David Ortiz (Founder)
David Ortiz began his musical journey at age 12 in Crystal City, Texas, studying in an 800-square-foot condemned building at Sterling H. Fly Junior High. From 1994–2001, he earned All-Region Band honors and was named to the All-Area Band in 2000 and 2001.
After graduating from Crystal City High School, David attended Texas State University, where he studied trumpet under Dr. Keith Winking and performed as lead/principal trumpet in the university’s premier ensembles, including Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Salsa del Rio, Funk Ensemble, Mariachi Nueva Generacion, and the marching band. He is also a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
While performing with Salsa del Rio, the ensemble earned Premios a la Música Latina awards for Best Salsa/Merengue Group in 2005, 2006, and 2007, as well as a 2007 DownBeat Award for Best Blues/Pop/Rock Recording. David later earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in Music and Psychology from Texas State University.
Professionally, David has built a career spanning music, education, and public service. Beyond his work as a performer, composer, arranger, producer, and audio engineer, he has worked extensively in case management, serving individuals impacted by severe mental illness, homelessness, patient advocacy systems, and immigration services involving unaccompanied children through the Office of Refugee Resettlement. He also has extensive experience in K–12 music and dual-language education in Texas schools.
David currently serves as mariachi and orchestra director at Judson High School, where he has led students to appearances at the state level through Texas Association of Mariachi Educators (TAME) and University Interscholastic League (UIL). His students gained national attention after a performance at the Mariachi Extravaganza went viral, earning more than one million online views.
As founder and director of Mariachi Entertainment System (MES), David has become internationally recognized for blending mariachi traditions with video game, film, and popular music. MES has developed a global following of more than 100,000 followers across digital platforms and generates millions of streams and views annually. His credits include collaborations with Riot Games, Guacamelee! 2, Grupo Fantasma, Mariachi Rock Revolution, and Town of Zoz, where he serves as composer and musical supervisor. As a recording artist and session trumpeter, he has worked with artists including Ruben Ramos, Grupo Fantasma, The OneUps, Vanessa Del Fierro, and Jeremy Messersmith. He has also shared the stage with Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, Metalachi, and legendary video game composer David Wise.
David was awarded the Individual Artist Grant from the City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture in 2021 for Musica Inmortal, a multimedia album and short film project that he wrote, produced, directed, and edited. In 2025, he was again awarded the Individual Artist Grant for Doble Sentido, an upcoming interdisciplinary music project currently in development.
David is also the founder of Key Changes, a nonprofit organization focused on connecting mariachi students in San Antonio with access to private music instruction and educational opportunities.
He is also a published author, contributing to Super Nintendo Compendium and Hidden Gaming Gems: Generation by Generation. Deeply influenced by composers such as Nobuo Uematsu, Yoko Shimomura, and Yasunori Mitsuda, David draws inspiration from the video games and soundtracks that shaped his childhood. Through his work as an educator, performer, and creative director, he continues to advocate for culturally relevant music education while bridging mariachi traditions with contemporary media, gaming culture, and cinematic storytelling.
Above all, David considers being a father to his son Lorenzo his greatest role.
Alina Mallén - Vihuela/Flute/Piccolo/Guitar/Voice (Founding Member)
Alina Mallén was born in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León, México and raised in Laredo, TX. Alina moved to San Antonio, TX in 2010 to attend the University Of Texas - San Antonio. There, she was the founding historian for the Iota Tau chapter of Tau Beta Sigma, a post she held until her graduation from the university with her Bachelor’s degree in Flute Performance in 2016.
Alina has been playing mariachi professionally full time for 16 years, and has been a part of Mariachi Azul de San Antonio since 2014 as vihuela player, vocalist and booking manager. As a mariachi musician, has had the opportunity to travel the world and has shared the stage with artists including Michael Salgado, Pepe Aguilar, Yolanda del Rio, Pablo Montero, El Dasa, Yuridia, variety group Matute, and Jay Perez among others.
Alina is considered a founding member of Mariachi Entertainment System (2015), and has recorded and performed on vihuela, guitar, flute, piccolo and lead vocals. In addition to her diversified performance credits on various instruments, Alina brings to the group her vast knowledge of musical styles and music history which has been vital in balancing MES’ efforts to respect the numbered genres of music MES is known for blending.
Her first console was a Super Nintendo at the age of 5 years old and her favorite soundtracks from that era are Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island and Zombies Ate My Neighbors.
