The Mariachi Miracle film and book
Donation protected
There’s a musical revolution catching like wildfire across America, becoming almost as ubiquitous as the Suzuki violin method.
It’s the youth mariachi movement, riding on joyful and emotional layers of dancing rhythms and tuneful, harmonious music from the heart.
The mariachi has long been the soundtrack of life in Mexican culture from the cradle to the grave. But in places across America over the last 50 years, it has become something far deeper. It has become the sound of equality, economic prosperity, academic achievement, social change, political empowerment and artistic prowess.
The Mariachi Miracle is a film and book project that documents how the youth mariachi and folklorico dance movement has transformed the social, political, economic, artistic and educational fabric of Tucson, Arizona over the last half century.
We need your support to make The Mariachi Miracle a reality and share this fantastic untold American story. In total we need to raise another $250,000 to take the project through the goalposts, and we’re depending on the support of people like you to raise at least $50,000 toward that end.
In particular we need to raise funds quickly to pay for the filming of high school and college graduations, travel to interview key subjects who have left the area, and to finish roughly 60 more interviews with mariachi and folklorico pioneers, parents and family members, teachers and administrators, program graduates and more, all of whom have played an part in the evolution of the youth mariachi movement.
We ask your help to shed light on a vital chapter in American history that has yet to be told, and which holds so much promise for our nation and the world. Our gratitude to all of you who have supported this project from the beginning, sharing your stories and photographs, as well as your economic support is huge. This simply could not be done without you. Nor should it have been. This is your story. It’s America’s story. And it needs to be told to the world.
From the seed of Mariachi Los Changuitos Feos – the Ugly Little Monkeys – in 1964, the movement has used cultural engagement, educational advancement and community service to combat racism, sexism, stereotypes, drug addiction, gang involvement and more.
Los Changuitos Feos became a touring group that performed across America and beyond for mayors and presidents, congressmen and tribal chairmen, captains of industry and community members of every stripe. They saw the world in a different way as a result of that experience. And the group’s founders had a secret weapon. They charged for the performances and invested the money so that the graduates of the program would go on to college.
The first crop of graduates would go on to become the youngest state senator in Arizona’s history, a University of Arizona Vice President, a world-renowned martial arts specialist and one of the engineers who designed and built the Hubble Space Telescope. Fifty two years later, the organization continues, and still provides college scholarships to the program’s graduates. Doctors, lawyers, politicians, educators, administrators, scientists, engineers, artists and musicians and more have emerged from this and subsequent mariachi and folklorico programs that bloomed throughout the city.
That germ idea that youth music programs can become vessels of transformation carried over into the schools as they developed curriculum-based music and dance programs, spurred on by the success of Tucsonan Linda Ronstadt’s "Canciones de Mi Padre" and "Mas Canciones" recordings, as well as the Tucson International Mariachi Conference.
Along the way gender boundaries were smashed, communities were empowered, and the seeds of true community transformation took root.
Despite the fact that the film focuses on Tucson, it really is pertinent to the whole youth mariachi movement that has popped up all over the United States, from San Antionio and El Paso to Georgia, Nashville, Los Angeles, N.Y.C., Chicago, Washington State, San Francisco, Cleveland and far beyond. With Hispanics rapidly becoming the dominant component of public schools in the United States, these programs are a vital investment in America’s future.
Mariachi and folklorico programs in schools and private programs have evolved into effective strategies to keep kids in school, get parents involved, improve academic success, raise graduation rates and send kids on to college. They teach young people teamwork, discipline, public speaking skills, critical thinking skills and more – all applicable not just to music making but to the practical skills they will need to succeed anywhere in life. Moreover they connect kids with their culture, unite families and communities, and raise the level of economic and social equality for the participants and their support groups.
This project has deep implications for programs in various states of development all around the United States, many of them going through the same growing pains Tucson experienced as it developed these programs.
An award winning journalist and artist, producer/Director Daniel Buckley has covered the youth mariachi movement since the early 1980s, first with the Tucson Weekly and later during his 23 year stint as music critic and multimedia manager for the Tucson Citizen daily newspaper. He was the chief video producer for the Arizona Centennial celebration and has produced 8 documentary films to date. In 2013 he was inducted into the Mariachi Hall of Fame of the Tucson International Mariachi Conference, and in 2014 was named Artist of the Year at the Governor’s Arts Awards.
When the Citizen closed in 2009, Buckley created the Cine Plaza at the Fox documentary series to continue to tell stories of the living history of Southern Arizona’s Hispanic and Native American populations.
All the while, Buckley has developing the filmmaking skills and depth of historic understanding to take on this project.
“This is the most important story I’ll ever get to tell,” Buckley says. “But even after covering this for 30 years I had no idea how rich and deep a story of transformation this was until people started sharing their stories with me. I find myself constantly moved and humbled by the stories being shared.”
Principal filming began in 2012 and will continue until mid-October of 2016, after which a first draft of the film will be created. From mid December to mid January, Buckley will focus on the book which will expand upon the film’s themes, add statistical support data and analysis and afford the inclusion of many more moving stories of the movement’s rise as well as its individual and collective impact on Tucson and beyond.
In mid-January Buckley will return to more refined edits of the film, then on to post production and mastering, as well as the final edits of the book. The plan is to present a sneak preview of The Mariachi Miracle at the Tucson International Mariachi Conference in April 2017 before taking it on to the film festival circuit, mariachi festivals, book festivals, and beyond.
Thank you so much for your vital help in making this dream a reality. Please come by the film’s website at www.mariachimiracle.com to watch as we lay the bricks to finish this monumental effort.
