Austin’s Mariachi Rock Revolution Performs Electrifying Music with Texas Legends Ruben Ramos & Rick Trevino to Kick Off Hispanic Heritage Month
Enjoy a unique spectacle of sight and sound at the Long Center concert to benefit Austin Soundwaves’ free community music program, Mariachi Para Todos
Mariachi music is having a moment. Snoop Dogg’s Death Row Records signed a mariachi singer in January. Netflix licensed the excellent South Texas documentary film, “Going Varsity in Mariachi,” which became available on its platform in August. Pepe Aguilar and Christian Nodal brought mariachi flavor to a national audience on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” this year. But don’t call it a comeback. Raw emotional power and dazzling musicianship make the style unforgettable.
Kicking off National Hispanic Heritage Month on September 15 at The Long Center for the Performing Arts, Austin’s Mariachi Rock Revolution will perform their electric take on the genre, joined by Mariachi Clasico for a unique spectacle of sight and sound Sunday evening. Texas’ homegrown country music star Rick Trevino and the Lone Star’s Tejano icon Ruben Ramos will also join as special guests. The evening will benefit Austin Soundwaves’ Mariachi Para Todos, a free community program for those ages 10 and up.
Austin-based rock group Mariachi Rock Revolution (MRR) takes a traditional Mexican style and makes it metal. The group electrifies instruments to showcase the works of Mexican songwriting titans with renditions of beloved and resonant stories. Dressed in charro and charra suits and wearing Dia de los Muertos calavera-style makeup, Mariachi Rock Revolution aims to create an unforgettable evening of music in honor of their Latin heritage.
Country and Tejano icons join the rock fusion masters
Guests Rick Trevino and Ruben Ramos bring an unmistakable Texas swagger to the performance. Texas native Trevino, who topped the charts in the 1990s with hits like “Running Out of Reasons to Run,” had 14 singles reach the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart between 1993 and 2007.
“Rick Trevino gave me my big break back in 1997 as an unknown fiddle player to join his touring band,” said MRR founder Haydn Vitera. “Right after he had his third number one hit, I was 22, and jumped on the tour bus and lived the dream.”
In 1998, Rick Trevino won a Grammy for work with the supergroup, Los Super 7, alongside another of the night’s guests, Ruben Ramos.
“Ruben Ramos is one of the coolest cats in the world,” said Vitera. Ramos’ bonafides stretch back to the days before he fronted the Mexican Revolution, eventually renamed the Texas Revolution.
Electric Sounds
Mariachi Rock Revolution’s eight-person group unites some of the most lauded musicians in Texas. Haydn’s classical music background, encouraged by his opera-singer mother, eventually gave way to his love for country and rock. He’s toured as part of Asleep at the Wheel, and soloed with the likes of Stevie Wonder and George Strait.
Grammy-nominated violinist Felicia Rojas plays the fiddle alongside Haydn’s electric violin, standing out as the only woman among a group of extraordinary musicians on drums (Kevin Abbenante), guitar (Dan Corona, Juan Diaz, and Rafael Mejia), and trumpet (Chuy Guerra and David Ortiz). “Mariachi music is not only beautiful, but can be very technical and very challenging. It’s every bit as challenging as orchestral music,” said Haydn.
Austin’s Mariachi Rock Revolution, formerly known as Tequila Rock Revolution, was born from a joint performance between Haydn Vitera’s band and the all-women mariachi group Mariachi Las Coronelas from San Antonio. The group now tours nationwide. Vitera’s love for mariachi music has also led him to attend weekly meetups with Mariachi Para Todos.
Mariachi Para Todos
While Austin Soundwaves focuses on ensuring access to music education in local schools through band and orchestra programming, the group’s Executive Director, Patrick Slevin, told us how a groundswell of interest led to the creation of Mariachi Para Todos.
“… Our students were asking to do mariachi, especially the ones who grew up with mariachi music,” he said. “We started having a club after school and from that, lots of people would start to show up… siblings, friends who weren’t in band or orchestra, even parents would be hanging out. It became clear that there was a real demand.”
Since its launch in 2021, funded in part by a grant from the National Guild for Community Arts Education, the program remains Austin Soundwaves’ fastest growing in terms of interest, said Slevin. “One of our dreams is to create second and third ensembles,” he added.
On Monday evenings at Austin’s Southwest Key Programs, Mariachi Para Todos invites anyone interested in learning to play mariachi music to join a group of like-minded enthusiasts. Students have opportunities to perform in various communities, including an upcoming trip to Juneau, Alaska. On Sunday, several members will perform on stage with Mariachi Clasico.
MRR’s Haydn Vitera has even been a recent student of Mariachi Para Todos, visiting to learn the vihuela. “I plan to go every chance I get,” said Vitera. At Sunday’s show, audience members will see just how the genre keeps drawing new generations with its celebratory sound.
