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Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Ángeles

About this Artist

Led by director Carlos Samaniego, Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles performs its repertoire to suit the LGBTQ community while it maintains the highest level of musicality.

Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles is proud to have the first transgender woman, Natalia Melendez, in the history of mariachi as one of its members. Natalia has been featured in a two-part special for Univision news, which depicts her life and struggles as a transgender woman in the mariachi world. As a result of this two-part special, in its short existence Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles has been invited to perform for three different morning news shows on Univision, which includes the Lanzate program. During each one of these presentations, the mariachi was highlighted because of its special nature in representing the LGBTQ community.

Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles has also performed for Los Angeles and Long Beach Pride, Transgender Pride at the LGBT Center in Los Angeles, South Bay Pride, Oceanside Pride, The Abbey, Club Tempo, Hamburger Mary’s, #SchoolsNotPrisons tour for the California Endowment, and many other LGBTQ establishments as well as for many same-sex and “traditional” weddings.