Viva el Amor, Viva Mariachi MECA

MECA presents its fifteenth annual Valentine's serenade to the community with a musical night of memories as MECA celebrates the 25th anniversary of the founding of its mariachi program. Program alumni from over the past two decades and more are returning to participate in the anniversary concert and honor the memory of program founder, Alfonso Guerra. Over the past 25 years, MECA and mariachi music have become synonymous in part because the arts organization played a pioneering role in bringing mariachi music education to students around the metropolitan area, as well as due to the greatness of the student ensemble, Mariachi MECA. The February 12 concert honors program founder, the late Alfonso Guerra, who personally taught and mentored many of the hundreds of students who learned how to play mariachi music at MECA. Guerra performed as a mariachi and trio musician for decades, including with ranchera music stars José Alfredo Jiménez and Antonio Aguilar. He came to Houston from the state of Coahuila, Mexico around 1975 and in 1991 he was introduced to Alice Valdez who swiftly hired him to start what was a new program for the arts organization. In short time, the program's popularity grew and before the end of the decade, Mariachi MECA was an award-winning student group. Guerra retired in 2000 and passed away in 2009 in San Antonio, Texas. Alumni of Mariachi MECA have gone on to colleges and universities across the country as well as perform mariachi professionally here in Houston and across the state of Texas. Alumnus Jaime Alanis will serve as Musical Director for the concert that will feature members from the competition award-winning years as well as the students from the first generation of the mariachi program. The evening will also have feature a silent auction of "corazones," heart-shaped art objects made by local artists and community members. The silent auction begins at 7 p.m. Viva el Amor 2016 promises to be a concert of love songs to pull on your heartstrings and a night of wonderful memories, this will be a show audiences don't want to miss!