LA's Mariachi tradition seeps out across the nation

It’s a Friday evening at La Fonda de Los Camperos, near MacArthur Park, LA’s most revered venue for mariachi music and home to the Grammy-winning ensemble Los Camperos. But the stars of tonight’s show are from Chicago. Sixteen teenagers, eight boys and eight girls. They’re called Mariachi Herencia De México.

Melanie Juarez is thirteen, she plays guitar and is one of the lead singers. She’s thrilled to be playing tonight at La Fonda. “It’s just really a big honor to be here, knowing that those mariachi Camperos actually perform here and they’re here and me having to be here it’s something amazing.”

Marco Villela is fourteen. He plays the trumpet and sings: “I am quite very honored to be here because I’m a very huge admirer of the Camperos and it’s just unexplainable how amazing this is.”

The man behind Mariachi Herencia is Cesar Maldonado, an investment banker who grew-up in Brighton Park, a Mexican immigrant barrio in Chicago. Maldonado is passionate about mariachi music and was determined to give back to his community.

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