Concert Showcases Young Mariachis

The guitar strap hangs comfortably on 11-year-old Guillermo Santillan as he plucks at the strings getting ready for the second annual “La Voz del Mariachi” concert Sunday.

“If you practice, it’s not hard,” said Guillermo, who picked up the guitar for the first time only four months ago. He is one of about 12 members of Las Campanitas--Little Bells--a San Fernando Elementary School mariachi group.

Las Campanitas were one of nine mariachi bands from area schools who played for the occasion at San Fernando High to an audience of about 1,400.

A special visitor was Eduardo “Lalo” Guerrero, who has written many Mexican music standards and last year released a compact disc with Los Lobos. Last month, the 80-year-old Guerrero was awarded a National Medal of the Arts by President Clinton.

After receiving the honor, Guerrero was flooded with requests for appearances. But organizers of “La Voz del Mariachi” were the quickest to get to the telephone.

“They called me first,” Guerrero said.

He joined the elementary students for a few minutes before the concert. “I have always been kind of a role model for children,” he said. Later, as Las Campanitas played, he listened attentively, tapping his foot.

He said he hoped the music and his example would help the children steer clear of drugs and gangs. “Nowadays, that’s what it’s all about,” he said.

The concert was sponsored by the San Fernando Valley Latino Arts Council and the San Fernando Valley Mariachi Committee.

Guillermo, who spoke Spanish as one of his teachers translated, had known very little about the music before he joined the school group. Now he is hooked. “Because it sounds pretty and I like it,” he said.

He shrugged at the idea of one day becoming a professional. “Maybe,” he said.

“Whether they become professional or not, that’s not the goal,” said Maria Reza, coordinator for the San Fernando school groups. “The goal is to continue the tradition of mariachi music.”

In 1989, when she was principal of San Fernando Elementary School, Reza started a program of mariachi music that spawned the annual concert event.

“I knew there was a lot of talent in the community,” Reza said.