Representing with Purpose
Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles was founded in 2000 by Carlos Samaniego, a sophomore at Cal State Los Angeles. Samaniego was already performing mariachi music professionally and wanted to be around other people who were also part of the LGBTQIA+ community, so he joined Cal State’s social club, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance. “One of the things that they organized was a week of Pride events for the campus. And one of those events was a mock wedding because back in 2000, same sex marriage was not legal. And because it is a very Latino heavy campus, they wanted a mariachi to perform for the wedding. They knew that I played mariachi professionally and they asked me to get my coworkers to come and play at this event. And I thought, wouldn’t it be great if it was an all-gay mariachi?”
Because Samaniego was still a college student and having his own group wasn’t his intention at that time, the group fizzled out. At the beginning of 2014 he recreated the group, this time for more personal reasons. “I felt that there needed to be a safe space, a haven for LGBTQIA+ mariachi musicians. Because throughout all those years, I encountered several incidents of discrimination, bullying and homophobia. And every time one of these bad situations would happen, I would always think to myself, one day I’ll recreate Mariachi Arcoiris,” says Samaniego. And so, Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles was reborn.
The band represents two groups: the LGBTQIA+ community and the Latino and the Mexican community. And in Los Angeles, California, part of the community and the culture is mariachi music. Performing on a night like Angel City’s Pride night match was a culmination of all the different things that they represent and bring together with the culture that is embedded in Southern California. This representation includes Samaniego, who normally sings the national anthem, asking Natalia Melendez, the first transgender woman in the history of mariachi, to sing in his place.
