Jaime decided to take the school's top performers and form Mariachi Tesoro, a group of students ages 9 to 16.

Tesoro's trumpet player, Conrad Duarte, has been playing since the second grade. He says he chose mariachi because of his family's long history of musicians.

"My cousins are still in a mariachi group right now and I hope to get older and stay in it," said Duarte.

Mariachi music began in Mexico in the early 1800s. Today, the style is a worldwide phenomenon with groups spanning the globe.

University of Arizona sociology professor, Celestino Fernandez, has studied the history and cultural importance of mariachi music.

"When you see this image of the mariachi everybody thinks Mexico, and so that tradition is deep within its part of culture, that defines itself as Mexicano," said Fernandez.

A traditional mariachi group includes five  and sometimes six instruments: violin, trumpet, vihuela, guitar a golpe, guitarron, and occasionally a harp.

Back at Davis Elementary, Valenzuela says its not just about the music and the instruments, its about the impact it has on the students and how they see their peers.

"Seeing your peers learning the song and the kids then say, 'well if she can do it, I'm going to do it too.' That's a big part of Davis and these kids learning," said Valenzuela.

For Valenzuela, tesoro isn't just a job; to him it's his second family.

"These kids are my pride and joy and they make me want to teach mariachi even more," said Valenzuela.

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