Española Valley High School’s Mariachi Sol del Valle needs to raise roughly $25,000 for its travel expenses when it plays at President-elect Barack Obama’s inaugural parade Jan. 20, and public agencies both local and statewide are digging deep into their pockets to help get them there.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee has formally invited the band to play in Obama’s inauguration day parade, which will wind through downtown Washington, D.C., and end at the steps of the Capitol, where the president-elect will then be sworn in, according to an invitation letter.
The band will join between 70 and 90 other bands from throughout the country, selected from more than 1,300 applicants, Committee spokeswoman Katherine Lyons said.
Though the Committee has not yet finalized the list of bands that will play, Mariachi Sol del Valle is officially on the roster, Lyons said. But the groups selected to play are expected to make — and pay for — their own travel arrangements, Lyons said.
Band director Alfonso Trujillo said when the band received the invitation they would need to raise roughly $25,000 to pay for travel expenses. The band will leave New Mexico Jan. 18 and return Jan. 22, parent Peggy Martinez, whose daughter Miriah plays violin in the band, said.
Ten band members will travel with two chaperones, Trujillo and high school assistant principal DeVanna Ortega. Trujillo’s wife and 16 parents will also attend, but will pay for their own expenses, Martinez said.
The average price for plane tickets from Albuquerque to Washington, D.C., is $500 a seat, according to online booking agencies. The band already booked 10 hotel rooms, and each will set them back $200 to $300 a night, Martinez said.
“They’re going to have to stay in Baltimore, 38 miles away, and that’s not even anywhere fancy,” Martinez said. “Rooms in Washington that week were $900 each.”
Less than a month before the big event, the band is close to meeting its fund-raising goal — mostly because public agencies have been eager to shell out taxpayer money to help fund the trip.
“What we did is we solicited a letter to the general community at large here in Española, just to see what we could get as far as help,” Martinez said. “The community has responded in a really positive way, people have been so excited by them going.”
The band has so far raised at least $18,500, mostly from public entities, plus several donations from local businesses, Superintendent David Cockerham said.
“We didn’t see this as a private group, we saw it as them representing the school, them being part of the District,” County Commission Chairman Alfredo Montoya said. “We saw it as a public-to-public contribution. If they’d been a private band, it would’ve been much more difficult. We’re very aware of the anti-donation clause.”
A clause in the state constitution, known as the “anti-donation clause,” prohibits public entities from making donations to private groups or individuals. The band is sponsored by the high school and funded by a District activity fund. All members are students, and Trujillo is a District employee.
County Manager Lorenzo Valdez later said the County donated $3,000, which came out of a “County Commission special projects” fund. The Commission draws from that fund when public community organizations, like acequias and libraries, approach the Commission for money, Commissioner Elias Coriz said.
The Española School Board also has approved helping the mariachi band with “any financial support or otherwise” for its trip, but did not specify a dollar amount.
At the meeting, Cockerham did not decline outright to use District funds to help the band, but suggested the District should instead provide in-kind assistance.
“We do have vehicles,” Cockerham said. “If we have to do a road trip, we’ll do it.”
The road trip has since been ruled out — District credit cards will buy a $6,000 portion of the band’s plane tickets, Cockerham said. The funds will come from a fund that collects revenue from vending machines on District property, he said.
The same day, the Española Lodger’s Tax Board approved a combined $6,000 donation to the band.
“It’s just pending a contract, just to make sure we do things proper,” Lodger’s Tax Board Chair Art Martinez said.
The Board gave the band a $1,000, no-strings-attached grant.
The “contract” refers to a memorandum of agreement between the Board and the band that is currently being prepared that would give the band an additional $5,000, Acting City Manager Veronica Albin said. By law, lodger’s tax revenue is reserved for promoting tourism and development in Española. To receive the remaining $5,000, the band will agree to promote the city during its trip, Albin said.
Board President Floyd Archuleta and Cockerham said the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation also pledged $2,500 for the trip.
The District is still waiting to hear from state agencies to receive additional funding, Archuleta said.
“Everybody was really supportive, they were all looking for ways to help us,” Archuleta said. “We still have to have to have another meeting, to see what kind of help they’re going to give us.”
Archuleta said he has so far met with Lt. Gov. Diane Denish’s staff and with state Tourism Secretary Michael Cerletti. Both said they wanted to help the band, but have not made a definite commitment, Archuleta said.
Tourism Department marketing and promotion director Richard Eeds said his department will “absolutely” make a contribution to the mariachi band, but will not know exactly how much for another week.
“We’re still working on an exact figure,” Eeds said. “But the request came from the Governor’s Office. We’re hoping any number of state departments will contribute, not just the Tourism Department.”
Mariachi Sol del Valle is still accepting donations. Band director Alfonso Trujillo can be reached at 929-4235 for more information.