Inaugural festivities in Washington are being treated to Rio Grande Valley flair as a local high school mariachi band, who in 2020 went viral with a Zoom performance, and a McAllen musician have been tapped to provide their talents for the historic occasion.
Roma High School Mariachi Nuevo Santander, known nationally for their rendition of “El Relampago” that quickly amassed over 1 million views in April 2020, was selected to participate in the Latino Inaugural 2021 commemorating President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s inauguration.
The group debuted a new video at Tuesday evening’s Latino Inaugural which showed them performing a mariachi version of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.”
“Oh my goodness, it’s just such an honor,” mariachi director Eloy Garza said Tuesday. “We didn’t expect this invitation.”
Garza said that he was contacted last Wednesday by Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza on behalf of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. After being notified that his group was invited to participate in the virtual inauguration festivities, Garza had to quickly arrange and organize their version of the popular folk song.
The group had one day to learn the new arraignment and another day to record it. Garza said that the video came out better than he anticipated.
“I think the kids really stood up to the plate this time around,” Garza said. “I’ve really, really seen their abilities through this process — how passionate they are about being in mariachi and representing our Latino community.”
The 16-member varsity group’s performance was streamed at bideninaugural.org as well as The Choice channel on Peacock, Telemundo’s digital and social platforms, Univision’s digital and social platforms, and on Hispanic Federation and PIC social channels.
Mariachi Nuevo Santander closed out the live-streamed event that featured Lin-Manuel Miranda, John Leguizamo, Rita Moreno, Edward James Olmos and many others. The group was introduced by the event’s host, Eva Longoria.
“To conclude Latino Inaugural 2021, join me in welcoming all the way from Roma, Texas, my beloved Lone Star State, the national award winning student mariachi, under the direction of Eloy Garza, Mariachi Nuevo Santander,” Longoria said as she signed off from the livestream.
“It’s such a huge compliment just to be considered to be a part of that,” Garza said. “(The students) could not believe it. They were just amazed by the invitation. When I broke the news to them, they were super excited and willing to step up to the plate and work on this virtual presentation.”
Also tapped to share his talent with the new president and vice president is Master Gunnery Sergeant Nomar Longoria of McAllen.
Longoria, a saxophonist, will be performing Wednesday as a member of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, of which he has been a member since May 2001.
He is a 1991 graduate of McAllen Memorial High School, and prior to joining “The President’s Own,” he was a member of the United States Army Field Band in Fort Meade, Maryland.
Longoria and his fellow bandmates will be seated directly beneath the inaugural platform Wednesday. They will perform “Hail to the Chief” immediately after President-elect Biden has taken his oath of office, as well as the national anthem with Lady Gaga.
