MEET OUR DIRECTORS:
My name is Jessie Vallejo and I have degrees in Music Education and Spanish (BM), and Ethnomusicology (MA and PhD). I have been director of Mariachi Los Broncos and Los Caballeros since 2016. My main instrument is violin, and I mostly perform mariachi, Andean, rock, and classical music. My main mariachi mentors have been Jesús Guzmán, Juan Jiménez, and Rebecca Gonzales. Some of my performance highlights include events at the Hollywood Bowl, Latin Grammy Awards, the House of Blues, the Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall. I have published articles in English, Spanish, and Kichwa about my research on mariachi, Kichwa, and Kanien’keha musical styles. I’m looking forward to expanding our mariachi offerings at CPP with Prof. Hernández, and I look forward to seeing you at our performances or in our classes!
Congratulations to all of our CPP graduates (and especially to our music and mariachi graduates)! @cppmusicdept staff and faculty all had a blast cheering you on! We wish you the very best for your upcoming endeavors!
Pictured are @jessi_dominguez100 (with William Jones photobombing), @joezeh99 and @andrea_herrera_12 , faculty @datachild@mwmillar@piesaac@shpachenkonadia@janineriveire Dr. Ware, Dr. Green, Dr. Baxani,and Dr. St Clair; and in the last photo, one of our favorite Deans, @br1_dav announcing everyone’s entrance.
UPDATED FLYER: We’re entering into one of our busiest times of the year! Along with several events this coming week, we are hosting @maryalfarovelasco (director of @smcmariachi ) for a special master class where students will be able to work on the bolero/trio style of music, specifically guitar and requinto techniques along with some singing. We hope to see you there on Thurs May 7, 5-7pm in Building 24, room 101! Free and open to the public!
We’re almost caught up with Spring 2026 news! Back in February, Dra. Vallejo joined a stellar team of mariachi teachers for a series of LAUSD workshops funded by the Mariachi Women’s Foundation. She worked with beginning students alongside instructors Maria (violin), Silvia (armonía), Vaneza (guitarrón), and Maria (trumpet). It was a pleasure to see all the hard work our LAUSD colleagues put in to providing these opportunities for their students! Thank you again, @leticia.ca.austin@irineo132 and all@of the organizers for the invitation 🎶
Back in late March, Dra. Vallejo was invited to join the first mariachi performance during the Vermont State Capitol’s historic Farmer’s Night series hosted by the VT state Senate.
Joanna Alpízar @mamivlnista , who was a member alongside Dra. Vallejo in Rebecca Gonzales’ group @mariachi_tesoro_r_gonzales years ago, invited her, Dr. Shelly Tramposh and Ollie Hernandez from @cranemariachiensemble as well as colleagues from Burlington public schools for this historic performance.
Although Latines in rural northeastern areas of the US are often overlooked, it was an honor to highlight our communities in a region adjacent to where Dr. Vallejo grew up. Many thanks to @leonora4vermont and members of the State Senate for their hospitality and enthusiasm for our music and diasporic communities in the north country.
🔔More @cppmusicdept alumni news: Dra. Vallejo saw alum Joseph Ávila @geno159200 on a mariachi gig a few weeks ago. Since graduating from CPP, Joseph has been performing a mix of Oaxacan and mariachi styles of music. Joseph has also been a supportive alum of @broncopepband 👏🏽👏🏽
🔔 ALUMNI NEWS UPDATE:
Claudio Medina (MIS 2023) was spotted last month working on a gig with Dr. Vallejo and @elmariachimanchester at the @Yaamava .
So what has a @cppmusicdept alum like him been up to?
“I teach guitar, brass, and beginner music at Coachella Valley Music Academy and JG Music Company, and I gig with a jazz trio in the Coachella Valley called Never Catch Me.
He also added that he continues to write his own music in an indie/shoegaze band called @chuparosa760 and he has a solo electronic project called kumo. Claudio’s work as an MIS intern with @elbaqueiro has led to him working with artists like El Mariachi Manchester, @SergioArau and @lascafeteras
Congrats Claudio and we look forward to hearing more updates in the future!
Our spring semester is rolling 🚴🏽♀️🚴🏾♂️🚴🏼 by quickly, and this morning, we greeted everyone at the @cpp_atc Broncos Bike Pomona (formerly called the Town and Gown Ride). This event brings together partners from across Pomona and the San Gabriel Valley to explore bicycling options and to allow us to identify challenges and dream big for partnering in infrastructure changes that benefit our community. Congrats on another year and many thanks to our partners @cityofpomona@calpolypomona and the President’s Office @activesgv@vics_bikes@cpp_urp@lvcargobike@asicpp@cpp_pd@pomonapd all of our bicyclists and so many more!
➡️ Follow @cpp_atc to keep track of future events!!
It’s Flashback Friday and we have a lot of catching up to do from activities this semester. A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of inviting Los Broncos and @cppalumni@rogiez94 Rogelle Zamora back to campus as professor for a day. He taught about different types of Filipinx music from across the islands and had our students learning how to play some of the instruments. Since graduating with his degree in music education, Rogelle has won grants from ACTA (@caltradarts ) to study with Filipinx master musicians. He is also a current member of @pakaraguian_kulintang_ensemble
It was our pleasure to serenade everyone at @cpp_dsa CPP’s Student Health Services 75th celebration! Thank you all for taking great care of everyone all these years 👩🏾⚕️👨🏻⚕️🧑🏽⚕️🩻🩺
We had a phenomenal masterclass with @el_baqueiro and @jarochelo about Spanglish, Mexican, and Chicane music scenes across borders, spanning jarocho, rock, and cumbia styles. Students also discussed career paths, goals, and staying true to their artistic visions. Thanks to @datachild@kuuipo_chance and @cppmusicdept@dalialovesyou for help in documenting this session!
Also, if you think you might need to dance after hearing some of the jam session, come dance at our Tues 4/21 performance, 8pm in the Music Recital Hall. 🕺🏻💃🏻
