Today we’d like to introduce you to Regina Graham.
Regina, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Mariachi Lindo Tejas (MLT) is Ellis County’s first community mariachi program. With members from Dallas and Ellis Counties and ranging in age from 7 to adult, MLT has grown to become a close knit community of families that enjoy traveling around Texas and sharing a love for mariachi music.
MLT began out of a need for the students of Ellis County to have access to string music programs. Currently, the only public school music opportunities for students are band and choir. Our founder and owner of Red Oak Music, Regina Graham, grew up in a school district in North Carolina that offered orchestra to elementary students. She enjoyed it so much, once she realized there was no similar program offered in her home district of Red Oak that she began looking to create one. In doing so, she came across many families looking for culturally relevant music programs, specifically mariachi. While she was not personally familiar with mariachi music, Mrs. Graham has many music teaching friends around the country to who teach mariachi. With the help of her network, Mrs. Graham began recruiting members to learn music and start performing. After a couple failed efforts, in Spring of 2024, Red Oak Music welcomed a group of people who were passionate about mariachi and performing. This group quickly became close friends and the gigs started rolling in.
The support from not only Ellis County, but Texas in general, has been tremendous. MLT has had the honor of performing at The State Fair of Texas, has taken its younger students twice to compete in the Texas Music Teachers Association ensemble competition, as well as countless community and private events all over North Texas.
The most important part of MLT is providing the next generation access to learn about mariachi and Hispanic culture, whether its their own heritage or not, and sharing a deep love for music. It has been the great honor of Mrs. Graham’s career to see how close the friendships between members has become as well as the maturity and professionalism that the young members have acquired over the past 18 months of performing.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
When we first tried to get community members to join our mariachi program, we had a lot of interest but little attendance. We have had many people come to a rehearsal and not return, likely due to the amount of practice involved, or the overall dynamic of a new group. It can be difficult to get started when amassing a group of strangers and trying to wrangle everyone into a central goal. MLT had one performance in December of 2023 with around 6 people, kids and adults, that did not go as well as we had hoped. But, our focus is on getting out and doing our best, no matter what. One of the most important parts of performing is pushing oneself to try and learning what worked and what did not. After that first performance, attendance dwindled and Red Oak Music almost scrapped the program altogether. We reached out to the community again and the response was overwhelming! We had about fifteen people that started attending rehearsals. They were strangers but took to each other like lifelong friends almost instantly. If it weren’t for these amazing families and young people Mariachi Lindo Tejas would not be what it is to so many today.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Mariachi Lindo Tejas is a community mariachi program. By “community program” we mean that we are focused on providing an outlet for anyone in our community and surrounding communities to participate in making mariachi music. The soul of mariachi is history and heritage, which all cultures can appreciate. We welcome anyone with a passion for music and sharing it with others to try performing with us. MLT members are not all seasoned musicians. For the younger members who aren’t yet highly proficient in an instrument, they sing. For other members who have had lessons or are self taught on their instruments, we coach them along and help them improve. By having adults who have been involved in mariachi programs before and are more adept at playing their chosen instrument, they are able to assist younger members in techniques that they might not otherwise have access to. We welcome any instrument that could fit into a mariachi to come to a rehearsal and see how they like performing with us.
We also do not charge members to participate. Eventually, the goal is to have Mariachi Lindo Tejas operate as a nonprofit organization. MLT currently accepts donations to fund equipment, travel, and uniforms. We do not want financial obstacles to keep anyone from sharing their love for mariachi.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The plan is for Mariachi Lindo Tejas to eventually operate as a 501(c)3 nonprofit so we can accept sponsorships and donations while providing tax deductible opportunities for individuals and businesses. Currently, we are funding everything through donations and revenue from our current parent business, Red Oak Music, as well as the generosity of members and families. Our nonprofit would focus on not just mariachi, but many cultural arts and fine arts programs that are not currently available to the citizens of Ellis and south Dallas counties. We envision bringing together our Hispanic community members and businesses to enrich everyone in our area.
Pricing:
- $400/hour donation for up to 15 member mariachi band, negotiable
- $40/month for Intro to Mariachi classes at Red Oak Music for beginners of all ages
Contact Info:
- Website: http://redoakmusiclessons.com/mariachi-lindo-tejas/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariachilindotejas/#
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Mariachi-Lindo-Tejas/61561315954578/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mariachilindotejas
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mariachilindotejas
Image Credits
MJH Media Co., Sandra Avila, Diana Villagran, Red Oak Music
