Featured on Iowa PBS

**Pictured is the Denison High School top mariachi group, Mariachi Reyes del Oeste, at an event last year.** Submitted Photo

The Denison High School (DHS) mariachi program has a busy year ahead, including the first performance in Sioux City for Dia de Los Muertos, and a trip to Colorado for a mariachi festival in April.

This past week, the DHS mariachi program was featured in the premiere episode of "Iowa Life" on Iowa PBS. That episode can be viewed on the PBS app or the Iowa PBS YouTube channel.

The school year began with the addition of the newest freshmen members of the DHS mariachi program. Twenty-four freshmen joined the program over the summer, making it the biggest group of beginners the DHS mariachi program has had.

As the year progresses, the freshmen will join one of three mariachi ensembles, based on their progress.

The fourth ensemble at DHS, Mariachi Reyes del Oeste, has been rehearsing since the beginning of the school year. "Reyes" is the top DHS mariachi ensemble, chosen by auditions, that travels around the state throughout the year.

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Members of Mariachi Reyes del Oeste are Maite Arreola, Leila Jaime, Estela Lupian, Ismael Alfaro, Rosy Segoviano, Alan Rivera, Christopher Rangel, Miranda Estrada, Nallely Rivera, John Paul Montano, Karla Sanchez, and Janet Castillo.

Their first performance of the year will be at the Sioux City Public Museum on Sunday, October 29 at 2:30 p.m., followed by performances in the Sioux City mall.

All year, the mariachi ensembles will be preparing for their annual "Fiesta Mariachi" in April, and for the first time since 2016, a group of DHS mariachi members will travel out of state, attending the "Viva Southwest" mariachi festival in Denver, Colorado April 18-22. Those members are currently selling "Koated Kernels" popcorn (out of Sioux City) to raise money for that trip. If any local organizations or community members are interested in sponsoring part of the trip to Colorado or donating for the trip, they can contact Ruben Newell at Denison High School via email (rnewell@denisoncsd.org).

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