One of cinema’s greatest powers is the ability to transport you to worlds unlike your own. For some, this is the mountains of Mordor or the dunes of Tatooine. For others, it’s the rehearsal room of a South Texas high school, watching a ragtag group of high schoolers hone the art of mariachi music.
It’s the immediate appeal of Going Varsity in Mariachi, a documentary that takes the traditional framework of a sports movie and applies it to the underseen, surprisingly competitive high school mariachi circuit. The long-established Mexican-American tradition has been given minimal spotlight on film, making this Sundance and SXSW selection a truly unique experience for not only unsuspecting audiences but for the many young artists who are finally seeing themselves and their craft on screen. What directors Sam Osborn and Alejandra Vasquez may lack in precision or technique is made up for in authenticity and spirit in a project that truly feels one-of-a-kind.
Our underdog story centers on the students and teammates of Edinburg North High School Mariachi Oro, a scrappy ensemble of less-than-seasoned performers. Many of the group’s leading members, now entering their senior year, are anxious to finish off strong and leave behind a strong legacy. For some players, like Abby, mariachi is their way up and out of Edinburg. For others, like team captain Bella, it is a strong source of pride and heritage. And for others, like newcomer Drake, it’s merely a way to bide their time before other pursuits – he intends on joining the Army after school. Despite all of their differences, they must learn to work together if they expect Mariachi Oro to be state champions.
It’s a colorful cast of characters who each bring their own energy and stakes into the larger narrative, both professional and personal. Abby’s journey includes an audition for a prestigious music school, which we get to watch from right inside the room. For students Mariah and Marlena, mariachi is how these two women met and fell in love; they wish to be teachers, but their future looks uncertain as openly gay educators in a conservative state. It’s clear that the filmmakers had strong access to these students’ lives, making each vignette feel deeply personal, genuine, and unfiltered. Subject-driven moments like this are some of the film’s best and are what audiences will take away from the film most of all.
Though the lives of the characters do take center stage, people looking for insight into the music itself won’t be entirely disappointed. As we are let into the rehearsal process, we watch this ragtag team hone their technique. An initially quiet group are pushed to hone their “gritos,” the high-pitched cheers and yells interjected throughout mariachi music. Drake, an inexperienced player, must hone his guitarron abilities in order to be a strong rhythmic foundation for the band. Though music nerds may long for even more depth, music lovers will surely be immersed into a whole new art form with its own beautifully expressive qualities.
The power of the music reaches its full potential during performance scenes. Filmed using multiple cameras and edited to show the variety of angles, this is where it feels like the documentary hits its technical stride. Strong sound mixing makes each performance feel powerful, including for other featured teams. Though the film is about so much more than just the music, these are the scenes that remind us why we are watching this movie at all; the passionate and vivacious quality of mariachi music is on full display, as it should be.
These performances often sit in direct contrast with the rest of the documentary, an otherwise non-stylized and breezy hour and a half that lacks a compelling visual identity. Shooting documentaries is hard enough as is – you very rarely have the luxury of aesthetic control – but the ones that stand above the pack still create a vision for what the movie is saying beyond the raw footage itself. With standard handheld cinematography and coloring, nothing about Going Varsity in Mariachi feels impressionistic or formally daring, which leaves the entire film feeling a bit too conventional for a concept this exciting.
It also cuts corners in terms of structure. The film begins with a careful balance between the music itself and the players’ lives outside of it. However, we start to spend more time with the band underwhelming than we do succeeding. As competition rapidly heats up, solid chunks are summarized as text inserts in order to expedite pacing and squash runtime – a typically generous gesture. However, it does feel like an essential step on the ladder is missing, which makes for an uneven goose step toward the climactic final competition.
Still, whatever missteps you find along the way matter very little by the end. Spoiler alert: there is a graduation scene and, yes, it is as emotional as you would anticipate. As we recount the journey we’ve been on, and see what the students have achieved since filming, you’re reminded that this is ultimately a story about this town, this team, and the music. These are all things Going Varsity in Mariachi gets right to a tee, making it one of the year’s most delightful crowdpleasers.
Going Varsity in Mariachi had its Texas Premiere in the Festival Favorites section of SXSW 2023. It previously had its World Premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. It is currently seeking distribution.
Though visually standard, 'Going Varsity in Mariachi' is a heartfelt and personal documentary that immerses you into a singular competitive world.
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GVN Rating 7
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Larry Fried is a filmmaker, writer, and podcaster based in New Jersey. He is the host and creator of the podcast “My Favorite Movie is…,” a podcast dedicated to helping filmmakers make somebody’s next favorite movie. He is also the Visual Content Manager for Special Olympics New Jersey, an organization dedicated to competition and training opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities across the Garden State.