Three years ago, a group of artists came together to create a coloring book dedicated to the thousands of students who have participated in the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza over the past 25 years. It all started with Allison “Ally” Hernández who traveled all the way from California to attend her first Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza event with her father several years ago. The phenomenal talent of so many vocalists and musicians inspired Ally to draw some of the participants. Ally did an amazing job developing her drawings that they appeared to be characters from an animated television series. Ally was encouraged to draw more.
Her drawings were shown to Robert Herzik who offered good advice on how to make the drawings ready for a press. Some detailing needed to occur and that’s when a long time friend, and seasoned artist, named Salvador López stepped into the project. Sal took Ally’s drawings, fine tuned them, created some of his own, and handed them over to another graphic designer and amazing artist – Christopher Hernández. Together Sal and Chris recreated the drawings by hand and then redrew them on computer as to perfect each stroke as you see in coloring books. It’s quite a process that takes much time from talented artists who are detailed oriented. Some of the drawings took several revisions as to ensure that it was authentic to mariachi musicians and artists. After all 20 drawings were complete, they were handed back over to Robert Herzik who utilized his expertise in art direction and graphic design to put the final book together.
The result is a first of its kind coloring book of 20 original drawings created by Ally, Sal and Chris. Each drawing is a work of art all on its own. It’s a book that resonates cultural pride and appreciation for the arts and mariachi music and can be enjoyed as a coloring book or simply as a collection of beautiful drawings. The project took 2 1/2 years to complete just time to celebrate the 25th Annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza in December. I can’t tell you how many times I have thumbed through the book and reminisced about the thousands of talented youth that have participated in the Extravaganza throughou the years. For me, this is a collectors item you want to have as a memorabilia of your experiences in mariachi. So, we want to give away a few of the coloring books and this is how.
Instructions:
- Download the coloring book sample below.
- Get your creativity on. Add a background, color the drawing, and have fun with your drawing!
- Take a picture of the final product and send it to: Cynthia@mariachimusic.com with the subject line “Coloring Book Contest”.
Deadline: Thursday April 16, 2020 at 11:59 AM.
The top 5 submissions will be announced Friday morning and will be awarded a copy of the 25th Annul Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza Commemorative coloring book!
Pass this along to friends and feel free to comment on this blog. We’d like to read questions you may have about the competition or just thoughts on what you’re thinking and doing during this Stay at Home mandate due to COVID-19. We look forward to receiving your entry!
A special thanks to Salvador López, Allison Hernández and Christopher Hernández for their charming portrayal of young mariachi artists in the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza Commemorative Coloring Book!!
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