On Thursdays at lunch, members of Berkeley High School’s Mariachi Club gather to unpack instruments, set up music stands, and become better musicians through learning to play together. Bringing a tradition that is rooted in Mexican culture to the BHS campus, the club gives students a place to explore music and connect with one another. Members are working to grow the club, welcoming both students with experience as well as those picking up an instrument for the first time.
For club president and BHS junior Susana Cortez Morales, starting the club meant recreating a community she yearned for. At Longfellow Middle School she participated in a seventh period mariachi class, where the happy atmosphere felt tangible through the music.
“It was a way to be connected with a community that also enjoyed mariachi and liked a culture of music that was very upbeat,” Cortez Morales said, “The music we played matched the way we acted in class because everyone was very upbeat and happy.”
After leaving Longfellow, Cortez Morales wanted to bring that same experience to BHS. She and BHS sophomore and Vice President of the club, Audrey Chang, who also participated in the class, hope to welcome both returning musicians and students trying mariachi for the first time.
Both leaders’ connections to mariachi began outside the classroom. Cortez Morales grew up hearing it at parties, watching musicians perform, and knowing cousins and friends who participated. For Chang, the music brings back memories of her father playing songs around the house, including “La Bamba,” which she later learned at Longfellow.
“Whenever I hear mariachi music (like) ‘La Bamba,’ it makes me so happy,” Chang said, “It brings really good memories of cooking, barbecues, all that stuff.”
In their meetings, the leaders hope to give others room to develop their own appreciation for mariachi music. Cortez Morales recalled an early rehearsal when she, Chang, and another musician tried running through a song. Other members stopped their conversations and began following along, trying to match their playing with the right chords.
“We didn’t play it perfectly. It was our first time running through it,” Cortez Morales said, “but it was really nice to see how, the second that we started wanting to go through it, everybody came and paid attention.”
Creating that shared experience also means accounting for different abilities and interests and other shared perspectives. Cortez Morales explained that members’ feedback helped determine song choices, the pace of learning different songs, and preparing for potential performances.
“Me and Susana personally want to (have performances), but it’s really a community decision,” Chang said, “We are going to ask the people in our club if we want to do this, where we want to play, what we want to play.”
Teaching beginners has required patience, Chang said. Access to instruments remains another challenge. “Not everybody has their instrument from the school or money to get their own personal instrument or rent one,” Cortez Morales said, “If we could get more funding to get instruments out to people who aren’t necessarily in any of the music programs here, that’d be really helpful.”
As members invite friends and everyone continues practicing, the leaders hope to make mariachi much more visible at BHS. Chang mentioned Fourth Street as a possible location for a fundraising performance, though plans would depend on the group’s interest. The club meets every Thursday at lunch in room A-201, and all are welcome.