The mariachi music pouring out of Kimbrough Hall rehearsal rooms isn’t a recording. It’s one of Washington State University’s newest musical groups, Mariachi Leones del Monte — loosely translated by its members as Cougar Mariachi — practicing on Wednesday evenings.
Many people are familiar with the distinct sound of mariachi: a unique blend of trumpets, violins, and various guitars. Historians believe mariachi originated in Mexico in the eighteenth century. When migrants traveled from Mexico to the United States in the early 1900s to work in the fields, they brought mariachi music.
Today, mariachi music is a staple in agricultural towns throughout central Washington, including Wenatchee, where WSU seniors Natalie Valdez and Daniela Alpire went to high school together. They say it is nearly impossible to attend a birthday party, a wedding, or a graduation without being entertained by a mariachi band. Valdez and Alpire played guitar together in their high school’s mariachi band, where Alpire also sang.
“Practicing and performing mariachi was a big part of our lives,” Alpire says. “When Natalie and I came to WSU, we missed playing music together and the camaraderie associated with being in a mariachi band.”
Alpire and Valdez formed Mariachi Leones del Monte in spring 2023 and interest in the band (also a registered student organization) is proliferating. Its 17 members are invited to perform at celebrations across campus and occasionally play at community events such as Pullman High School’s Multicultural Night.
What I love about the music is how it describes the love of the land, the people, and national pride in Mexico. To me, that’s what sets mariachi apart from other genres.Darryl Singleton, band advisor and violinist, and assistant professor of Black music, social justice, and jazz percussion
WSU School of Music
Through its partnerships with WSU’s College Assistance Migrant Program, the Chicanx Latinx Student Center, the Undocumented Student Center, and the student organization MEChA, the band has been able to purchase instruments and suits, called trajes, making it easier for students to join.
“These things are expensive to buy, and we can provide them at no cost to students,” Valdez says. “And we don’t turn anyone away who wants to play in the band, even if they are just learning to play an instrument.”
That even applied to the band’s advisor and violinist, Darryl Singleton. The assistant professor of Black music, social justice, and jazz percussion in WSU’s School of Music is very familiar with mariachi, having lived in Mexico for an extended time. Still, he did not know how to play the violin when he joined the band.
“My leadership style is to be an active leader, and the students know that whatever I ask them to do, I am willing to do it along with them,” Singleton says. “The band needed another violinist. I’m probably the worst violinist in the group, but it gives me a deeper connection with the students.”
Singleton says mariachi’s many different styles, including the fast-paced polkas, waltzes, and love songs, keep listeners on their toes and entertained.
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