Ogden schools implementing mariachi program: 'It represents the culture of our community'

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OGDEN — As she's grown up, mariachi music — typical of Mexico — has been common in Daphne Iglesias' household.

Accordingly, when the sixth-grader started playing guitar for a new mariachi music group at East Ridge Elementary in Ogden, her mother, originally from Mexico, was pleased. "My mom's proud of me," Daphne said.

Lilah Martinez, a fifth-grader who plays vihuela and sings for the group, got a similar response. A vihuela, one of the standard mariachi instruments, looks like a guitar, but is smaller and has a higher pitch. "My parents love it," she said.

The Ogden School District's new mariachi program — a rarity in Utah, but reflective of the large Latino population in the Ogden system — is still evolving. The program launched last October at East Ridge as an after-school offering and a program, also offered after school, is now taking shape at Odyssey Elementary. For the 2024-25 school year, the district plans to implement mariachi classes into the curriculum at Ben Lomond High School and at Mound Fort and Highland junior high schools.

Even if it's still forming, though, the 10 or so kids in the East Ridge after-school program — still in the process of mastering their instruments — are enjoying it. Mariachi groups feature violins, guitars, vocals, vihuelas and guitarróns, which look like guitars but are much larger and have a bass tone. Trumpets are also a standard mariachi instrument, though the East Ridge group recently lost their trumpet player.

"They're excited about it. It's something different," said Adam Kozlewski, an Ogden School District music teacher who instructs the group along with Janet Epperson, another district music teacher. "I just love it when it connects to the kids. They're so excited."

With a high concentration of Hispanic students, a mariachi program seems a natural fit in Ogden, though all students are welcome to take part regardless of ethnicity. A little over half of all Ogden School District students are Hispanic, according to Utah Board of Education figures, while Ogden is about 30% Latino, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, most of them of Mexican descent.

"I think it represents the culture of our community," Epperson said.

Beyond that, a review of arts programming in Ogden schools that preceded the launch of the mariachi program found demand.

"One of our findings is that our community, students and teachers voiced the desire to have music classes devoted to mariachi/Latino style," said Carrie Maxson, a district administrator. "We also have very strong support with our school board, school and district administration. Our community is also a big support."

The Ogden program joins the more-established mariachi offering at Esperanza Elementary in West Valley City as, perhaps, the only other initiative of its sort in Utah. The program at Esperanza, a charter school with a student body that's nearly 98% Latino, launched about 10 years ago.

"It is part of the school's philosophy. It is an intervention to support cultural retention, which helps students increase their feeling of belonging," said Eulogio Alejandre, the principal and executive director of Esperanza. "We know that students who feel like they belong are much more likely to do well in school."

Alejandre said keeping mariachi programs afloat can be tough. The Esperanza music instructor, Allan Moreno, has helped the program there thrive. He welcomes new programs, though, and will be promoting mariachi as a school offering at a performance by the Esperanza group at Wasatch High School in Heber City on April 30.

"They are difficult to operate. It requires knowledge of music and passion for the culture," Alejandre said.

Ogden School District officials are in the process of recruiting students to take part in the planned classes in the coming school year at Ben Lomond High School and Mound Fort and Highland junior high schools, according to Maxson. And even if mariachi programs are a new thing in Utah, Epperson says the Utah Music Educators Association is trying to promote creation of more mariachi programs. "I see this as a growing trend," she said.

At a more basic level, students like Daphne said the class gives them an opportunity to do something most of their classmates aren't doing. For now, the East Ridge group is learning "De Colores," "La Llorona" and "Cielito Lindo." "You can show your friends you can play cool songs," she said.

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Multicultural UtahUtah K-12 educationUtahEducationWeber CountyVoces de Utah

Tim Vandenack

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Tim Vandenack covers immigration, multicultural issues and Northern Utah for KSL.com. He worked several years for the Standard-Examiner in Ogden and has lived and reported in Mexico, Chile and along the U.S.-Mexico border.