A History of Women in Mariachi Music 2000's

Update as of January 2006:

Teresa Cuevas:
Still performs with "Mariachi Estrella" in Topeka, KS. She is 80 years old. She has taught nine children to play mariachi violin, including her 13-year-old grand-daughter. She is probably the oldest female mariachi still performing.

Rachel Galvan:
Original guitarrón player with "Mariachi Estrella" (Topeka, KS), is still performing mariachi in Topeka, Kansas.

Rebecca Gonzales: 
Rebecca teaches the Suzuki violin method in the Palos Verdes, CA area.  Currently, she is instructing violin in the Suzuki method, and is contracting gigs for her mixed gender mariachi.   Rebecca Gonzales was inducted in the Tucson International Mariachi Hall of Fame in April 2004, and joined Mariachi Mujer 2000 in August 2004.

Maribel Medina: 
Continues to perform with "Mariachi Mexicapan" in the Los Angeles area.

Maria Elena Muñoz: 
No longer performs mariachi music.  She can be contacted via her home address:  24857 Fortune Bay Ln., Moreno Valley, CA  92551.

Maria Dolores (Montañez) Noperi: 
Resides in Tucson, Arizona. She continues to perform mariachi music, currently with her husband’s group, “Mariachi Cielo de Mexico.”  They have five children.  Their daughter, Anisa (violin), and son, John (vihuela) also perform with the group.

Belle San Miguel Ortiz: 
Is the manager of "Mariachi Campanas de America" from San Antonio, TX. She  continues to work closely with the San Antonio Mariachi Festival and workshops.  She remains involved with mariachi education in the San Antonio school system.

Barbara Pérez: 
Plays with her own "Mariachi Santa Cecilia" each week-end at the Flea Market  in San Jose, CA.

Leonor Xóchitl Pérez:
Leonor graduated from UCLA with her PhD in education research on June 19, 1999.  She conducts research on women in mariachi performance.  She is currently Assistant Dean at the East Los Angeles College in Los Angeles, CA.  This year she, along with sponsorship from Mervyn's of California, organized The East Los Angeles College Mariachi Group and Vocal Competition, held on February 3, 2002.  Leonor finally had the chance to be "her child's mom," giving birth to her daughter, Eliana, in December 2001.

Laurie Shields: 
No longer plays mariachi, and lives on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.

Laura Sobrino:
Laura is her kids' mom! She continues to free-lance in the mariachi circuit in LA, teaches mariachi classes privately, and workshops.  Laura began the Mariachi Publishing Company, which supplies mariachi sheet music, educational materials, web support and computer graphic design for all mariachi related issues.  Currently, she is the musical director and first violinist for the all-female mariachi show group, Mariachi Mujer 2000, directed by Marisa Orduño.  Laura was inducted into the Tucson International Mariachi Hall of Fame in April 2004.

Monica Treviño: 
Monica performs in Tucson, Arizona with Mariachi Azteca del Sol at Casino del Sol Tequila Factory restaurant or El Mezon De Cobre.  She resides in Tucson with her husband and three daughters.

Adela Valdez: 
Adela continues to play guitar with her husband’s mariachi group in the Los Angeles area.  She can be contacted in care of the Mariachi Publishing Company, P.O. Box 1665, Whittier, CA  90609-1665.

Kate Woods: 
Kate no longer performs. She was involved in an accident that caused a permanent disability which prevents her from playing her violin.  She resides in San Benito county, CA near the mining ghost town of New Idria. Kate has been writing a column for The Pinnacle weekly newspaper since 1998.

Next >> "El Traje de Charro" for mariachi women

We would like to thank Jonathan Clark, from San José, CA, for providing the information on the all-female groups in México and for his critique. We would also like to thank Dan Sobrino (Webmaster), Laura's husband, for this website and his help with graphic editing and picture enhancements.  Special thanks to Gilbert Martinez for the photographs he contributed to this project. THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. SUGGESTIONS AND CORRECTIONS CAN BE FORWARDED TO:
Laura Sobrino
MARIACHI PUBLISHING COMPANY
P. O. Box 1665
Whittier, CA 90609-1665
Leonor Xóchitl Pérez 
2502 West Alhambra Rd.
Alhambra, CA 91801