Joliet youth mariachi band seeks community support with fundraiser

Here’s why you should support a Joliet community mariachi band’s fundraising raffle.

You might for a win a performance from the band.

The Mariachi de Joliet, comprised mainly of Joliet area students, is raising money in partnership with the Joliet nonprofit Legacy Fine Arts.

Don Stinson is a 2002 alumnus of Joliet Central High School, director of the school’s bands, and chief executive officer and founder of Legacy fine Arts. He said participating in the raffle is a way to bring happiness to people through music.

[ Joliet Central music teacher founded nonprofit to bring arts to low-income kids ]

“I know that sounds simple,” Stinson said. “But I think that’s very, very important today.”

Stinson said in a Feb, 16, 2021, Herald-News story that he founded Legacy Fine Arts so low-income students ages 5 to 18 could gain more access to the arts.

Why Joliet needed a community mariachi band

Christine Adelmann, band director at Gompers Junior High School, founded Mariachi de Joliet.

During the pandemic, she co-founded the band for Joliet Public School District 86 junior high school students. But the Joliet area had no opportunities for the students to continue playing after graduation, Adelmann and Stinson said.

“These are specialized instruments they’re having to raise money for and purchase from specific mariachi vendors, many of whom are out of state.”

—  Don Stinson, Joliet Central High School director of bands

So Adelmann started Mariachi de Joliet to provide “continuing education for those kids who still wanted to play,” she said. The band fluctuates between 40 and 50 members, ages 8 through adult, which include college-aged students “who come in as often as they can,” she said.

[ Gompers teacher help starts mariachi program for junior high students at D. 86 ]

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Students’ parents or adult community members occasionally play with the band, too.

But the band is mostly “just to give the kids a space to celebrate their culture and perform music that’s important for them,” Adelmann said.

Mariachi de Joliet recently played at Fiesta en la Calle in downtown Joliet and at the Joliet Public Library for a Frida Khalo event. More performances are being schedule for this fall.

“We’ve been all over the place,” Adelmann said.

Adelmann said band membership is $100 a year for students if they can afford it. Adults must pay the $100. All members must already play a mariachi instrument. The exception is two members who supply vocals only.

Can’t play and want to join? Adelmann suggests taking private guitar lessons first.

“Once they feel proficient, they can come and join us,” she said.

The band came under Legacy Fine Arts in December 2022. Band members practice at the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 in downtown Joliet.

When Adelmann asked Stinson about area funding opportunities, Stinson suggested the band join his nonprofit. Stinson said he already knew Adelman had a “record of success” with this band.

“In a short time, she had this group playing at state conventions,” Stinson said. “It was constantly being booked for small parties and large festivals around the area. As you know, these things cost money in terms of transportation and also instruments.”

Why mariachi bands are expensive

Stinson said mariachi instruments the students are playing “are not the instruments people have laying in their closet.”

“These are specialized instruments they’re having to raise money for and purchase from specific mariachi vendors, many of whom are out of state,” Stinson said.

Adelmann said a good quality guitarron can cost $2,000 to 3,000. A vihuela can run $500 to $1,500, she said. Many times Adelmann is ordering them from Mexico.

“They’re very expensive and hard to ship,” Adelmann said. “I can’t tell you how many we received that are broken and we have to go through the whole process of getting things refunded and exchanged.”

Stinson would like to see Mariachi de Joliet teachers get paid.

“Right now the teachers are volunteers,” Stinson said. “Christina and her crew have been doing this without pay for a couple of years. One of my goals is to get funding that’s going to allow the teachers to get paid.”

Stinson said he’s never drawn a salary from Legacy Fine Arts. Running the nonprofit is community service for him.

“I’ve always felt community service is important,” Stinson said. “And we’ve got people out there like Christine and her crew who are also volunteers. That’s my priority: to put instruments in the hands of the kids and to make sure our instructors who are spending hours and hours a week are being compensated.”

Stinson said even though the teachers are passionate about volunteering, tacking another eight to 12 hours onto a 40 to 50-hour work week is still work.

“We want to respect the people that are coming out to help make our lives better through art,” Stinson said.

Raffle tickets start at $15 for one ticket. The deadline to buy them is Sept. 30. To buy, visit mariachidejoliet.com. For information about Legacy Fine Arts or to make a donation, visit legacyfinearts.org.