Mariachi Herencia De Mexico

Mariachi Herencia de Mexico is a charting ensemble comprising students from Chicago's public school system. They have captured the imagination of not only American audiences but also those in Mexico and Central America via their buoyant, wide-open style, which is steeped in the long and illustrious Mexican tradition of folk song.

The group grew out of a foundation created by Chicago resident and investment banker César Maldonado. Though Maldonado was born in the Windy City, his parents both hailed from Durango, Mexico, worked in factories after immigrating, and spoke little English. Growing up, most of the music he heard on the radio was mariachi, and he fell in love with it. As an adult and a successful businessman, he wanted to give something back. He recalled having gone through elementary school with no music or arts classes, and decided to focus his charitable giving in that area. With his love of mariachi guiding his choice, he founded the nonprofit Mariachi Heritage Foundation in 2013. Since its beginnings, mariachi music education has been implemented in the curricula of eight Chicago public schools, hosting 2,100 students in grades three through eight.

One of its programs auditioned advanced students between the ages of 11 and 19 and selected 16 to work together for a year and take part in recording the album that became group's debut, Nuestra Herencia. It was produced by José Hernández, one of the top mariachi musicians residing in the U.S. (Maldonado brought him to Chicago four times to get it done