UNLV Is Training CCSD's Next Mariachi Teachers

by Ryan Rose

What Happened

The Associated Press profiled UNLV's mariachi program in a story that ran in Las Vegas outlets the week of October 6, 2026. The headline: "With violins, trumpets and the guitarrón, Las Vegas is training the mariachi educators of tomorrow." AP photographer John Locher shot UNLV mariachi students getting ready to perform at a university football game on October 3, 2026.

At the center of the program is Stephen Blanco. He oversees the UNLV mariachi minor. He also directs Mariachi Joya at Las Vegas High School and performs with a local group, Mariachi Paloma Azteca. According to the AP, Blanco launched the minor recently, and it requires 22 credits. UNLV joins only a few universities, mostly in Texas, that offer this kind of training.

The classes are not light. In one course, students study more than 70 mariachi songs over a single semester. They talk through the lyrics, the style, and what makes each song different. A UNLV News Center article from October 2025 lists the core classes as Fundamentals of Mariachi and Mariachi Songs and Styles. The minor has three parts: core classes, playing in an ensemble, and private lessons in voice or the student's instrument. UNLV says graduates learn mariachi arranging and the teaching skills needed to lead a school program.

Rodríguez Olivas is the first student set to graduate with the minor. He told the AP he expects to graduate in three years. He grew up as the only musician in his family, according to UNLV. He wanted to play trumpet. When he joined a mariachi elective as a high school sophomore, he got placed in violin instead. Within a few years he was the student director of Mariachi Joya, the group Blanco leads. Now he studies music education at UNLV and plans to teach in CCSD.

Jeffrey Williams, director of CCSD's Fine and Performing Arts Department, told the AP that it has become harder and harder to find mariachi teachers. Blanco told UNLV in 2025 that there are more teaching jobs than educators to fill them. Those two statements are the reason the minor exists.

The AP story also profiled Ramiro Benavides, who directs a CCSD middle school mariachi program and teaches students to perform with a dramatic, theatrical style. The name of his middle school was not listed in the reporting [NOT VERIFIED].

Stephen Blanco, who oversees the UNLV mariachi minor, talks with his students before a performance at a university football game in Las Vegas

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

Start with the numbers. The AP puts CCSD's mariachi program at about 6,000 students. A UNLV News Center article from October 2025 said more than 8,000 Clark County high school students take part in mariachi classes and bands, which it called the highest number in the country. The two counts don't match, and neither source explains how it counted [NOT VERIFIED which figure is current]. Either way, this is a very big program. Las Vegas High School alone has about 350 students in mariachi, according to the AP.

Big programs need teachers. A school can buy violins and trumpets. It can set aside a room. But mariachi is a specialized style with its own instruments, like the guitarrón (a large bass guitar) and the vihuela (a small, high-pitched guitar). It has its own singing style and its own stage traditions. A general music teacher can't always pick it up overnight. If a school can't hire a qualified teacher, a class may get smaller, get shared, or not get offered at all.

For parents, that matters in a simple way. Elective choices are a big part of why kids like school. A strong music program gives a teenager a reason to show up, a group to belong to, and a skill to be proud of. Rodríguez Olivas is a good example. He walked into an elective he didn't pick, on an instrument he didn't want, and came out a student director with a plan for his career.

There is also a local jobs angle. UNLV lists the career paths for this minor as K-12 music teacher, community ensemble director, and arts advocate. Training those teachers in Las Vegas means more of them are likely to stay in Las Vegas. Rodríguez Olivas told the AP that teaching in CCSD is his way of giving back to the next group of students.

And mariachi isn't just a school activity here. The AP notes mariachi shows up at birthdays, weddings, and funerals all year long. Blanco told the AP that mariachi plays somewhere on the Strip almost every day, and that you don't need to speak Spanish to enjoy it. Students who learn it in school can find paying gigs around town, too.

What a Mariachi Teacher Actually Has to Teach

It helps to picture what a school mariachi class looks like to understand why the training is so specific. A traditional group, as the AP describes it, includes violins, trumpets, the guitarrón, the vihuela, and a lead singer. Each instrument has its own job. The guitarrón holds down the bass line. The vihuela keeps a bright, fast rhythm. Violins and trumpets carry the melody. A teacher has to be able to coach all of them at once, and often teach singing on top of that.

Then there's the performance side. The AP story describes Ramiro Benavides, a CCSD middle school mariachi director, teaching his students to perform with theatrical, dramatic flair. Mariachi is meant to be shown, not just played. Students learn how to stand, how to move as a group, when to let out a grito, and how to tell the story of a song to a crowd. Blanco described the music to the AP as storytelling and showmanship built on joy, while still keeping its history and traditions.

That's a lot to ask of one person. It's also why a general music degree may not be enough. The UNLV minor packs the song list, the teaching methods, the ensemble experience, and the private lessons into one program, so a new teacher walks into a CCSD classroom already knowing how to run one.

Background and History

Mariachi is a folk music style that started in Mexico. A UNLV release from 2024 says it began in the late 1800s. Early groups used violins, a strummed guitar called the guitarra de golpe, and harp. Modern groups add guitars, the vihuela, the guitarrón, and trumpets. The songs cover pain, love, joy, and excitement. Performers often let out a "grito," a shout or whistle that adds to the energy of the song.

