Young Rosa is nervous. Today is a big day, and she’s not sure she’s up to the performance that’s expected of her. She’s joining Mami—whom she also calls Mamiachi—and other participants of a renowned mariachi band for the first time, and she wonders and worries, “Am I ready? Will they like me?”
Mami and Rosa’s madrinas—supportive women who play a special role in her life—join Rosa on the stage to perform mariachi. When the women play their instruments—guitars, violins, and a trumpet—“they blanket people with sounds so sweet that audiences sing along, sometimes clapping and sometimes crying.”
Mamiachi told Rosa that she was named after Rosa Quirino, who, as a 13-year-old girl, broke with the male-dominated mariachi tradition and eventually formed her own mariachi band in the early 1900s. Inspired by her namesake, Rosa now courageously takes her place on the stage and her emotions soar: “As I lift my violin, I know this is where I belong. My bow glides across the strings. My violin weaves our notes together into a fabric of sound that settles over us all. The music fills me with emotions, and tears run from my eyes.” When Rosa steps in front of the microphone to sing, she uses her voice to tell the story of the female mariachi band.
Illustrator Mirelle Ortega’s vibrant artwork and mother-and-son authors Jolene and Dakota Gutierrez’s charming narrative portray the musical energy, unique costumes, heightened emotions, and audience responses that make up a mariachi performance.
Author notes include a definition of mariachi, a brief history of the rise of women in mariachi, an explanation of the costumes that mariachi wear, and a glossary explaining Spanish terms used throughout the story. (Abrams Books for Young Readers)