Life & Work with Sergio Alonso of Sylmar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sergio Alonso.

Hi Sergio, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Well, let’s see. My story as it relates to my profession in mariachi music starts in 1993, when, as an undergraduate student at UCLA, I enrolled in the Music of Mexico ethnomusicology class where Jesus “Chuy” Guzman, musical director of Mariachi Los Camperos, served as the instructor. Then I played the trumpet but soon after I started studying the harp. After playing in the mariachi at UCLA and in community groups here in my native northeast San Fernando Valley, I was invited by Chuy and the late Nati Cano, founder and artistic director of Mariachi Los Camperos, to join the group in 1997. In January of 2001, Nati collaborated with the city of San Fernando to initiate the Mariachi Master Apprentice Program (MMAP), a community mariachi music education program for youth, and I was asked to form part of the instructional team. Later that summer, I accepted a music teaching position at San Fernando High School (SFHS), where I took over the mariachi program. 24 years and countless of beautiful experiences later, I am still a member of Mariachi Los Camperos and continue to teach in MMAP and SFHS. The most recent mariachi musical adventure for me is actually going back to school. I am currently a doctoral candidate at Boston University where my research is in community mariachi music education.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has rarely been smooth! Music, whether performing or recording or teaching or researching, is a challenging field. Musicians have to constantly shape and reshape their paths in order to secure their place withing the professional music landscape, particularly within the entertainment monster that is Los Angeles. Adding to my career as an artist is the field of education which, as my teacher friends and colleagues throughout the country would attest to, is a very difficult profession to navigate. Even though I have enjoyed relative stability within the institutions I represent, juggling between them has been a challenge, each having its own set of obstacles and challenges. Needless to say, the many unanticipated struggles along the way, including COVID-19, have been tests of resilience and fortitude.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My musical calling has been by way of the Mexican folk and traditional arts, namely mariachi music. Mariachi music has been at the center of my life as a performer, recording artist, educator, and scholar. The personal fulfillment I have enjoyed throughout my career immersed in mariachi music has taken on many shapes and forms. Whether performing and touring with Mariachi Los Camperos or teaching mariachi music to youth within the community I grew up, or simply playing the music at home with my musical family, I have used mariachi music as a vehicle through which to express my ethnic and cultural identity, as well as disseminate the knowledge of my ancestors, which for me has been immensely gratifying. As a Mexican American, I am very proud to represent the Mexican cultural arts on this side of the border. Given the social and political climate of today, I don’t say that lightly.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
My work ethic by far! Anyone in the room I am in would be hard pressed to outwork me! I don’t say that to impress, but to simply impress upon your readers the fact that I have never been the most talented musician, or the smartest teacher, or the best at anything. Things rarely come easy to me. I think it has been precisely because of my intrinsic limitations and personal inadequacies that I have had to cultivate a disposition centered on work ethic in order to level the playing field and raise my potential to succeed. Of course, by “to succeed,” I mean “to find happiness.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mariachiloscamperos.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/checoalonso3/ https://www.instagram.com/mlcamperos/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/sfmmap/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mlcamperos https://www.facebook.com/sfmmap/ https://www.facebook.com/SFHSMUSIC/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEVSX-VaAxdCUWkWrFbBBTg https://www.youtube.com/sfmmap

Image Credits
Alejandra Blanco
Michael G. Stewart