The Wenatchee High School Mariachi will be performing in the “Pathways to College” Professional Gala Concert Friday, March 18. The student showcase will be at 2 p.m. and the main event will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Toyota Center.

“We’ve been practicing every Monday from 3 to 3:30 p.m. and Thursdays 6 to 8 p.m. to be prepared,” said junior Christian Rivera. “I’m actually really excited. We’ve been practicing really hard so hopefully it goes well.”

This is the 18th annual festival. It started as a premiere place where students got an opportunity to work with professionals, said Ramon Rivera, mariachi teacher. Now it is an opportunity to show that Wenatchee is the capital of Mariachi music, he said.

There will be workshop classes offered at the Town Toyota Center, teaching violin, guitar, guitarron, harp, roping, dancing, and more aspects of a mariachi.

WHS’s Mariachi will share the stage with the Mariachi Divas, the two-time Grammy-winning mariachi group from Disneyland.

“This is the biggest one we’ve had yet,” Ramon Rivera said. “There are people coming in from Seattle, Spokane, Bridgeport, Mount Vernon and all the way from Los Angeles. Usually this is hosted at the high school, but getting to use the Town Toyota Center this year is really great, and they love supporting diverse performances.”

Rivera’s students have been working hard for this event. “I’m really excited. It’s so amazing to share the stage with such a famous group, on the stage that Kelly Clarkson performed on, you know? The students are really treated like professional, and it’s great to have so many people believing in them,” Rivera said. “The performance will be done in Spanish and in English. You don’t have to speak Spanish to be there and to appreciate it, you just have to love music.”