Most of us have probably felt homesick in one way or another at some point, especially during college. But how do you deal with that? If your name is Alejandro Cruz ’27, you bring a bit of home with you. Last year during Cruz’s freshman year, he started Wabash’s first mariachi band. The group, Los Pequeños Gigantes, has been an ever expanding part of the Wabash music community since coming on campus in 2024.
The mariachi band is a traditional Mexican music ensemble that Cruz wanted to bring to Wabash since before he even arrived on campus. It has helped connect him to his home in south Texas as well as with fellow members of the hispanic community on campus.
“The story I always point back to is when Tyler Wade was talking to me and my family when he was on a recruiting visit to McAllen, Texas” said Cruz. “We were talking about how I was a part of the mariachi at my high school and he said, ‘Well, you could start a mariachi at Wabash.’”
This idea stuck with Cruz until he finally arrived at Wabash and was able to turn his idea of bringing mariachi to Wabash into a reality. For almost a year, mariachi was completely student-run, with Cruz taking on the bulk of the work organizing and training the group. Now Los Pequeños Gigantes is integrating into Wabash’s music curriculum. It will join the five credit-eligible ensembles that already exist on campus: Orchestra, Brass Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, Wamidan World Music Ensemble and the Glee Club.
Now that the mariachi band is becoming an official part of the Wabash education, they will be receiving more professional guidance. The first wave of this came in the form of Choral Director Juan Hernandez, who became the advisor for the band this year.
“I think that having a professional lead the ensemble is going to help push the group to a new level,” said Cruz. “I’ve done all that I can, but I am limited professionally and musically. Having Dr. Hernandez come in and teach the lessons is going to help the ensemble progress a lot faster and grow to a new level.”
Hernandez has been adjusting to the new form of music that comes with the mariachi. While Hernandez has graduate degrees in music, he has not had the experience of directing a mariachi before.
“Alejandro started the whole thing, so he has been introducing me to the things that are more specific to mariachi,” said Hernandez. “Learning how the music is supposed to sound has been a new and exciting challenge. I’ve been enjoying teaching and learning this different type of music.”
With Cruz’s knowledge and hands-on experience with mariachi and Hernandez’s expertise in music working in tandem, Los Pequeños Gigantes has been making massive strides. The group’s ever expanding potential comes with ever expanding goals. Cruz and Hernandez would be the first to tell you that their aspirations extend even beyond Wabash.
“Having a director that will help us seek out a bigger repertoire and teach it more effectively has been a massive step forward,” said Cruz. “This will create an opportunity for us to start memorizing the music and engage campus with more concerts and then allow us to share our music with the Crawfordsville community more effectively. I was very surprised to see the Latino presence in the community and hear that it’s a growing demographic, so it’s super important to me to share this music with the Crawfordsville community.”
With all the improvements that the mariachi has made already, one would be content to let good enough be. However, the College is not done trying to further their support of mariachi.
“Now that the mariachi is an official ensemble offered by the music department, where as before we were just testing the waters, now things are in full motion,” said Hernandez. “We are currently in the process of trying to hire an adjunct professor. Someone that can take over the ensemble and knows the specific techniques and rhythms of mariachi.”
With all the positive momentum the group is carrying, it is very likely that you will be seeing more from Los Pequeños Gigantes in the years to come. They hope to not only expand the range of liberal arts education but also expand the range of Wabash’s impact on the Crawfordsville community.
“Mariachi can serve as a destresser and a creative outlet that balances any kind of analytical thinking that happens in Goodrich, Baxter or Hays,” said Cruz. “We’ve definitely had a lot of fun playing the music, but we haven’t held up our end of the bargain community wise. There’s a lot more we can do for the community, and that’s our goal.”