Mariachi band to perform at Montana State University-Northern campus

The Mariachi Huenachi, a nationally recognized high school mariachi band from Wenatchee High School in Wenatchee, Washington, will be in Havre Monday, playing at several venues and touring the Montana State University-Northern campus.

Christina Estrada-Underwood, director of the Office of Diversity Awareness and Multicultural Programs at Northern, said the band will hold performances at 10 a.m. at Havre Middle School and 11 a.m. at Havre High School.

The group of 30 student musicians will take a tour of the Northern campus in the afternoon, when they will get a chance to see the university's programs. The band will then give a final performance at 7 p.m. in the campus' Little Theatre in Cowan Hall.

Admission to all three shows will be free and open to the public.

Estrada-Underwood said the Mariachi Huenachi band was formed as a recruitment tool for Wenatchee High School. She said the band helps promote Hispanic cultural heritage. To be a member of the band is seen as an honor and dependent on band members maintaining a high GPA, she added.

"Kind of like a sport, you have to be a good student in order to keep playing in the band," Estrada-Underwood said.

The band's website said they have performed at venues throughout Washington and at least once in Idaho.

Estrada-Underwood said she learned about the band while living in Washington.

Though she has never attended a performance, she said she thought the band would provide an interesting experience to the Havre area.

The cost of the band's lodging, gas and fuel is covered through a mix of sources, Estrada-Underwood said. These include money from her office's own budget and a grant from Humanities Montana. She solicited money from several sponsors including TownHouse Inn of Havre, Triangle Communications, Bear Paw Credit Union, Havre Public Schools and McDonald's.

Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant will also provide 66 dinners for band members at no charge, she said.

The band will also use some of their own money to finance the trip.

Estrada-Underwood said many musicians in Havre are eager to see the band.

"Even when they don't speak Spanish or necessarily like Hispanic music, they are curious and interested in seeing what kind of instruments they are playing and things like that," she said.