10-year-old mariachi prodigy takes top prize
Eduardo Trevino finished his performance on a high note — literally — he set the tone for the rest of his competitors in his division at the 28th annual Mariachi Extravaganza National Vocal Competition in San Antonio.
The 10-year-old, who received thunderous applause from the appreciative crowd, took home first place in the elementary and middle school division.
“Eduardo Antonio Trevino from Humble, Texas, was fantastic,” said publicist and festival founder Cynthia Muñoz. “He had a lot of pressure on that day because he kicked off the whole vocal competition,” the former mariachi singer said.
“My heart was pumping. I was so nervous backstage. But then once they called my name, everything, like all the nerves just went away,” Eduardo said. The win was no cakewalk. The Autumn Creek Elementary student had to beat out eight contestants in his division. All of them already had gone through an arduous competition and judging before being extended an invitation to compete in San Antonio last week.
“In that song, he had to sing falsetto, which requires the young man to sing some very high notes. According to the judges, he hit them perfectly and they were very impressed with him,” Muñoz said.
Muñoz founded the Extravaganza in 1995.
“There was so much incredible talent, and I can tell you they are looking at every single note, movement and detail that these kids are making on stage. They’re judging their intonation, their stage presence, their pronunciation and their interpretation,” she said.
The Humble Independent School District fifth-grader Eduardo comes from a family with musical skills.
His vocal talent comes from his grandmother who sang all her life, and his mom, uncle and cousins who mostly made up the choir in church. His dad also dabbles at singing, and his grandfather also had musical talent.
Eduardo attends St. Leo the Great Catholic Church on Lauder Road where he and his sister sing every other Sunday.
“He’s been singing since he was 2 years old,” said his mother, Rosy Trevino. “He would always put on our Christian CDS. He had a little rhythm in him even at that young age.”
Eduardo would grab his guiwhen
tar, which at times looked bigger than him, and mimic the singers on the recordings.
He now has his own karaoke with speakers, mic stands and the works.
“He’s in his own little world,” Trevino said.
His talent really grew during the pandemic.
“He wasn’t watching TV or on the tablet or anything like that,” she said. “He made his first post on his Youtube channel during COVID,” adding that he only had permission to post his music.
He picked up some of his guitar skills in an hour lesson from his uncle learning the notes and chords.
“He just put everything together, and he took off from there,” she said.
He has learned quickly that being a mariachi musician is no cheap adventure. The traje de charro, or mariachi suit, itself can be very expensive because of its ornate features, not to mention the sound gear he needs when he performs gigs at different venues.
“I’m proud to say he’s pretty much purchased his own stuff,” his mom said. The 10-year-old has sung for paying gigs and has received donations that have helped him earn the equipment he owns.
“We’ve told him if he really wants this, you have to work for what you want,” she said, and that included buying his own traje de charro.
He developed his love for mariachi from his father, Jose Trevino, who exposed him to the music.
“There’s a family friend on my mom’s side who’s a minister in Mexico, and she does Christian mariachi,” Eduardo added. “So that’s kind of where I got it from, too.”
Most of his gigs he does now are as a soloist accompanying himself on the guitar.
With his rise in popularity, the preteen is spending time practicing most every day developing both his singing and guitar skills. He’s expanded his knowledge of chords and has learned numerous chords to play in different keys.
“He went to a summer camp for two weeks back in July at the University of Houston and studied with Jose Longoria,” his mom said.
He’s also secured a vocal teacher, Alejandra Martinez, who leads the mariachi program in Humble ISD.
“She’s been teaching him vocally the last four to five months,” Rosy Trevino said.
Eduardo sang one of Longoria’s original songs at the competition.
He’s already been contacted by a producer in San Antonio proposing a recording offer, but his mom is pumping the brakes.
“I just wanted to wait a bit, get some feedback from others. It’s kind of scary how fast it’s all moving,” she said. “Maybe we can do that next year.”
Eduardo loves singing but knows it comes with a price.
“I love it very much. I can say school is getting in the way of my music in some ways. … Some of the gigs I’m invited to perform at are during the school day,” he explained.
He’s not skipping school though because it would set a bad example. He was voted class president.
But after hearing the cheering from the audience, the performing bug has bit and he’s all in.