Going Varsity in Mariachi (2025)

I watched this Feel Good documentary while on a transatlantic flight ans highly recommend it. In Texas, where football usually tends to dominate any discussion about spirited rivalries between high schools, over 100 public schools also field competitive mariachi teams in the hopes of winning the state championship. Most of the premier teams hail from the Rio Grande Valley — specifically, a closely connected group of towns along the US-Mexican border, and it is really great to see the school support such a culture bound tradition. There are differences in funding from school system to school system, and as is so often the case across sports and academia, not all teams are created equal. Mariachi Nuevo Santander from Roma High School in Roma, Texas traditionally bestrides the match-ups like a colossus, sporting flashy attire and impressive musicianship. But the directors have chosen to focus on the underdogs of Mariachi Oro from Edinburgh North High School, an under-financed institution in a low-income district that is in the process of rebuilding their mariachi band. It is more a film about what belonging and competing can do for young adults than it is abou the music, but the music is great. It ranges from such mariachi standards as “Mexico Lindo y Querido” and “Volver, Volver” to newer songs composed for the competitions, is so appealing that you can’t help wishing there were a lot more of it.