Susie Garcia
Executive Director
Suzanne Garcia is better known as "Susie" to all her fans, friends, and family, and if you are not laughing, crying, smiling, or dancing when she is onstage, then she thinks that she hasn't done her job. With a keen ear for music, she began playing violin as a child. With the encouragement of her parents (both avid Mariachi fans and music aficionados), Susie was introduced to a genre of music rooted in tradition and cultural pride.
In 1991, Susie made her first appearance at the Hollywood Bowl for a "Tribute to Women in Mariachi". Little did she know, a few years later the explosion of all-female Mariachi ensembles would begin. Susie returned to the Hollywood bowl three more times as a member of Mariachi Las Adelitas (1997) as well as Mariachi Las Alondras(1998, 1999). While a student member of the UCLA Mariachi in 1994, under the direction of Chuy Guzman of Mariachi Los Camperos, Susie, a second generation Mexican-American, felt a need to return to her roots in exploration of the language and the land where Mariachi music was born. In 1997, she attended La Universidad Autónoma de México in Mexico City and returned with new insight and understanding to music and culture.
In 1999, Susie helped pioneer one of the first modern all-female run and directed mariachi bands in Los Angeles by the name of Mariachi Divas. During her 9-year stint with the Divas, Susie performed at countless concerts and music festivals and received her first American Grammy award for “Best Regional Mexican Album” in 2008. She started Las Colibri in 2009 and has since led the group to become one of the premiere female mariachi ensembles in Los Angeles.
Since 2012, she has been a leading partner with John Anson Ford Theatre and has produced seven very successful shows within her ¡Viva La Tradición! annual series. She has experience theatre experience as a musical director/ composer at the Getty Villa (2009) and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (2011) and as the Artistic Director for El Gran Concierto de Gala del Mariachi (2015). She is most proud of her most recent project: “Las Jovencitas” the first all female mariachi youth academy (2016)