Audiences can expect a vibrant blend of beloved holiday classics and mariachi standards, including a dazzling interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” Suite, a heartfelt take on “The Christmas Song” and a crowd-pleasing finale with “Feliz Navidad.” The program will also feature selections from the group’s 2024 album, “Romances Eternos,” nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album. Mexican folk dance company Viva Folklorico Dance Co., under the direction of Julie Gallego, will take part in the performance. 

“With our renditions of classic Christmas songs and traditional Mexican favorites, my greatest hope is that audiences leave the ‘Merry-achi Christmas’ show with a new perspective on what mariachis can do,” Hernández said.

This performance is stop no. 15 out of 16 on the group’s 2025 “Merry-achi Christmas” tour, which includes performances in Portland, San Francisco and Austin.

Beyond the stage, members of Sol de México teach through Hernández’s Mariachi Heritage Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides mariachi education to students across Orange and Los Angeles counties. Founded more than 30 years ago, the program inspired Hernández to create Mariachi Reyna de Los Ángeles, the first all-female professional mariachi ensemble in the United States — offering a guiding light for young girls in the genre.

ABOUT MARIACHI SOL DE MÉXICO DE JOSÉ HERNÁNDEZ

Mariachi Sol de México de José Hernández is an eight-time Grammy-nominated ensemble championing mariachi music globally. Founded in 1981, Sol de México has performed in countries such as North Korea, China, England, Spain, the Bahamas and most recently, Saudi Arabia. Maestro Hernández and Sol de México have performed for five U.S. presidents (Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama) and have collaborated with music icons and acts, such as Vicente and Alejandro Fernández, Luis Miguel, Marco Anotonio Solís, Lola Beltrán, Celia Cruz, Selena, Vikki Carr, Linda Ronstadt, Arturo Sandoval, José Feliciano, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and the Beach Boys. Maestro Hernández and Sol de México set the standard and continually transform mariachi music, showcasing their innovations in the most prestigious settings worldwide and teaching the next generation of mariachis. 

ABOUT JOSÉ HERNÁNDEZ

José Hernández (full name: José Ledesma Hernández) is the founder of Mariachi Sol de México de José Hernández, Mariachi Reyna de Los Ángeles, Mariachi Rams and nonprofit, the Mariachi Heritage Society. Born on Aug. 27, 1958 in Mexicali, Baja California, José comes from a line of mariachis and musicians that can be traced back to the 1700s.

When he was four, his family moved to Los Angeles, as there was more opportunity for his father — a mariachi himself — to find work. José sang for his neighbors, charging them one nickel per song. He formally picked up the trumpet when he was in fourth grade. In high school, José started performing mariachi music alongside his brothers, gigging in places such as Disneyland Resort. 

He left Mariachi Los Galleros in 1981, a well-known group directed by his oldest brother, Pedro Rey. Soon after, José founded Sol de México to break musical barriers, driving forward a genre that had only consisted of songs from the golden age of Mexican cinema and ranchera music. 

José has been nominated for four American and 10 Latin Grammys, and has collaborated with artists and acts such as Vicente and Alejandro Fernández, Luis Miguel, Marco Antonio Solís, Lola Beltrán, Celia Cruz, Selena, Vikki Carr, Linda Ronstadt, Arturo Sandoval, José Feliciano, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and the Beach Boys.

José and Sol de México have performed for five U.S. presidents (Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama), served as cultural ambassadors for Mexico to North Korea and China, and have sold out shows in iconic venues from New York’s Lincoln Center to Viña del Mar in Chile.

In 1991, José established the Mariachi Heritage Society, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization providing mariachi music education to children across the United States and Latin America. Through his pedagogical approach, José has impacted mariachi music education across 37 states, influencing the next generation of mariachis.

In 1994, José created America’s first all-female mariachi — Reyna de Los Ángeles — to give little girls who were students of the Mariachi Heritage Society a group to strive towards. Reyna de Los Ángeles has gone on to earn American and Latin Grammy nominations, as well as formal recognition from the Smithsonian Institute for “profoundly [changing] the course of women in mariachi history.”

In 2019, José founded the first NFL-branded mariachi ensemble in partnership with the Los Angeles Rams. The Mariachi Rams join Sol de México and Reyna de Los Ángeles in championing “la música de mariachi” across mainstream and Hispanic markets. 

José resides in Newport Beach, Calif., with his wife, Teresa Hernández and his beloved chihuahua, Joey (José III).