Los Angeles Mariachi Band 'Arcoiris' Challenges Machismo, Breaks Stigma With All Gay Members

We are all familiar with the concept of the Mariachi Band, macho men wearing charro outfits who sing some of the greatest hits in Regional Mexican music, which are originally sung by some of the most iconic Mexican machos in the business such as, Vicente Fernández, Alejandro Fernández, Luis Miguel, Pablo Montero, Pepe Aguilar, and others a little less machos like the one and only, Juan Gabriel.

Los Angeles based Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles, or Rainbow Mariachi of L.A. in English, challenges machismo and every other misconception about this specific music genre by becoming the first LGBT mariachi band in the world. Director and founder, Carlos Samaniego, tells the Los Angeles Times that it wasn’t easy for him to break into the mariachi band scene.

“When I came out, other musicians, the total machos, would tell me I wasn’t good enough to represent this music,” Samaniego said. “I wanted to create a haven for people who identified as LGBT in the mariachi world to play the music we love and not be made fun of, not be talked down to because of how they look, how they act, who they go to bed with.”

The Rainbow gang is not only breaking stigmas, it is also making history. Not only by having an all-gay member musical group, but also with the introduction of Natalia Melendez, the first transgender woman in mariachi. “Mariachi music for me it’s just, it’s a passion. It makes my blood boil, if that makes any sense,” said Melendez during an interview with mitú. “When I hear songs, when I hear the trumpets play, and I hear singers just sing from their hearts, it just transcends my body. It means so much to me, to my heart. It’s just a wonderful thing and I love it.”

Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles was created in 2014 as a safe space for LGTBQ musicians and fans. Since then, they’ve played at Gay Pride celebrations, gay weddings and the 24th Annual Mariachi Festival at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights, one of the most important mariachi festivals in the U.S.