On Jan. 28, the first-ever Mariachi Cardinales Band made history by competing in the UIL Region 25 mariachi contest. In fact, they are the first-ever 4A band to compete in Region 25. They earned a one rating and are now advancing to state, which will be held Feb. 21-22, at the Univ. of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, TX.

Spanish teacher Annette Hernandez has had a long-time dream about starting a mariachi band and now her dream has come true.

“Why not us and put us on the map for doing something where we could make history here at Melissa?” Hernandez said.

Ms. Hernandez’s intention initially was just to start a mega-lunch club, and it is still a club, but it turned out that the club was fortunate to have talented musicians.

“They’re gifted,” Hernandez said. “The whole group of 10 are amazingly talented.”

Last year Ms. Hernandez had an assistant principal come up to her at the end of the year who said, “Hey, did you know that mariachi can get points in the Lone Star Cup?” MHS has a goal each year to win the University Interscholastic League’s (UIL) overall competition, which awards points in each classification (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A) to schools based on their team performances at district and state championships. MHS finished in fourth place last year in the Lone Star Cup.

Ms. Hernandez answered in surprise and started thinking that Melissa was ready for something different and that it needed a different type of music.

“What a great opportunity to see if there’s an interest in having a totally different genre,” Hernandez said. “Let’s bring in Mariachi Cardenales!”

She then enlisted the help of the Director of Bands Jerry Whorton, and now mariachi HAS made history.