EXCLUSIVE: Going Varsity in Mariachi has landed its biggest gig yet: the documentary about high school musicians in South Texas will debut on Netflix before the end of the month.
Under a licensing agreement, the film directed by Sam Osborn and Alejandra Vasquez will become available to Netflix audiences in North and South America beginning August 29. The endearing story of young Mariachis learning their craft under the direction of Coach Abel Acuña wowed Sundance in 2023, winning rave reviews and the festival’s Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award for U.S. Documentary. Watch the new trailer for the film below.
“From the beginning, we set out to make a film about growing up Mexican-American and the ways that we’re able to connect with our culture,” Osborn and Vasquez said in a statement. “It’s such a privilege to have worked with the mariachi educators and students of the Rio Grande Valley community and to be able to share their story on Netflix.”
‘Going Varsity in Mariachi’
Osmosis Films/Fifth Season
The film centers on the growing pains of the Mariachi Oro ensemble of Edinburg North High School, as Acuña prepares them to go for glory at the state tournament. It transcends the genre of documentaries structured around competitions by emphasizing the deep meaning of Mariachi as a form of cultural expression for the students and their families.
“New voices are needed to bring new stories to today’s audiences,” noted producer Luis A. Miranda Jr. “Jam-packed with music, joy, and heart, Going Varsity in Mariachi is a culturally significant look at a specific Latino community with undeniable universal appeal. We are delighted that Netflix is showcasing new, diverse voices, telling beautiful, new stories like this one, which otherwise may not be seen.”
The Edinburg North High School Mariachi Band performs at SXSW on March 12, 2023 in Austin, Texas.
Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for SXSW
At SXSW, where Going Varsity in Mariachi screened after its 2023 Sundance debut, Deadline spoke with the film team and with musician Abby Garcia, one of the high schoolers featured in the documentary. “Mariachi comforts me and whatever emotion I’m feeling, like if I’m sad or happy, there’s a song for it,” Garcia told us. “There’s always a song you can relate to. It’s a comfort, it’s home because I grew up around it and especially in high school, it was my safe place… I used to be really shy and it was getting out of my shell, because you have to perform. It’s like you have to put on this persona when you put on the traje [suit] when you go perform… If you’re singing, you have to act out the song.”
The documentary produced by Osmosis Films was financed by FIFTH SEASON, Impact Partners and Embeleco Unlimited, and received grants from JustFilms and SFFILM. FIFTH SEASON is handling sales for territories outside North and South America.
Going Varsity in Mariachi is directed by Sam Osborn and Alejandra Vasquez and produced by James Lawler, Luis A. Miranda Jr., and Julia Pontecorvo. Watch the trailer here: