Meet Mariachingona | Drag Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mariachingona and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi MariaChingona, how do you think about risk?
I think of risk as necessary/unavoidable.. and fun !
Taking risks doesn’t mean being reckless,
it means that I’m betting on my skills and instincts
to achieve results in the face of uncertainty.

The first major risk I took was leaving college to focus on Mariachi.
This led me to find a big name group, the Grammy winning Mariachi Divas
who invited me to join them in Los Angeles.

So I packed up my car and drove from Indiana to Colorado,
past Vegas and straight into work the day I arrived in LA.

That was a huge risk and I was so nervous to be thrown in with no preparation
but mostly I was excited because I knew I was doing the right thing.
You should feel excitement in your nerves when you’re taking a risk.
I feel it every time I’m walking out to perform.

Looking back, I can’t imagine taking the “safe route” and staying home.
I would have risked all the wonderful experiences I’ve had so far.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve survived in music by letting the wind take me.
I put myself near the people I wanted to be like
and eventually I was working next to them.

I highly recommend joining a working group or production
to get you started in the arts.
You may not be performing exactly what you want
but you’ll get to work on your professionalism and network.
Years of playing Mariachi has taught me to entertain and command a stage
and I got paid for it instead of going into debt like at a college.

I am now at a place where I direct my own project
and I focus mostly on that while still working with Mariachi Divas and other groups.
This year I got to add The Mexican Standoff and Latin Grammy winners Flor de Toloache
to the list of groups I’ve played for.

I’m super excited now because I’ve always loved
fashion, modeling, acting, makeup, hair, sewing, dance,
and I do love Music the most but
I have found that Drag encompasses all of these things and more.
I realized I’ve been doing Drag this whole time???
It feels so good to own it and say I’m a Drag Musician.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
You’d catch us outdoors at a beach, park or garden.
Downtown at Grand Central Market for lunch and Angel’s Flight across the street.
Ramen, Korean Barbeque and Mexican Sushi are musts.
I’d have to bring her to Long Beach where I host Karaoke
or any of the spots where I perform.

PS she’s the one that helped me drive when I moved here <3

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout goes to the teachers of the world.

My teachers have been important not only because of
the skills they helped me obtain
but it was my 3rd grade teacher specifically that empowered me
to realize that I could pursue artistry as a career.
Her attitude conveyed nothing but confidence and support
and looking back I can see how much more helpful that was
than a well-meaning warning about uncertainty.

Even now, many of my friends are teachers
and I continue to seek education when I can.

Website: https://mariachingona.com

Instagram: @mariachingona.la

Facebook: MariaChingona

Youtube: MariaChingona

Other: Venmo 🙂 @mariachingona

Image Credits
Austreberto Morfin