The familiar sound of musicians tuning string instruments comes from the Hogg Middle School auditorium stage.
Before most students have arrived at school, a small group of seventh- and eighth-graders practices playing music.
A few seconds into "La Valentina," orchestra director Lisa Lininger gives some direction.
"Let's talk about style," she says. "Can we make a little separation between notes?"
The students try again this time playing each note with a little more precision. The students, almost 20 in number, represent the small but growing mariachi group at Hogg.
Teacher Lisa Lininger helps seventh-grader Jonathan Rhodes, 12, on the guitar part during mariachi band rehearsal at Hogg.
In its first year, the group has yet to incorporate trumpet players, although several students are working on the music.
Yet, with four songs in the repertoire, the group has performed at several public events and has more scheduled.
"I'm excited to see so much involvement from the students," Ms. Lininger said. "They really are excited about learning how to play this music. It's a new adventure for them."
For some Texans, mariachi music might be most associated with Mexican food. The bands play at restaurants around the state. But the music did not originate there.
Mariachis probably first appeared in the late 1700s as regional music groups in the small towns of Jalisco, Mexico, according to The Handbook of Texas online.
The groups, characterized as folk string ensembles, typically included a harp, two violins, and a vihuela, a small five-string guitar with rounded back, according to the handbook.
Members played primarily local or regional instrumental pieces. Vocals became a part of the mix by the late 1800s as did the bass guitarrn, a large vihuela with six bass strings that replaced the harp, according to the handbook.
By the 1930s, trumpets were added and from then on mariachis served as the standard backup bands for Mexico's popular singers, according to the handbook.
Today, a customary mariachi group includes violins, trumpets, guitar, vihuela and guitarrn.
Although the instruments are played in the same way as far as technique is concerned, the difference comes in the chord structure, Ms. Lininger said.
"So they're having to learn to tune a little differently than what we learn in our regular music," she said.
Ms. Lininger started the group because over the past few years students asked her about how to play certain songs such as "De Colores," "Las Maanitas" and "Cielito Lindo," all of which are traditional mariachi music.
To provide the students the opportunity to learn the songs, she started a mariachi band.
About 20 students regularly attend the mariachi practice before school. It starts at 7:45 a.m. and lasts about 30 minutes.
All students in the group also participate in band, orchestra or choir so they get instruction in those classes as well, Ms. Lininger said.
The participating students are diverse with many of them having little to no knowledge of mariachi music before this experience.
Eighth-grader Chloe Gasper is one of those. The 13-year-old, who plays violin, said she joined the group as a way to hang out with her friends.
She hadn't listened to mariachi music before, but said she has learned more about it through the group.
"It's just basically another form of music and ... it's actually pretty interesting, too, once you look it up," she said.
The most difficult part is learning how to pronounce the words because the lyrics are in Spanish, she said.
Eighth-grader Tatyana Williams, 13, and her sister, Tamya, 12, a seventh-grader, are both members.
Tatyana plays violin and said she enjoys it. The hardest part of the process is getting the notes right, she said.
"You have to put in a lot of practice," she said.
Tamya said she wanted to participate because it gave her another opportunity to play music outside of orchestra. The violin player said she knew little about mariachi music before joining except for what she had seen on a television show.
She said through playing in this group, she has learned more about Mexican culture and music.
"The most challenging is the notes," she said. "Like sometimes you have to sight read."
Eighth-grader Gerardo Muoz, 13, is one of the members who did have some background with mariachi. Gerardo said one of his friends had played mariachi music for a long time.
"I heard it and ... he inspired me to play," said Gerardo, who plays the violin.
Gerardo played in the orchestra since the sixth grade and started in the mariachi group about one month ago.
He said through the program, he feels like he can inspire other students to play music.
Although there are no other mariachi programs in Tyler ISD -- John Tyler High School used to have one -- numerous programs exist in school districts around the state.
And the University Interscholastic League introduced a mariachi category for music competition several years ago, Ms. Lininger said.
Her hope is that through Hogg's program, students will see another way to get involved on campus, especially in the music programs.
"Putting it back into the schools gives us the opportunity to teach the students how to bring back a part of their culture," Ms. Lininger said, "but to do it in a manner where they're playing properly with good technique, playing in tune and learning about the culture and the music."
Eighth-grader Serenity Lopez, 13, plays the Guitarron during mariachi band rehearsal Wednesday morning at Hogg Middle School in Tyler. The program was started by orchestra teacher Lisa Lininger to expand the cultural music the students can learn. (Sarah A. Miller/Staff)