MILAGRO DE MARIACHI

When she accepted admittance as a classical guitar major at the USC Thornton School of Music in 2021, Daniela Santiago took residence at El Sol y La Luna, USC’s residential college Latinx special interest floor. It was the ideal place for Santiago and José “Pepe” Romo to form a mariachi ensemble.

The resulting band — Mariachi Los Troyanos de USC — practiced in the Cardinal Gardens parking lot and later at the Latinx Chicanx Center for Advocacy and Student Affairs (La CASA) before moving into rehearsal space at USC Thornton. Momentum picked up last spring when the group took top honors at USC Songfest. Multiple concerts of all sizes came next, then