The 2023 Sundance Film Festival introduces the documentary competition ‘Going Varsity in Mariachi’

Mariachi music is taking over a South Texas high school! A varsity is filling its auditorium, with the sounds of trumpets, guitarrón, and violin, during an energetic documentary that captures the highs and lows of Edinburg North High School’s Mariachi Oro as they strive for the state championship.

The 2023 Sundance Film Festival introduces the world of competitive scholastic mariachi through a story that includes “tough love, finely tuned empathy, and a fiery passion for the music.”

© Going Varsity in Mariachi

The project follows coach Abel Acuña guiding the varsity band through a steep competition season and a fraught year in their adolescent lives. Team captains Abby, Marlena, and Bella also give a glimpse of the band’s skills, life challenges, work ethic, and charm.

Created by Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn, the filmmakers transport their audience into the “symphonically, aesthetically, and emotionally vibrant world” of mariachi music while exploring identity, cultural roots, and pressing social issues.

Screening Times

In Person

• Jan. 22 2:00PM EST Park Avenue Theatre PARK CITY
• Jan. 24 11:45PM EST Broadway Centre Cinemas - 3 SALT LAKE CITY
• Jan. 25 8:00PM EST Prospector Square Theatre PARK CITY
• Jan. 26 10:45AM EST Library Center Theatre PARK CITY
• Jan. 27 8:25PM EST Rose Wagner Center SALT LAKE CITY

Online

• Jan. 24 10:00AM EST Available Until Jan. 30 1:55AM EST