Mariachi credits SPC education for musical triumphs
Looking back at her career thus far, Marissa Anthony-Ruiz ties her moments of success in the mariachi space to a common factor: her education from South Plains College.
Since co-founding the band Mariachi Del Bosque with Esmeralda Aguirre-Regalado in 2021, Anthony-Ruiz has reached milestones she did not fathom as an SPC student. Beyond performances at weddings and other special occasions, she led the band to victory at the 2025 Houston Rodeo Mariachi Invitational, opened for Mariachi Sol de México and performed with the group at the Houston Mariachi Festival in the Wortham Theatre Center.
The ability to perform across the state and educate the next generation along the way are qualities that Anthony-Ruiz said she owes to SPC.
“Whenever I was going to SPC, I always wanted to be a performer,” she said. “My degree is in education, which is what I wanted to do in case I couldn’t be a performer. I didn’t know in what way I wanted to perform, but I knew it would involve the trumpet.”
Anthony-Ruiz developed a love for music at an early age after watching her father play trumpet in church. The Levelland native started playing the instrument in sixth grade and took private lessons with Dr. Gary Hudson, professor of music and now chair of SPC’s Fine Arts Department, while she was in high school.
“I really liked his way of teaching,” she said regarding how the lessons drew her toward the College. “I knew I wanted to go into music education, and trumpet playing was something I saw myself doing for a long time.”
Anthony-Ruiz eventually enrolled at the College in 2017, continued to study trumpet under Hudson and worked with other amazing SPC professors, such as Dr. Darin Cash and Dr. Sesha Wallace.
“At SPC, you have the best of the best professors teaching you,” she said. “All of the Fine Arts faculty at SPC are not just teachers. They’re also performers.”
When she was a sophomore, Anthony-Ruiz was waiting tables at a restaurant and met a Lubbock mariachi group in need of a trumpet player. Although she had no experience performing mariachi music at the time, she attended a rehearsal and performed with them until she graduated from SPC and moved to Huntsville in 2019.
As she continued her music education at Sam Houston State University, Anthony-Ruiz sought out mariachi opportunities in nearby areas. The COVID-19 pandemic later made traveling to different groups difficult, so she co-founded Mariachi Del Bosque.
Mariachi Del Bosque earned second place at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo mariachi competition in 2024. They would later capture first place at the same event, earning the chance to perform at the Go Tejano Day concert in front of more than 70,000 people at NRG Stadium.
In addition to Texas locations, Anthony-Ruiz will lead the now 14-member group to performances in other states, such as the Mariachi Spectacular competition from July 8-11 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
When not performing, Anthony-Ruiz uses her creativity to give back to aspiring musicians as an elementary music teacher. She works with students from pre-K through fifth grade and will later take the role as the mariachi program lead at Humble High School, Ross Sterling Middle School and Humble Middle School.
“My goal is to make sure that I have literate musicians by the time they're in sixth grade, so whenever they go to sixth grade and decide they want to do band, choir or orchestra, all their director has to do is teach them how to play the instrument,” she said.
Anthony-Ruiz also showcased her commitment to music education during her 2026 summer Youth Mariachi Camp. She said the camp introduced Houston-area students to the origins of mariachi, Mexican culture and performance techniques.
Learning to play an instrument and perform with a group takes a lot of time and dedication, Anthony-Ruiz said. Having dedicated mentors at SPC was critical in helping her achieve goals she never imagined as an aspiring musician.
“The main takeaway that I got from SPC was being able to manage myself in a way that is going to benefit me as a musician,” she said. “I'm able to share that and use that knowledge in other parts of my career now.”
(Photo courtesy of Marissa Anthony-Ruiz)
