Rebecca Gonzales

Rebecca Gonzales was classically trained on the violin from the age of 10. She began her mariachi training in 1972 at San Jose City College under the instruction of Mark Fogelquist. Later that year she joined Mariachi Los Abajenos de Isidro Rivera, (a local San Jose group) with whom she continued her violin training and began singing mexican songs. The first few months she performed for free except for an occasional tip from Mr. Rivera but soon after she became a full-fledged member with equal pay! In the fall of 1972 Ms. Gonzales entered Cal State San Jose as a music major and in 1975 she moved to Santa Monica, California to join Mariachi Uclatlan, (by invitation of leader Mark Fogelquist). The following year she was invited by Mr. Nati Cano to join his group, Mariachi Los Camperos Ms. Gonzales was the first female member of the group and the first female to perform with a high-profile all male mariachi show group in the United States. She performed with Los Camperos for eight years at La Fonda restaurant in Los Angeles. In 1984 she was invited by Randy Carrillo to perform with Mariachi Cobre at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Orlando Florida. In 1995 she joined Mariachi Los Gavilanes de Juan Manuel Cortez and sang as a soloist at the 1995 and 1999 Mariachi USA festivals at the Hollywood Bowl and in 1997 at the Greek Theatre Mariachi Summer Concert in Los Angeles. In 2004 Ms. Gonzales was inducted into the Tucson Hall of Fame in recognition of her contribution as a role model for women in mariachi.

Currently, Ms. Gonzales performs mariachi music as a freelance musician and teaches violin technique in Palos Verdes, California.