Sacramento musician forms all-women Mariachi Bonitas during pandemic

By Leticia Ordaz

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — Mariachi Bonitas isn’t your typical mariachi band.

Dinorah Klingler has been singing her heart out since she was just a kid in Mexico City.

“Music is the universal language,” Klingler said. “Music brings you peace, brings you harmony in your life. That is my belief.”

She is a multi-award-winning singer, songwriter, and musician.

Living in Sacramento for the past 13 years, she loves sharing her culture through music, but the pandemic got her thinking she needed to do more.

“When you think of mariachi, the first thing in your mind is going to be [is] a male mariachi. With these instruments and hats, that’s the norm. That is OK, but we want to break that,” Klingler said.

She put the call out on social media to find women to join her new band.

“I posted, ‘I need girls. If you are interested in joining an all-female mariachi band, I am an experienced musician.’ Boom, all of those girls responded. And there is Mariachi Bonitas and when we were born.”

The band so far has eight musicians from Sacramento, Stockton, Davis, and the Bay Area. Some musicians are as young as 17.

Mariachi Bonitas rehearses weekly in her living room and have already performed at several events.

“I am very very proud and let me tell you it is not easy to change the minds of people that are used to seeing traditions just being traditions, like male mariachi bands.”

Their outfits are vibrant, their songs tell stories, and seeing an all-female mariachi band is empowering the Hispanic community.

“What happens in those moments, people transform themselves when they hear this music. You see their response. They start singing along, they start whistling, and they are screaming. Why, because this music is absolutely beautiful.”

In 2014, Klingler helped start Mariachi Festival de Sacramento.

This year, families got to see Mariachi Bonitas at Southside Park, introducing a younger audience to this genre of music.

“They are not hearing that on the radio anymore. I think they love seeing their grandparents and parents enjoying this music. Here the secret is to make them fall in love with this music. My hope is that children and the young generations keep this beautiful music alive. We cannot let it die.”

For Klingler, it’s not just a band but a movement. She plans to tour with Mariachi Bonitas not just in Sacramento but worldwide.

Her goal is to start a mariachi school to recruit more women to play this traditional genre of music.

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