​Mariachi Juvenil de San Diego 

Serafin Paredes    has been a music educator in the San Diego Unified School District since 1999.  With a Bachelors degree in Music Education from San Diego State University and Masters in education from National University he began his teaching career as an elementary school teacher, instructing the students in band, orchestra, and guitar.  In 2005 Mr. Paredes became the Music teacher at San Diego High School, School of Media Visual and Performing Arts.  There he taught, marching band, Concert band, Jazz Band, Guitar ensemble, orchestra, and Mariachi, the only mariachi in the San Diego Unified School district at that time.   Currently, Mr. Paredes is building the music program at Memorial Preparatory Academy for Scholars and Athletes. As of 2012 Mr. Paredes has been the Mariachi Director at the University of San Diego where he teaches the students about the traditional mariachi music.     
In 2002, Mr. Paredes founded Mariachi Juvenil de San Diego, as a place where his elementary school students could continue exceling on their instruments. In 2003 Mariachi Juvenil de San Diego became the first, and only, non-profit mariachi in San Diego, which encourages and supports the students to graduate high school and continue on with higher education.  As the students involved in Mariachi Juvenil de San Diego progressed and became better musicians, Mr. Paredes decided to establish an annual mariachi conference.  At this conference world recognized mariachi would travel to San Diego to teach history, technique, and style.  This conference began with only his students at San Diego High School and now as grown to a conference where people from out of town travel to San Diego to be involved with the learning experience. 

Mr. