Are you an aspiring songwriter? If so, registration is now open for the 28th Annual Mariachi Extravaganza Original Songwriting competition. This year’s competition will take place on Thursday, November 17 at the Lila Cockrell Theatre at 10:30 a.m. Deadline to register is Saturday, October 1. 

Last year, the songwriting competition jumped up a notch when it was brought to the stage for live performances. The result was amazing. Songwriters came from everywhere including Los Angeles, Chicago and all over Texas to participate. Entries were initially submitted via an audio recording. Six finalists were selected to compete live in front of a panel made up of Lupita Infante (singer/songwriter), Carlos Alvarez (record label/producer) and Carlos Martinez (musical director of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan). First, second and third place winners were selected from the finalists and winners were awarded grants and prizes.

Live performances with original songwriters are planned once again this year. Songwriters must first complete the online registration form here. Then, an MP3 or MP4 recording of your song must be emailed to leon@mariachimusic.com. The online application and the file must be submitted by end of day Oct. 1. The 28th Annual Mariachi Extravaganza will take place the weekend prior to Thanksgiving – November 16-18. This is two weeks earlier than usual. It’s important that entries are submitted in time so that finalists can be selected and announced one month prior to the competition to help allow for ample planning and preparation for a live performance. Finalists can perform their own songs or have another group or vocalist perform their song.

Judges for this year’s original songwriting competition will include members of our featured guests artists for this year’s Extravaganza – Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán. The group performs under the musical direction of Fernando Martínez (also a former vocalist and violinist for Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan). Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán will make their debut performance as featured artists during this year’s Extravaganza.

More time is being given to the original songwriting competition during this year’s Extravaganza as a result of the need for original content creation. More opportunities are opening for mariachi musicians and vocalists in theatrical plays, in movies, pictures, films, in opera-related performances and recordings. The entertainment industry is going to need original content that can be used with permission for these types of projects and more.

These are exciting times and we want to do all that we can to help prepare our mariachi community for future more opportunities in entertainment. Original songwriting is where it’s at. It all starts with an original song.

For more information on the 28th Annual Mariachi Extravaganza Original Songwriting Competition, click here. For a list of last year’s winners, click here.

Thanks to the support of Cano Health, KHS America Academic Alliance and H-E-B, grants and prizes will be awarded once again this year!!!

We strongly encourage students to participate. Give it shot. Submit your songs and let’s have some fun. Lots of great memories were made last year. Let’s make some more this year!!!

If you have any questions regarding the Original Songwriting Competition, please feel free to call us at 210-860-9633 or post a message at the end of this blog, and we’ll answer it for you here.

If you have not signed up to receive our newsletter, please take a moment to do so at this time by logging on to mariachimusic.com where you can stay updated with news and information on this year’s Extravaganza.