Council Approves Mariachi as Official UIL Contest

By Lauren Kelley, UIL intern | Wednesday, November 01, 2017 3:18 PM

After being a pilot contest for two years, the UIL State Mariachi contest will be an official UIL State competition beginning in the 2018-2019 school year if approved by the Commissioner of Education. The UIL Legislative Council approved the contest at its meeting on Oct. 16.

“UIL began a category for mariachi in 2007, but up until 2015-2016 the event was only held on the region level,” Music Director Dr. Brad Kent said. “Because of the growth and development of this activity in our schools we felt like the time was right to expand to a state level event.”

Kent says the contest is unique compared to other UIL music contests.

“All the music that is performed comes from one cultural background—the Hispanic culture,” Kent said.

In the pilot years, feedback from participating schools has been positive.

“Schools seem most appreciative that UIL now has a state event that features a genre of music that is important to the culture and heritage of many Texans,” Kent said. “All of us at UIL look forward to doing our part to facilitate the growth and development of mariachi in our schools in the years to come.”

More information on the contest can be found at: http://www.uiltexas.org/music/state-mariachi-festival