Cinco de Mayo Video: Local All-Female Mariachi Band

The 12-piece Mariachi Femenil Orgullo Mexicano is the first all-female mariachi collaborative in San Francisco and the northern Bay Area. Founded in 2007, they have rapidly been grabbing attention and turning heads by performing at local community events and private parties.

The collaborative's representative, Lilia Chavez, says their mission is to lead by example and honor Mexican culture, mariachi tradition and women in the arts. Chavez said they must respect and carry on the gifts that the ancestors left them. Many of the members have family that play mariachi.

They come from all over the Bay Area and practice in Albany, where one of the members lives, and South San Francisco, "to give the neighbors a break," said Chavez.

Find the band on Facebook and on its website here.

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