ABILENE, Texas (KRBC) – A new band has entered the mariachi scene in Abilene, and its youngest member is 12 years old.
Mariachi Nuevo Amanecer, the mariachi band, began with a simple get-together of church friends. Kathy Gomez is the director of the new music group and mother of one of the violinists.
“All of our kids know each other, and they all play instruments and sang with the church choir here and there, and we just decided to get together and do it, ” said Gomez.
Since its formation in August, the group has visited San Antonio once a month to train with a professional mariachi musician.
The majority of the group’s musicians are in middle and high school. Maryvel Castillo is a guitarist and 6th grader at Mann Middle School.
“It’s very expressive,” said Castillo. “You play the guitar, and you just strum, and you play whatever is on your mind.”
Currently, the group plays for smaller audiences, performing at Abilene ISD all of Friday morning and early afternoon. Each member has mutiple talents, such as 16 year-old Veronica Lozano, who plays piano, guitar, bass and violin.
“I love Mexican music–listening to it, playing it, because I play multiple instruments, and I don’t know it’s just something about it that draws my attention to it,” said Lozano.
