Media including Univision and Telemundo were on campus this summer as a top mariachi expert taught area middle school and high school students at UNT’s third annual mariachi camp. Maestro José Hernández, founder and director of the Los Angeles-based Mariachi Sol de México, billed as “the nation’s premier mariachi,” helped the participants improve their skills in singing and playing traditional mariachi instruments. Students in UNT’s Mariachi Aguilas and students and alumni in the local professional group Mariachi Quetzal joined Hernández as instructors.

Between lessons, the campers experienced university life by staying in residence halls, eating in the cafeterias and touring campus. Donna Emmanuel, music professor and camp organizer, and psychologist Steven Prouty (’90 M.S.) have been studying how the camp helps at-risk youth deal with challenges in their lives.