A wife and mother above all else, Alina has been married to Fernando Mallén since 2019; they have a 1-year-old daughter named Julieta. Her hobbies include travel and extensive vinyl record collecting.
Alana Urbano - Flute/Arranging/Voice (Member Since 2016)
Hailing from the southwest side of San Antonio, Alana Urbano is a passionate music arranger, composer, educator, and leader in her community. A graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio, she studied flute and music composition before continuing her graduate studies in Music Education at Liberty University. During her tenure at UTSA, Alana was the inaugural Head Drum Major for the Spirit of San Antonio Marching Band, and a founding sister for the Iota Tau chapter of Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority.
With over a decade of teaching experience, she has worked with students in the elementary music classroom as well as middle school and high school band settings. She is a co-founder of Limitbreak Leadership, a traveling summer camp dedicated to cultivating leadership skills in underprivileged band programs in their own backyards. In addition, Alana served as the Associate Director for the San Antonio Chamber Winds (2016-2018), created the intergalactic video game jazz group, Super Galaxy Train (2020), and co-wrote the Fight Song for Texas A&M San Antonio. She currently serves as the Head Band and Mariachi Director at Dobie Middle School in Austin ISD, where she was awarded Teacher of the Year honors for 2025.
Since joining Mariachi Entertainment System in 2016, Alana has contributed several arrangements to the group, helping to shape its signature sound. Alana brings a much-needed knowledge of composition, arranging and gaming history to MES, which has been essential in connecting MES with audiences worldwide.
When she’s not making music, she can be found exploring Austin’s decadent food scene with her husband, Reyes, meticulously plotting world domination in Civilization V, or tending to her garden alongside her beloved cats, Lucifer and Icarus, and her joyful pup, Heidi.
Vincent Pequeño - Guitar/Requinto (Member Since 2024)
Vincent Pequeño has been a professional guitarist/requintero for over fifteen years. His unique skillset has been sought out the world over from China, Japan, Italy, Poland and the spaces in between.
Most notably, Vicent is a founding member of San Antonio’s Trio Chapultepec, a collective of virtuosic performers engaged in preserving the art of Mexican Trio. Trio Chapultepec has achieved similar notoriety, having worked with Opera companies around the continental United States.
Vincent has been recording with MES intermittently since 2018 and is excited to join the performing group on a more consistent basis in 2025.
Vincent brings his mastery of the dying art of Requinto to MES, and also supplements on rhythm guitar. MES is thrilled to have Vincent as a priceless asset.
Growing up in the early 2000s, Vincent vividly recalls his first console; the PlayStation 2 and of course the games that influenced his musical identity: Ape Escape, Shadow of The Colossus, We Love Katamari.
Jesus “Chuy” Guerra - Trumpet/Voice (Member Since 2016)
Jesus “Chuy” Guerra. hails from San Antonio, TX and has over 30 years of experience as a trumpet player. A two-time Texas All-State Trumpet player, Chuy is the son of legendary San Antonio mariachi trumpeter Jesus “El Cabrito” Guerra Sr.
Chuy’s performance and recording credits are almost innumerable and include sharing the stage with Mariachi Azteca de America, Mariachi Rock Revolution, Mariachi Campanas De America, Mariachi Los Caporales, Lupita Infante, Latin Grammy winners Elida Reyna, Chente Barrera, Jay Perez, Michael Salgado and many more.
Chuy is a top call for the city of San Antonio as a trumpeter, and has been sought after all over the continental United States as well as Japan, Italy and Russia where he participated in accompanying the Mexican national soccer team at the FIFA World Cup.
Chuy has been with MES since 2016 and brings his virtuosic skillset, his silky lyricism, his unmatched firepower and his effortless phrasing to the ensemble. Chuy has also lent his voice to MES on a Disney song or two.
He has three children who also follow in the love for playing musical instruments. Chuy’s first albeit not last experience with gaming was on the original Nintendo NES, and fondly recalls making core memories with Tekken, Killer Instinct, Star Fox and Street Fighter during years that followed.
Sean Rodriguez - Guitarrón/Voice (Member Since 2018)
Sean Rodriguez is a vocalist and guitarronista from San Marcos, TX. He is currently the choir director at Southwest Legacy High School in San Antonio, TX. Sean started in Mariachi music in high school, first on trumpet, then moving to guitarron, guitar, and vihuela.
Sean graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelors of Music in Music Studies. While studying voice at Texas State University, he played guitarron and guitar with the award winning Mariachi Nueva Generacion and sang with the university’s top choirs. Sean has shared the stage with artists such as Shaila Durcal, Pedro Fernandez, and has performed all over the continental United States and Chile.
