The resources listed on this web page have been suggested by the MENC Mariachi Advisory Committee. MENC does not warrant and accepts no responsibility for the content or quality of the resources. The resources are made available for your review and as assistance for your Mariachi educational needs. See MENC'S LEGAL STATEMENT for reproduction and use of these materials.

MENC's Music Friends - MusicFriends is a group of parents, community members, and other music advocates working to support local school music programs through grassroots initiatives.

Principal's Guide to Building A Music Program - manual designed by VH1 to help principals and arts administrators build and sustain a vibrant instrumental music program.

Radio Clip: Mariachi Music Transforms Lives of California Students, June 18, 2006, NPR's Weekend Edition (3.5 mins.)

Support Music.com - This site offers effective tips for taking action against music program cuts and the latest evidence of music's importance.

Resolutions for Multicultural Music Education - excerpts from the book Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education, (pp. 3-4) published by MENC, the National Association for Music Education.
The 1990 Washington Symposium on Multicultural Approaches to Music Education -- cosponsored by MENC, the Society for Ethnomusicology, and the Smithsonian Institution -- resolved the following to address the issue of multiculturalism in music education:

• Be it resolved that music teachers will seek to assist students in understanding that there are many different but equally valid forms of musical expressions.
• Be it resolved that multicultural approaches to teaching music will be incorporated into musical experiences from the very earliest years of music education.
• Be it resolved that instruction in multicultural approaches to teaching music will incorporate both intensive experiences in other music cultures and comparative experiences among music cultures.
• Be it resolved that music instruction will include not only the study of other musics, but also the relationship of those musics to their respective cultures; be it resolved further that the meaning of music within each culture be sought for its own value.
• Be it resolved that we will seek to ensure that multicultural approaches to teaching music will be incorporated into every elementary and secondary school music curriculum. These should include experiences in singing, playing instruments, listening, and creative activity and movement or dance experiences with music.
• Be it resolved that multicultural approaches to teaching music will be incorporated into music curricula in all educational settings including general, instrumental, and choral music education. Such studies will involve both product and process.
• Be it resolved that multicultural approaches to teaching music will be incorporated into all phases of teacher education in music: music education methods classes and clinical experiences, music history and literature, theory, composition, and performance.

Reasons for Having a Mariachi Program

• Develops sensitivity, understanding, and respect for peoples from a broad spectrum of ethnic-cultural backgrounds
• Keeps students in school
• Provides for increased parent participation
• Motivates students to achieve at a higher academic level in all subjects
• Provides effective use of multiple intelligences
• Provides the ability for students to learn a life-long skill
• Celebrates culture and heritage
• Provides positive community visibility and social citizenry through public performances
• Provides leadership opportunities that increase self-esteem and self-confidence
• Provides positive role models for other students
• Strengthens performing arts programs