With deep love and gratitude to all,
Daniel Buckley
The Mariachi Miracle
It’s the youth mariachi movement, riding on joyful and emotional layers of dancing rhythms and tuneful, harmonious music from the heart.
The mariachi has long been the soundtrack of life in Mexican culture from the cradle to the grave. But in places across America over the last 50 years, it has become something far deeper. It has become the sound of equality, economic prosperity, academic achievement, social change, political empowerment and artistic prowess.
The Mariachi Miracle is a film and book project that documents how the youth mariachi and folklorico dance movement has transformed the social, political, economic, artistic and educational fabric of Tucson, Arizona over the last half century.
We need your support to make The Mariachi Miracle a reality and share this fantastic untold American story. In total we need to raise another $250,000 to take the project through the goalposts, and we’re depending on the support of people like you to raise at least $50,000 toward that end.
In particular we need to raise funds quickly to pay for the filming of high school and college graduations, travel to interview key subjects who have left the area, and to finish roughly 60 more interviews with mariachi and folklorico pioneers, parents and family members, teachers and administrators, program graduates and more, all of whom have played an part in the evolution of the youth mariachi movement.
We ask your help to shed light on a vital chapter in American history that has yet to be told, and which holds so much promise for our nation and the world. Our gratitude to all of you who have supported this project from the beginning, sharing your stories and photographs, as well as your economic support is huge. This simply could not be done without you. Nor should it have been. This is your story. It’s America’s story. And it needs to be told to the world.
From the seed of Mariachi Los Changuitos Feos – the Ugly Little Monkeys – in 1964, the movement has used cultural engagement, educational advancement and community service to combat racism, sexism, stereotypes, drug addiction, gang involvement and more.
Los Changuitos Feos became a touring group that performed across America and beyond for mayors and presidents, congressmen and tribal chairmen, captains of industry and community members of every stripe. They saw the world in a different way as a result of that experience. And the group’s founders had a secret weapon. They charged for the performances and invested the money so that the graduates of the program would go on to college.
The first crop of graduates would go on to become the youngest state senator in Arizona’s history, a University of Arizona Vice President, a world-renowned martial arts specialist and one of the engineers who designed and built the Hubble Space Telescope. Fifty two years later, the organization continues, and still provides college scholarships to the program’s graduates. Doctors, lawyers, politicians, educators, administrators, scientists, engineers, artists and musicians and more have emerged from this and subsequent mariachi and folklorico programs that bloomed throughout the city.
That germ idea that youth music programs can become vessels of transformation carried over into the schools as they developed curriculum-based music and dance programs, spurred on by the success of Tucsonan Linda Ronstadt’s "Canciones de Mi Padre" and "Mas Canciones" recordings, as well as the Tucson International Mariachi Conference.
Along the way gender boundaries were smashed, communities were empowered, and the seeds of true community transformation took root.
Despite the fact that the film focuses on Tucson, it really is pertinent to the whole youth mariachi movement that has popped up all over the United States, from San Antionio and El Paso to Georgia, Nashville, Los Angeles, N.Y.C., Chicago, Washington State, San Francisco, Cleveland and far beyond. With Hispanics rapidly becoming the dominant component of public schools in the United States, these programs are a vital investment in America’s future.
Mariachi and folklorico programs in schools and private programs have evolved into effective strategies to keep kids in school, get parents involved, improve academic success, raise graduation rates and send kids on to college. They teach young people teamwork, discipline, public speaking skills, critical thinking skills and more – all applicable not just to music making but to the practical skills they will need to succeed anywhere in life. Moreover they connect kids with their culture, unite families and communities, and raise the level of economic and social equality for the participants and their support groups.
This project has deep implications for programs in various states of development all around the United States, many of them going through the same growing pains Tucson experienced as it developed these programs.
An award winning journalist and artist, producer/Director Daniel Buckley has covered the youth mariachi movement since the early 1980s, first with the Tucson Weekly and later during his 23 year stint as music critic and multimedia manager for the Tucson Citizen daily newspaper. He was the chief video producer for the Arizona Centennial celebration and has produced 8 documentary films to date. In 2013 he was inducted into the Mariachi Hall of Fame of the Tucson International Mariachi Conference, and in 2014 was named Artist of the Year at the Governor’s Arts Awards.
When the Citizen closed in 2009, Buckley created the Cine Plaza at the Fox documentary series to continue to tell stories of the living history of Southern Arizona’s Hispanic and Native American populations.
All the while, Buckley has developing the filmmaking skills and depth of historic understanding to take on this project.
“This is the most important story I’ll ever get to tell,” Buckley says. “But even after covering this for 30 years I had no idea how rich and deep a story of transformation this was until people started sharing their stories with me. I find myself constantly moved and humbled by the stories being shared.”
Principal filming began in 2012 and will continue until mid-October of 2016, after which a first draft of the film will be created. From mid December to mid January, Buckley will focus on the book which will expand upon the film’s themes, add statistical support data and analysis and afford the inclusion of many more moving stories of the movement’s rise as well as its individual and collective impact on Tucson and beyond.
In mid-January Buckley will return to more refined edits of the film, then on to post production and mastering, as well as the final edits of the book. The plan is to present a sneak preview of The Mariachi Miracle at the Tucson International Mariachi Conference in April 2017 before taking it on to the film festival circuit, mariachi festivals, book festivals, and beyond.
Thank you so much for your vital help in making this dream a reality. Please come by the film’s website at www.mariachimiracle.com to watch as we lay the bricks to finish this monumental effort.
With deep love and gratitude to all,
Daniel Buckley
The Mariachi Miracle
Organizer
Daniel Buckley
Organizer
Tucson, AZ