Girl’s passion for mariachi music earns scholarship
“I want to be my own person and music helps me.”
When I’m playing, I think about music and putting my own style into it and making it my own.”
—Belen Hernandez
SAN ANGELO, Texas—Belen Hernandez’s eyes light up and she smiles widely when she talks about mariachi music.
“Mariachi is colorful and exciting. It’s either romantic and makes you feel something or exciting and makes you want to dance,” said Belen, a 16-year-old sophomore at Lake View High School in San Angelo and a member of the school’s mariachi program.
“When we play, we are no longer just individuals but part of our instrument.”
The San Angelo Standard-Times reports her talent and passion helped Belen, who plays the trumpet, earn an unparalleled opportunity to study at one of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the country this summer—Amherst College in Massachusetts.
The “pre-college” session for high school students has classes in business, public speaking and music. However, it doesn’t come cheap. Tuition is $5,590.
Luckily, Belen found out last month that she was awarded a Putney Open Door Fund scholarship to attend the summer session.
The PODF is a nonprofit foundation that provides support for students seeking educational summer experiences they could not otherwise afford at prestigious universities.
“I never thought I’d get an opportunity like this because of my background. It’s usually the people who have the money are the ones who get to go experience all those things,” Belen said. “For me to get to go, it’s huge. I’m here and I can do it, too.”
Belen’s mother, Jessica Alvarez, is a single mom of four.
“I’ve never heard of this program, so I didn’t even know it was a possibility for her,” she said.
“It’s exciting. It’s a big opportunity for my daughter. I wouldn’t have been able to provide this for her, so her winning this scholarship is awesome.”
The scholarship fully covers program expenses, and the Lake View Mariachi Fund will cover air travel with leftover funds from its sombrero fundraiser, said fund administrator Mario Castillo, who also wrote a letter of recommendation when Belen applied for the PODF scholarship.
“The people who donated for sombreros really invested in the mind of these kids,” he said.
The sombrero fund raised more than $16,000 from the community and is also used to pay for Angelo State University tutors in music and academics for the students in the mariachi program.
As a seventh-grader, Belen was part of the first group students to participate in the mariachi program when it was rebooted at Lincoln Middle School and Lake View. It started with about 30 students and has grown to more than 120 students.
Belen was born in Texas and lived in Mexico for a while with her father. Her father was in a mariachi band and introduced Belen to the music.
“My family has always been a mariachi family. At a very young age (6) I picked up the trumpet and my dad pushed me to do this,” she said.
Her parents separated when Belen was young and she doesn’t see her father anymore. She struggles to move past that fact.
“I want to be my own person and music helps me, so I don’t have to think about that and I can be myself. Nobody else knows about it,” she said.
Belen’s favorite song to play is “El Son de la Negra,” a traditional and fast mariachi.
“When I’m playing, I think about music and putting my own style into it and making it my own,” she said.
Mariachi music includes categories that vary by region, origin and tempo, such as ranchera, bolero and son jalisciense.
“Mariachi music is a main emblem of Mexico. The music is powerful to the culture and identity of the Mexican people,” said Rosendo Ramos, Lake View mariachi program instructor.
A mariachi band is composed of instruments that are mobile, allowing the musicians to move around in parties or restaurants. Mariachi music is also associated with folklorico, traditional dances with the beautiful dresses.
“Anywhere you go, any country, and you hear a mariachi ensemble, everyone associates that with Mexico,” Ramos said.
“For some, it’s life. They play mariachi music in the evening and that’s how they make a living. It’s a way of life.”
Ramos reminds his students they are representing a country when they are playing.
“I think part of performing is when you look at somebody and you feel a connection toward them. Some people cry of joy or that song reminds them of a past family member,” Belen said.
Besides the trumpet, Belen recently picked up the accordion and she also sings.
“When she sings ‘ Ave Maria,’ she breaks your heart,” Castillo said.
For Belen, attending the summer program brings with it a few firsts— first plane ride and first time to visit other states.
“I finally get to experience new things and see the world,” she said. “I didn’t believe it at first.”