The Magik Theatre presents Mariachi Girl, a bilingual stage production featuring live music by Mariachi Azteca de América, March 22 through April 14, at the Magik Theatre in downtown San Antonio.
“Mariachi Girl is more than just another beautiful story,” comments director JoJanie Moreno. “It’s a celebration of Mexican-American culture — my culture, San Antonio’s culture — and the challenges of respecting its tradition while still allowing for change.”
Lucero García as Carmencita
Mariachi Girl follows the story of 10-year-old Carmencita (affectionately known as “Cita”), who dreams of being a mariachi singer and one day performing with her father. Her father, on the other hand, clings to a long-held family tradition of male-only mariachis. When her teacher offers her a book about a female mariachi, everything changes for Cita as she sees a possibility of her dream becoming a reality. Will she be able to expand her father’s worldview and celebrate her own heritage?
Mariachi Girl is an uplifting bilingual production about reaching for your dreams. Filled with vibrant original mariachi music, the play was written by Roxanne Schroeder-Arce, with music and lyrics by Héctor Martínez Morales.
Mariachi Girl runs March 22 through April 14 at The Magik Theatre, 20 South Alamo, San Antonio, TX 78205. For tickets, visit MagikTheatre.org or call the box office at 210.227.2751. Tickets start at $15, with discounts available for students, seniors, military and educators. Free tickets are available based on availability.
A special discount price of $12 is available to mariachimusic.com readers. Visit magictheatre.org/mariachi and enter the promo code MARIACHI
The Magik Theatre is celebrating its 25th anniversary during the 2018-2019 season, sponsored by H-E-B. Mariachi Girl is sponsored in part by The Rea Charitable Trust. Special thanks to the City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture.
Mariachi Azteca de América
Cast and Crew
Mariachi Girl features performances by Michelle Bortoni (Carmen), Alison Chambers (Mrs. Parker), Lucero García (Carmencita), Carlton Kendall (Danny) and Gino Rivera (Luis).
The production team includes JoJanie Moreno (Director), Gino Rivera (Music Director), Curtis Ashby (Scenic and Designer), Armando Chávez-García (Lighting Designer), Michael Ciaramitaro (Costume Designer), Lucián Hernández (Properties Designer) and Jackie Pérez (Stage Manager).
Special Performances of Mariachi Girl at The Magik Theatre
Opening Night: March 22 at 6:30 p.m. Enjoy family fun activities at the opening performance including pre-concert entertainment provided by South San Antonio High School’s Mariachi Estrellas de Azul, who recently received first place award at the Texas Association of Mariachi Educators competition.
Military and First Responders Performance: March 30 at 2 p.m. Magik appreciates all of the selfless heroes in the community who put their lives on the line. To celebrate them, active or retired members of the military and first responders with I.D. pay $5 per ticket for their entire party for this performance.
American Sign Language Interpreted Performance: April 6 at 2 p.m. The Magik Theatre is joined by Robert Cardoza, the San Antonio theatre community’s primary sign language interpreter, to offer at least one ASL interpreted performance for every production of the 2018-2019 season, sponsored by University Health System.
Excerpt from a recent interview with Lucero García (Carmencita), lead actress for Mariachi Girl
The Magik Theatre was my original inspiration for studying theater and acting. At age 7, my dad enrolled me into their “Camp Showbiz,” and that summer I fell in love with musical theater. All I could think about was being on stage singing and dancing and performing. From then on, whenever my dad would ask me what I wanted to do that summer, my answer was always “Camp Showbiz!” My favorite part of performing is being able to make people happy and bringing stories to life in a fun and exciting way.
I’m 14 years old, and auditioning for Mariachi Girl was nerve racking, not only because I was the only young teen there, but because this was my first-ever audition for a main stage production. I am so happy to have been chosen to play Carmencita. I’ve dreamed of this all of my life, and I owe it all to The Magik Theatre and their wonderful teachers.
I speak both Spanish and English. Being bilingual is exciting, because it means that I’m able to meet and understand new people and make more friends.
Some advice I would give to other girls who are interested in performing arts is to not let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do, and don’t listen to people who speak negatively about what you do. If you love doing what you’re doing, then keep on doing it!
I recently got accepted into the Musical Theater program at San Antonio’s North East School of the Arts. After Mariachi Girl, I plan on finishing my 8th grade year strong and getting ready for high school!
