This year the participants in the 16th Annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza were all incredible and the competitions were more competitive than ever. Hundreds of students participated in the mariachi group competition took place on Friday, December 3 at 5pm at the Municipal Auditorium, and forty vocalists participated in the vocal competition, which took place on Saturday morning, December 4. These competitions are the largest and longest running of their kind in the US. The first place winners in each category in the group competitions and the Best in US winner of the vocal competition won the honor of opening the concert for el mejor mariachi del mundo, Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán on Saturday night to a sold-out audience. Congratulations to all of the winners!
Mariachi Group Competition Winners:
Elementary/Middle School Category:
1st Place: Mariachi Juvenil de America, Veterans Middle School, Rio Grande City, TX, under the direction of Eloy Garza
2nd Place: Mariachi Los Tigres, Austin Academy, San Antonio, TX, under the direction of Miguel Guzman
3rd Place: Mariachi Juvenil, Irving Academy, San Antonio, TX, under the direction of Cirilo Campos
High School Category:
1st Place: Mariachi Cascabel, Rio Grande City High School, Rio Grande City, TX, under the direction of Alex Rodriguez & Diana Degollado
2nd Place: Mariachi Bonito Tech-alitlan, Fox Tech High School, San Antonio, TX, under the direction of David Zamarripa & Rhonda Garcia
3rd Place: Mariachi Nuevo Santander, Roma High School, Roma TX, under the direction of Noe Sanchez, Daniel Renteria & Corine Garcia
College/University Category:
1st Place: Mariachi Nueva Generacion, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, under the direction of John Lopez & Bobby Lopez
2nd Place: Mariachi Multicultural de America, the Berklee School of Music, Boston, MA, under the direction of Cynthia Pimentel & Adrian Longoria
3rd Place: Mariachi Los Paisanos, the University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, under the direction of Michael Acevedo
Vocal Competition Winners:
Best Mariachi Vocalist in the US: Karenn Lazo, Roma High School, Roma TX
Elementary School Category:
1st Place: Sebastien de La Cruz, Paschall Elementary, San Antonio, TX
2nd Place: Alyssa Guerra, La Gloria Elementary, Premont, TX
3rd Place: Zuriel Longoria, Carrol Elementary, Houston, TX
Middle School Category:
1st Place: Nizhoni Begay, Providence College Preparatory, San Antonio, TX
2nd Place: Ashley Criado, Woodlake Hills Middle School, San Antonio, TX
3rd Place: Clyde Guerra, Barrera Middle School, Roma, TX
High School Category:
1st Place: Sebastian Vela, Premont High School, Premont, TX
2nd Place: Juan Miguel Flores, King High School, Kingsville, TX
3rd Place: Angela Mendoza, Travis Early College High School, San Antonio, TX
College/University Category:
1st Place: Vanessa Moreno, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
2nd Place: Amy Zuniga, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
3rd Place: Karen Zavala, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX
