Texas Folklife: The Folklorist Next Door
Folklorists explore foodways, music, ritual celebrations, and more. Several episode producers participated in Texas Folklife's Community Folklife Fellowship program where they received mentorship, training workshops, and project support.
Learn more at TexasFolklife.org
This project is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities Texas.
Executive Producer: Jeannelle Ramirez
Technical Producer: J.A. Strub
Texas Folklife: The Folklorist Next Door
Becoming an Honorary Mariachi
Have you ever wanted to be something you never thought you’d really be?
Sitting in my high school Spanish class, I decided I wanted to be a Mariachi. Unfortunately, I was raised in a small rural Midwestern town where there were no Mariachis. In fact, here was only one Mexican American family and a teacher. That was the closest I thought I would ever get to Mexico. I fell in love with Mexican culture and the language.
I kept my Mariachi dream to myself until now. This podcast is about living on the borderland of Mexico and the people I met who connected me to the music. These are people who also happen to be… You guessed it! Mariachis. Meet Juan David Martinez, Genesis Staple, and Valerie Torres.
Learn more at TexasFolklife.org
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities Texas.