course, we wouldn't have done it with the help of our amazing. And I have to mention this, too, because she's she has been a huge, huge supporter on this end. And that's Miss Adela Garza. She's a madam chair from Texas Southmost College. Shout out to Miss Adela because I love her. And she has been just a huge supporter on what's been going on with Texas Southmost College. My entrance at the college also. And of course bringing mariachi sol de mexico to this side of town and i know sol de mexico is very excited to be here too because they know that i think i want to say that they're excited that it's going to be their first time giving workshops to our students of this side of town

Miguel Gutiérrez: 36:47

when do the workshops start

Avigái Gonzalez: 36:49

they start on friday friday morning um we'll have the welcome ceremony in the morning and then after that we go into the breakout sessions and it's kind of like a All day thing, and then in the afternoon, that's when we have the vocal competition.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 37:04

Is there a group competition following day?

Avigái Gonzalez: 37:07

Yes, that one is on Saturday, also all day Saturday. And then in the evening, we close with a grand concert with Sol de Mexico and the winning mariachis, the grand champion, and the winning vocalists.

Joel Lee Ozuna: 37:23

And how many schools do you have coming down this weekend?

Avigái Gonzalez: 37:25

We have about 550 students registered for the Mariachi Festival. I want to say that's about 30 something schools. And we're still missing quite a few, but I think that's, I dare say this is one of the largest festivals that we've had. And I'm so excited.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 37:47

Oh, that's amazing. So last couple words. What do you have to tell to students to inspire them? Or what's your advice to them when they choose this career?

Avigái Gonzalez: 37:59

I would say, don't be discouraged. And I would say, follow your dream. Follow your love of music. Sometimes we hesitate to, and I speak for myself, because even I myself, I hesitated. to being a music education major because people have the wrong impression of, well, there's no money in music education and this and that. And I mean, I have a very good life and thanks to my music education career, we were able to establish a business and whatnot. So there is a lot of opportunities in music education. And I would say if music is your calling, then try it. Because you never know where that's going to take you. And don't deviate because sometimes we deviate to another career because we think that this is probably a better option for me because it feels safer and I'll have a job and I'll have a better pay. But in the end, when we deviate from our love, from what we truly, truly are as musicians, this is when we find hiccups in our path. This is when we find... that maybe this was not for me. And then you end up coming back to music. You end up either opening a business or you end up giving private lessons and music or something. And I think that just follow your heart. And if music is your calling, don't give it up because there's a high probable chance that you are a future music educator.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 39:42

Very inspiring. Thank you. Thank you. Very well said. Well, I think that wraps up for today. Thank you for having us here. No,

Avigái Gonzalez: 39:50

thank you. At your lovely

Miguel Gutiérrez: 39:50

establishment. Thank you. We'll be looking forward to your festival.

Avigái Gonzalez: 39:55

Absolutely. I hope to see you guys there. I'll be there. It's going to be amazing. It's going to be exciting. And we still have tickets. We have the VIP ticket option. I think it's $150 for the chair. But you get the meet and greet with Mariachi Sol de Mexico. And then you get a dinner. And then there's also going to be cocktail drinks. So I know that we shouldn't say that because it's educational. But I know people love to have their little drink here and there, but that's going to be on the side. So yes, we do have these tickets that are available for everyone. And then, of course, we have the middle section that's also a good seat. But just wanted to mention that we have the tickets on sale and hopefully we get to see everyone out there.

Miguel Gutiérrez: 40:43

Thank you. Thanks for listening.