CCSD's mariachi program dates back to 2002, according to the AP, and it has grown a lot since then. Las Vegas High School, on East Sahara Avenue in east Las Vegas, became one of its best-known homes. A UNLV release from March 2024 says Blanco started the Las Vegas High School program in 2018 with 50 students and had grown it past 200 by 2024. The AP now puts it at about 350.

Mariachi Joya is the school's top group. Members wear bright red suits and shout "joya," Spanish for "jewel," before they perform. The group performed at the 2021 presidential inauguration and won first place at the 2026 Mariachi Extravaganza Las Vegas, according to the AP. UNLV has also noted that Blanco was a semifinalist for a Grammy music educator award and was named a Yamaha 40 Under 40 Music Educator.

UNLV's part of the story started in March 2024. That's when the School of Music announced it would offer a set of mariachi classes and a university-sponsored mariachi ensemble starting that fall, with Blanco overseeing the program. At the time, School of Music director Isrea Butler backed the plan, and Blanco said he hoped it would one day become a full minor. By October 2025, UNLV reported that Rodríguez Olivas was the first student pursuing the minor. The exact date the minor was formally approved was not in the reporting [NOT VERIFIED].

The university also started its own performing group. In October 2025, UNLV described a university-sponsored ensemble called Mariachi Revolución as less than a year old. In that short time it had shared the stage with vocalist Jonathan Palomar at the first Mariachi Extravaganza Las Vegas and kicked off UNLV Day at a Clark County Commission meeting, according to UNLV. Rodríguez Olivas started playing with that group in the fall of 2025.

The professional scene matters here too. Blanco and Rodríguez Olivas both perform with Mariachi Paloma Azteca, a working group in town. The AP described one of its concerts opening with "El Jalisciense," a song about the Mexican state of Jalisco made famous by singer Vicente Fernández. Students who see their teachers on a real stage get a clear picture of where the music can take them.

A UNLV mariachi student performs with classmates at a university football game in Las Vegas on October 3, 2026

What Happens Next

The first real test is graduation. Rodríguez Olivas told the AP he expects to finish in about three years. If he takes a CCSD teaching job after that, he will be the first teacher in the district trained through UNLV's mariachi minor. That's the moment the pipeline becomes real.

The bigger question is how many students follow him. UNLV hasn't published enrollment numbers for the minor in the sources we found [NOT VERIFIED]. One graduate won't fix a shortage in a program with thousands of students. The minor will need a steady stream of music education majors to make a dent. Watch for UNLV to report how many students sign up in future years, and for CCSD to say how many mariachi teaching jobs are open.

It's also worth watching whether other schools copy the idea. The AP noted that only a handful of universities, mostly in Texas, train mariachi teachers this way. Las Vegas has one of the biggest school programs in the country, so it makes sense that a local university stepped in. If the UNLV minor works, it could become a model for other districts that have the students but not the teachers. For now, the program is new, the first graduate is still in school, and the results are a few years out.

In the meantime, there are plenty of chances to hear these students play. UNLV mariachi students perform at university events, including football games, and the university has said its ensemble plays community events around town. Las Vegas High School's Mariachi Joya performs often too. Schedules change, so check UNLV's School of Music and the school's own pages for upcoming dates [NOT VERIFIED for specific fall 2026 dates].

Ryan's Take

When people move to Las Vegas, school questions come up early. Most of the time those questions are about test scores and ratings. But families also care about what a school offers after the bell rings and in the elective hour. Music, art, theater, sports, and career programs are often the reason a kid feels connected to a campus. A program with hundreds of students, national awards, and a university pipeline behind it is the kind of thing worth knowing about when you look at a school.

This story also says something about east Las Vegas. Las Vegas High School has a program that has played on a national stage, and it was built by a local teacher who is now training the next teachers at UNLV. That's homegrown. It's the kind of thing that gives a neighborhood a sense of pride. If you are comparing schools for your family, ask about the arts. You might be surprised what's there. And if you want to talk through which neighborhoods line up with the schools and programs your family cares about, I'm always happy to help.

UNLV music education student Axel Rodriguez Olivas plays violin with a mariachi ensemble during a halftime show at Allegiant Stadium

What You Can Do

If you have a child in CCSD, ask your school counselor whether mariachi is offered as an elective at your middle or high school. The program is large, but it isn't at every campus, and options can change from year to year. If you are looking at schools for next year, CCSD's school choice and magnet applications for 2027-28 are open until January 12. You can apply through the CCSD school choice website.

If you have a high school senior who plays music and wants to teach, the UNLV School of Music is the place to ask about the mariachi minor. UNLV's new Destination Degree program may also help local students pay for school. You can read more in the related story linked at the top of this page.

And if you just want to hear some great music, go see these students. Catch a UNLV game, a school concert, or a community event with a mariachi group on the lineup. Showing up is one of the easiest ways to support a school program. Full crowds tell students their hard work matters.

Have questions about how this affects your home or neighborhood? Reach out to Ryan Rose or text/call 702-747-5921 anytime.