Today we’d like to introduce you to Frank DeLeon.
Hi Frank, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up on the West Side of San Antonio. The neighborhood was extremely poor economically but priceless culturally. My neighbors throughout the Barrio were musicians so hearing an accordion, guitar, drums, or a trumpet at any hour of the day or night was the norm. The house I grew up in was formally my great grandfather’s Guadalupe Music Company guitar making workshop.
My grandfather took me on a trip to the plaza de Mariachi’s in Guadalajara Jalisco at 10 y/o and to Mexico City’s Plaza Garibaldi (Mariachi Meca) at 11 y/o planting a seed that would set my life on a one-way trajectory.
During my Middle School years, I got to work with my former elementary choir teacher Belle San Miguel-Ortiz (Mother of Mariachi Education) and her husband Juan B. Ortiz. They were founders of Mariachi Campanas de America and they are credited with beginning the Mariachi Education movement in the USA.
At 13 I started writing Musical arrangements and I started my first Mariachi group Mariachi Los Brillantes de San Antonio. After performing as a semi-professional musician for a few years throughout high school I attended Southwest Texas State University before joining Campanas de America learning from Mr. Juan B. Ortiz as my Director.
I later returned to Southwest Texas State University where I was hired as lecturer with the School of Music as the Mariachi Director from 1998 – 2002. During that time I founded Mariachi Suroeste out of San Marcos Texas where I performed for the next 20 years before retirement.
In 2005 I along with Armida Medrano founded the San Marcos Mariachi Academy which we still run today.
Over the last 28 years I’ve had the great honor to teach over 1000 students at every educational level, some of whom have become decorated music teachers and educators in other disciplines. Several Mariachi Suroeste alumni are national leaders in music and mariachi education today. I, along with many of them have served as clinicians at the Texas Music Educators Association convention in February and the Texas Bandmasters Association/Texas Orchestra Directors Association/Texas Choral Directors Association Convention in July.
I published the book Coralitos “Little Chorales” in March of 2025 available through amazon.com as a movement to implement ear training in every music classroom in an effort to raise the already high bar of musicianship in our programs.
Most Recently I have served as clinician to districts around Texas, Professional development to music faculties and have taught educators nationally at the Mariachi Spectacular de Albuquerque as part of their Educator series.
I am currently the Mariachi Instructor at Simon Middle School in Kyle Texas and the Musical Director of the San Marcos Mariachi Academy as well as clinician to Church choirs in the region.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My family grew up poor economically. We were a family of 8 and my father at times worked 3 jobs to help us make ends meet. My first trumpet was nicknamed the cow because of the muted sound it made, rittled with dents.
Going to college meant working as a musician out of necessity. Mommy and Daddy didn’t have money to send. They always did what they could, but much perseverance was learned and earned through what we had to do in order to get what we wanted out of life.
I broke my leg during my 2nd year at SWT flunking out of school and sent home. I later returned.
My father passed away when I was 22 years old.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Early in life I fell in love with the art of teaching. My entire family became teachers and we all, I believe, have the gift of knowing what to do in order to help students understand and become familiar with what may seem difficult to them.
I use music and Mariachi as a vehicle to instill passion in every student and educator who crosses my path. My ultimate goal is to inspire everyone to go out and get what they want out of life.
I have been fascinated with voice and harmonies my whole career and I’ve spent my entire career studying it and teaching it. I believe all the success my groups have had over my career is due to my diligence with ear training. I have come up with a 5-minute routine which warms up every aspect of what singing and ear training require and I’ve written a book to help implement it in all musical genres in the school system. Currently, ear training is formally taught at the college/university but is absent through all curriculum before then.
My hope is to continue to help and inspire teachers and students around me to have personal and professional success through this book. I am proud of the feedback I’ve gotten from teachers using it around the US.
What does success mean to you?
Success for me is being better today than I was yesterday. Growing and building from what I have learned and continuing to achieve my short- and long-term goals. It is rare that two people will ever share the exact same goals, therefore success will always be different from one person to the next.
Pricing:
- Coralitos on Amazon.com $19.99
Contact Info:
- Instagram: frank_c_deleon
- Facebook: Frank C. De Leon
- Youtube: @CantosDeMisa74
