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Los Lobos Mentors Young Musicians At San Jose Mariachi Festival

SAN JOSE (KCBS) – San Jose's annual mariachi festival kicks off this weekend with some top musical talent: Grammy Award winning rock band Los Lobos.

From trumpet practice to Latin dance lessons, San Jose's Tech Museum is the epicenter for all things Mariachi this week.

"They're going to be doing some workshops here on Thursday and Friday, and then we're going to perform at the HP Pavilion on Sunday," said 12-year-old Miguel Diaz, who has being dancing ballet folklorico for two years now. It's a traditional Latin dance that Diaz said is very popular among his peers.

"Maybe one of them would say that they don't want to do it, but that's because they're beginning, but after two months they love it," said Diaz.

KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:

The mariachi event will also feature rock stars Los Lobos who stopped by the Tech on Thursday. Guitar man David Hidalgo said that their group was heavily influenced by Mexican music.

"We didn't play violins or anything, we played mandolins because we just used what we could get our hands on, because it's a big part of where we come from," said Hidalgo.

A Los Lobos concert with Tito Puente Jr. will be held on Friday at San Jose State University.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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