Mariachi Festival subdued at the start
CALEXICO — The 28th annual Mariachi Festival kicked off Wednesday evening with the Fiesta de Artesanias in the Carmen Durazo Cultural Arts Center.
For the first time ever, the event did not crown a Senorita Mariachi due to lack of participants this year.
“There was very little interest in the crowning this year. Girls have to be within the ages of 15 and 21, and most of these girls are in high school, so they were busy with ongoing events like prom, but I totally understand them,” said Hildy Carrillo executive director of the Calexico Chamber of Commerce.
The Fiesta de Artesanias served as an opening reception for the rest of the week leading up to their “Sin Fronteras” mariachi performance on Saturday.
“This is just to get people started. For some reason, this year everything is a little off. I don’t know if it is the weather or economy, but it is an off year. I think once we get to Friday, spontaneous combustion will overcome us, and we will all be happy,” Carrillo said.
For the first time, the Mariachi Festival will be having the Calexico Rock the Border Music Festival and Tequila Tasting where they will have rock artists performing. This year the festival planners wanted to change the environment a bit to allow for guests to get their groove on while sampling more than 10 tequila varieties.
The Mariachi Festival has been ongoing for 28 years now, but Calexico did not start to celebrate it until 2000.
“I don’t think I have ever witnessed this before,” Carrillo said. “We have been doing this since 2000. Some years are really festive, and others are not. This year, they are not. We hope that by Friday people will be in a more festive mood.”
The opening reception included a performance from a baile folklorico group, a traditional Mexican dancing style that focuses on local folk culture. That was followed by the musical ensemble El Trio Cucapa. The Consulate of Mexico paid for the trio’s performance for the opening night.
Mariachi Festival extends over four days, including Que Siga La Fiesta on Thursday, Calexico Rock the Border on Friday, and Mariachi Festival “Sin Fronteras” on Saturday.