Education, Music

[SPEAKING SPANISH][SPEAKING SPANISH][SPEAKING SPANISH]They're not yet fully fledged mariachis,but the kids in this East Harlem classroomare being transported to Mexico through music.I hear music from where I'm from and it's like when you hear it,

you feel like excited to hear it.The Mariachi Academy in New York teaches its 120 studentsviolin, trumpet, and other traditional mariachiinstruments including, of course, the guitar.For director Ramon Ponce, it's all about

introducing this younger generationto traditional Mexican music that comes from the heart.You can say anything through mariachi music.If you have any feelings of love, of despair,or any other type of feeling, I mean,you can literally say it with any mariachi song.

[VIOLINS PLAYING]Most of the academy's budding performers are Mexican-Americanand some others are from Latin Americanand Caribbean countries.The teachers here say ...