Stephanie Amaro, Musician | Made in America
The following is the transcript of an interview between Sergio Muñoz and Stephanie Amaro
Sergio: How do you identify?
Stephanie: I’m a third generation Mexican American. My parents were born in California, my mom’s parents were from Arizona and my father’s family migrated from Mexico to Utah and eventually California. My great grandparents were from Zacatecas.
Sergio: Please describe your childhood home….
Stephanie: I grew up in Whittier in a Tudor revival on half an acre. Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, nine avocado trees as well as fig, grapefruit, oranges, persimmons, peaches and loquat trees. That’s what we ate as latch-key 90’s kids. I lived there with my mom, brother and sister. When I was really little, my parents made extra money playing in a band for hire. I started learning to play music on the piano in the living room, then the guitar. I taught myself the Beatles songbook. I learned practically all of them. My dad was a mega fan and had all the deep cuts, all the books of behind-the-scenes lore and bootleg copies of rare studio outtakes. He was really into them. It was good education to learn their songs because they’re simple but you really learn a lot about harmony. We didn’t have cable so I couldn’t watch MTV but I did get my hands on CDs and made mix tapes from the radio of course. Anyway, around 15 years old I got really into grunge rock. My favorite was Hole. I wanted to be Courtney Love so bad.
Sergio: Is it a jump from the Beatles to Hole?
Stephanie: Not really. The song structures and harmony are pretty much the same, it’s just a different sound palette.
Sergio: What was your socio-economic position as a 16YO?
I don’t think I was very conscious of that at that age. In the 90’s it seemed like Uptown Whittier was the place for the up-start Latinos that wanted to blend in with the white folk. When those kinds of Latinos “graduated” Whittier they went on to Hacienda Heights and after that, Newport Beach. A very “Latinos for Trump” pipeline. My parents always had me in some religious school as the only brown girl with the white kids until high school, which was public, and therefore a little more diverse. My high school was predominantly Latino, of the aforementioned brand. It felt like a very suburban upbringing.
Sergio: So, music is already in your life in high school, right?
4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up?” was my 6th grade anthem. I remember one time during recess the kids were taking a poll as to which “Creep” was better…Radiohead or Stone Temple Pilots? I was the only kid who voted Radiohead. I had minor key anguish in my blood I guess.
Sergio: What was expected of you at 18?
My home life was pretty chaotic leading up to and following my parents’ divorce. They’re stereotypical “me” generation boomers. I wasn’t asked about school or grades or got any guidance about going to college. At 18, my mom decided to start charging me rent to live in her back house. I didn’t feel it was worth it, neither could I afford it, so I up and started touring with an indie band from Denver called Uphollow as their bass player. It was what I call proto-emo. We opened for Jimmy Eat World, who were just getting their first big break at the time. Although I knew I could sing (I DID win the kindergarten talent show singing “Somewhere Out There” from An American Tale), I didn’t sing much at all during my rock/indie/punk years. I had this thing in my head that I didn’t want to be devalued as some singer/songwriter that can’t play. I’ve since cured myself of that kind of internalized misogyny.
Sergio: When did you become a Mariachi?
I got into regional Mexican music at 19. My grandma introduced me to the music of some ranchero artists on one fateful trip we took to her pueblo in Mexico. When I got back to LA it became an absolute hyperfocus. I started seeking out mariachi groups to go see and study. I’d go a lot to Cielito Lindo in El Monte, they had a world class mariachi there. Very successful. The director of the group also owned the restaurant and used it as a musical “home” for the group to perform. I thought that was pretty cool. What wasn’t so cool was the gender segregation of these groups. The main group was all men as a rule, and there was a separate all-female group that basically got second billing and less pay. I’d come from a rock background and was naïve to how the system worked and really thought I could audition for the main group. Anyway, they let me play a little for them and they told me my left hand was great but that my right hand had no idea what it was doing. So they offered to train me. The guitar player was cool enough to let me show up on their breaks at the restaurant for private lessons. He taught me all the different rhythms and styles and what regions they come from as well as repertoire I needed to know in order to start working in the mariachi scene. I worked at Marie Calendars at the time and would pay him with French Apple pie and avocados from my mom’s backyard. That’s how I got my world-class mariachi education, and I’m beyond lucky to have learned from the best. Fast forward about twenty years and here I am. Along the way I even managed to become the first-- and so far only-- female guitar player in the history of the genre to be invited to join one of those all-male elite mariachi groups. But even though it had been my dream, the reality of it as a system run by and for patriarchal men didn’t sit well with my autistic need for justice and equity and I ultimately left. The group that I play with now is called Mariachi Las Catrinas. It’s an amazing independent all-female group of bad-ass seasoned musicians and we have a great time and have done some amazing things together.
