This story has been translated and edited for clarity from its original Spanish version.

It’s a faithful companion in celebration or sadness, present in love and heartache. Its music transcends borders; it touches the heart and lives in the soul.

It’s said that when you are away from your homeland, songs, music, dance and food feel differently, they touch more profoundly. Mariachi music does that for 16-year-old Juan Prado.

"You can feel the music inside you when you're playing,” Prado said as he prepared to take the stage Saturday at "Sounds of Mexico," a showcase of the Clark County School District’s growing mariachi program. “You learn how to express your feelings in a very special way."

Prado is a student at Eldorado High School, where he learned to sing and play the guitar and the guitarron —  a six-stringed, acoustic, bass guitar common in Latin America. His songs are the sounds of his childhood, because his parents, who are from Jalisco, Mexico, used to listen to mariachi music.

Beyond the classroom and the school day, an academy has emerged to elevate the craft in Southern Nevada and keep the tradition alive among younger generations: The Las Vegas Institute of Advanced Mariachi Studies (LVIAMS), a non-profit organization that provides free, advanced mariachi classes to students whose high schools offer the instruction.

LVIAMS offers workshops, private tutoring and summer camps. They help youth fill out their college applications, and they give them the opportunity to apply for the Christian Regalado Memorial Scholarship, which was created in honor of a young mariachi student who died in a car accident in 2012 at the age of 21.

Beyond the distinctive hats and guitars, a mariachi symbolizes a country’s cultural identity and is one of the most direct links to the homeland for the Mexican community that lives abroad.

Interviewed a few minutes before he participated in the concert, which took place this Saturday at the West Las Vegas Library theatre, Prado said that the mariachi studies program benefits young people and encourages them to delve further in the world of music.

Legacy and tradition

Clark County School District officials said they launched their mariachi program 15 years ago after Marcia Neel, former coordinator of the district’s fine arts program, saw a need  in the community and requested a federal grant. It had its critics at the time — a government watchdog group gave the $25,000 grant to buy musical instruments an “Oinker Award” in 2005, calling it an example of pork barrel spending driven by  former Sen. Harry Reid.

But CCSD trustees have continued to support the program, which now serves more than 7,000 students from sixth through 12th grades at 15 different schools.

CCSD mariachi students not only participate in various community events in Las Vegas, but they’ve also been featured in national and international venues — The Jaguars mariachi band from Desert Pines High School played in Italy, for example.

LVIAMS emerged as a way to cultivate the talents of students taking mariachi classes through CCSD and to encourage graduates who wish to continue their studies or play at a professional level.

Ramos, president of LVIAMS, said in an interview that the Academy was founded four years ago by Daniel Gonzales, who began playing the violin at the age of nine, and has since dedicated much of his life to teaching mariachi and to promoting musical education to the next generation.

Ramos is a native of Corpus Christi, Texas and he began his career as a mariachi when he was 17 years old. He earned his bachelor's degree in music education in 1998, and is one of the first instructors who started teaching mariachi classes in Clark County.

"A friend of mine, Javier Trujillo, told me: 'I'm going to start a mariachi program over there in Clark County,’” Ramos explained. "And he asked me if I wanted to go with him. And now I have spent 15 years here in Las Vegas and the program is growing every year.”

Ramos, a mariachi teacher at Valley High School, said that LVIAMS instructors are generally Clark County School District teachers. During the summer, the institute offers low-cost camps for students who want to learn mariachi, but don’t have the program at their schools.

"It is an honor for me to be a mariachi teacher,” Ramos said. "And also to see students playing this music, because it’s our culture."

A tradition that lives on

The origin of the mariachi dates back to pre-Colonial times, when the Cocas people of Coculan were famous for their musical skills. When the Spaniards arrived in the region, they spread Christianity through songs performed by groups who were known as "Guitarrones del Cerro" or "Mariachis".

The government of Mexico describes the mariachi on its website: "There are usually four or more musicians dressed in regional costumes, inspired in the charro attire, they play a wide repertoire of songs accompanied with stringed instruments: violins, harps, guitarrones and trumpets."

In 2011, mariachi was recognized as intangible cultural heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Schools participating in Saturday’s concert included Chaparral High School, K.O., Knudson Middle School, Jim Bridger Middle School, Eldorado High School, JD Smith Middle School and Valley High School.

A few minutes before joining his peers from Eldorado High School to begin his presentation at “Sounds of Mexico,” 17-year-old mariachi student Oscar Flores said in an interview that he was proud to wear his suit and play Mexican music.

"This is a very nice thing for young people like us,” he said. "We are dedicated to playing and not just hanging out somewhere. To me, this means a tradition that belongs to my family and my culture.”

Una academia y un programa en escuelas de Las Vegas mantienen viva tradición del mariachi y educación musical. Fragmento #SonidosdeMexico pic.twitter.com/AFLuPNuY93

— Luz Gray (@LuzGrayNV) October 17, 2017