Sean has presented at the Texas Music Educators Association convention on mariachi vocals and ear training and was recently published in TMEA’s monthly publication, “The Southwestern Musician” where he wrote about culturally and pedagogically appropriate repertoire selection for high school choirs.
Sean has been a member of MES since 2018, lending his voice, guitar and guitarrón skills to the ensemble. Sean’s refined training, his musicianship and his tenacity have proven to be invaluable in the success MES has continued to achieve.
He currently resides in San Antonio with his wife, Rebecca, who is also an active mariachi musician, his daughter Lila (future member of MES 2.0), and dog “Cien”.
Eric Cervera - Violin/Voice (Member Since 2017)
A San Antonio native, Eric holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing from UTSA.
Eric Cervera has been immersed in mariachi music since 1990, performing with groups such as Mariachi Los Arrieros de Laredo, Mariachi Festival de Oscar A. Garza, and Mariachi Azul de San Antonio. His love for the art form extended to the stage, where he was part of the cast of American Mariachi at The Public Theater of San Antonio.
Eric is also a lifelong gamer. His first console was an Atari 2600, where he spent countless hours playing E.T. before coming to the painful realization that the game was terrible—he was not. The first game he ever completed was Rygar on the NES. He enjoys military strategy and civilization simulation games on PC, but as Robert Sabo knows, he has a Wii.
Eric came to MES as a fan wanting to participate in an experimental project; he has also spearheaded several extremely successful social media campaigns for the ensemble. Eric brings his musicianship on violin as well as his infectious personality and unrivaled showmanship, and is a valued asset for the MES family.
Outside of music, he is a Marketing and Sales Executive in the health insurance industry.
Eric has been married to his wife, Andrea, since 2000, and they share a deep love for the performing arts with their daughter, an aspiring musical theater actor.
Amy Rabago - Violin/Voice (Founding Member)
Amy Rabago is a native of San Antonio, TX and attended Texas State University – San Marcos to earn her Bachelors Degree in Music Education in 2005. Studying under Dr. Lynn Ledbetter, she went on to earn a Masters Degree in Violin Performance at Texas State in 2007.
Amy has taught orchestra at Ross Middle School, Brazosport High School, Judson Middle School, Churchill HS, and is currently teaching Orchestra and Mariachi at Veterans Memorial High School. In her years teaching, her ensembles have achieved superior ratings in University Interscholastic League competition on a consistent basis and totaled over 15 Sweepstakes trophies.
Mrs. Rabago has earned the "Spirit of Judson" award and the "JISD Distinguished Educator" award. She was the 2017-2018 Region 11 Middle School Orchestra Chair and is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota Professional Music Fraternity, The National Scholars Honor Society, Pi Kappa Lambda Honor Society, Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) and Texas Orchestra Directors Association (TODA).
She is a professional violinist/singer and active recording artist. Amy is a founding member of MES and has lent her vocal and instrumental talents to Mariachi Las Coronelas, Mariachi Suroeste, Mariachi Damas de Jalisco and Mariachi Las Alteñas.
During her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball and traveling with her sons Alijah and Isaiah. She is a big supporter of Autism Awareness.
Robert Sabo - Violin/Voice
Robert Sabo grew up in Del Rio, TX. Originally a classically trained tuba player, Robert began to teach himself the violin and eventually joined the high school mariachi ensemble Mariachi De Media Noche.
Robert would continue his music studies at Texas State University, where he would go on to perform with the Texas State University Symphony Orchestra, Mariachi Lince de Oro, and Mariachi Nueva Generacion.
Since graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, Robert Sabo has gone on to share the stage with such notable artists as The Indigenauts, Nopalli, Nina Diaz, Billy Mata and the Texas Tradition, Beatriz La Emperatriz Del Pueblo, and accompanied Pedro Fernandez.
Robert Sabo has been teaching orchestra and mariachi in the public system for over 12 years, and continues his professional playing career based out of San Antonio.
Robert joined MES as a violinist in 2017, and brings with him his outstanding skill as a violinist, his bone dry sense of humor and his cat, Willie Nelson.
He is an avid enthusiast of video games and table -top gaming. At the age of 5, he was gifted his first gaming system, the classic NES, and continues to enjoy gaming on his PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Valve Steam Deck. He currently lives with his girlfriend and two cats in San Antonio, TX.