Sergio: The last time we met, you were doing well with Trio Ellas, when did that start?
We started playing together in 2008. When we were nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2012 things got serious and we incorporated, but like any gig worker or anybody that hasn’t been in the corporate world like me, we didn’t know much about running the business end of an unsigned semi-successful independent musical project. Income-wise, Trio Ellas was split three ways. We had publicists, we made money from gigs, streaming, merch, and CDs but we didn’t have a label so we didn’t have that support. We had a joint account where we saved a percentage from every gig in order to pay for recordings, wardrobe, gear and incidentals. The group disbanded in 2020.
Sergio: In 2012 you were performing in two bands, got nominated for a Latin Grammy, and you had a baby. That must have been tough for you.
Yes, my life was a LOT at that time. Trio Ellas was just taking off and I remember being miserably huge pregnant at the Latin Grammys trying to waddle down the red carpet. The Blue Agave was my ex’s sort of passion project. It was a cute concept; a fusion of dark surf rock and classic Latin repertoire. Like the kind of music that would be in a Tarantino-en-espanol film. But like I said, I had a lot of stuff going on and unfortunately – ask any woman in an otherwise all-male band—it was like, EXPECTED that as the only female member I had to be the one in charge of booking, promo, logistics, merch—anything that wasn’t the actual music. Man I resented that. Sorry bro I’m ADHD, it was way too much.
Sergio: When did you join Las Catrinas?
I began working with them in 2021 as a sub and committed to the group as a full-time member in 2024. The reason it took me so long to commit to such a great group was totally on me. I have a VERY hard time being a member of anything, whether it be organized religion, sports, hierarchies, tribes, clubs, a gang—whatever.
Sergio: Where do you live now?
I live in an awesome Spanish style house in South Gate. It’s a very family oriented community. It’s white with a terracotta roof, a nice garden, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. I live there with my 13 year old son, a bird, a dog and my cats.
Sergio: Who is doing better, Stephanie today or Stephanie at 16?
Ha! Well, at the moment we have the same haircut. The Stephanie of today is hands-down doing better. I was very confused at 16. Getting diagnosed as on the spectrum and seriously ADHD put a LOT of things into perspective. Like, why did I have perfect pitch as a child and all this crazy intuition and pattern recognition but no friends and an almost inability to complete homework? Why did I only have a natural propensity for skills that were useless for financial gain in this society? Why was I so socially awkward? I used to beat myself up for it. I spent many years feeling like a loser, lazy, and a failure no matter what level of success I achieved in music. The me of today knows what I’m good at, knows what I want and don’t want in my life, and is on a never-ending journey to figure out what my body needs to stay happy and productive. I definitely prefer the me of today.
#Intelatin #Media #Music #Mariachi
Sergio C. Muñoz is a Mexican banker writing on Latina/o Prosperity. His work has been featured in the US Hispanic Business Council; Caló, the Los Angeles Times, the OC Register, PBS, NPR, WNYC, Revista - Harvard Review of Latin America, Studio 360, Latino Leaders Magazine, Poder Hispanic, Animal Político & ¿México Cómo Vamos?
To support my work, please consider purchasing a sample of salt from our sponsor, Santa Prisca & Co: https://bit.ly/Intelatin - Many years ago, I studied the salt exchange with Jing Tio at Le Sanctuaire. I have also done special projects with the artisans cultivating in the Sea of Cortez and the Pangasinan region. This year, after a tasting menu with the CEO of Santa Prisca, hand harvested by salineros in Cuyutlán, Colima, Mexico, I am using this salt exclusively for all my high profile culinary tasting events.
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