JEFF NEVIN IS A WORLDWIDE AMBASSADOR FOR MARIACHI
A colleague of Jeff Nevin’s referred to him as the Johnny Appleseed of mariachi music. Much like the American pioneer who planted apple seeds across sections of the United States, Nevin has planted mariachi seeds of inspiration, education and cultural sharing throughout 14 states and 15 countries.
Nevin wandered into the world of mariachi music by accident. As a young child, he would hear his father play the trumpet. He soon took interest in the instrument and began playing it at age 10 and later performed in a youth symphony. He played so well that, when he was 15, even though he was not Mexican or Latinx, he was
asked to join a mariachi band — Los Changitos Feos (the ugly little monkeys), now the oldest mariachi youth group in the United States. This sparked his passion for the genre.
In 1998, then Sweetwater Union High School District President Bob Griego and Southwestern College President Serafin Zasueta wanted to bring mariachi
music to their schools through a formal curriculum and associate degree. Nevin, who earned a doctorate in musical composition from the University of San Diego, was tapped to build and run the program at Southwestern. Several people told him that it wouldn’t work because people thought of it more as trade music,
something people did to make a living, despite the level of musicianship involved. He didn’t listen. He reframed the music by elevating mariachi musicians and having people treat it with respect.
One of the successful outcomes of the program is Mariachi Garibaldi. Under Nevin’s tutelage, the group has performed in many countries, including the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, Belgium, Germany, India, Canada, Russia, France and China.
“It’s amazing that, all over the world, people know mariachi music,” Nevin said. “In Turkmenistan, the thirdmost-isolated country globally, the students at the school we were performing at knew the song “Besame Mucho” (and) started singing along with our ensemble.”
This scene was played out everywhere that Mariachi Garibaldi and his other band, Mariachi Champaña, have performed.
“In Germany, we performed ‘Cielito Lindo’ and the crowd joined in song,” Nevin said. “At first I was surprised at how many countries knew the songs. Then, I realized that many had access to movies during the golden age of Mexican cinema, 1938-1960. Jorge Negrete was just as famous as Frank Sinatra to them.”
Nevin’s world is not just about teaching and performing mariachi music. He writes curricula and books on the genre that are used by more than 1,000 teachers worldwide. He’s a conductor and composes musical arrangements. He is also a classically trained musician and has performed with the San Diego Symphony.
With all Nevin has going, it would seem he has little time for anything else. He makes time for one of his greatest passions, the Mariachi Scholarship Foundation, a nonprofit that coordinates an annual summit that brings together the best teachers in the field and shares new and upcoming information and skills.
“We couldn’t apply for funding from the city of San Diego, for the 2020 Mariachi Summit, because of the pandemic,” said Sandi Smith, the secretary/treasurer of the Mariachi Scholarship Foundation. She has worked with Nevin for 26 years. “He was able to pull the conference together … attracting the best teachers and having them record their presentations and more. The summit was a success — reaching 13,500plus students, internationally and 233 teachers — and we didn’t charge a dime!”
Nevin and his team solicited donations from corporations and individuals so they would not disappoint the thousands who look forward to the summit, each year.
Aside from the annual Mariachi Summit, the foundation supports the study and performance of mariachi music in schools and awards college scholarships to students who graduate from these programs. They have given $500,000 in scholarships since 1996.
Nevin hopes to plant seeds of mariachi for a long time, through the program at Southwestern College and the Mariachi Scholarship Foundation, and assist youth to further their education, continue their musicianship/dance, connect with their families and share their culture through mariachi music.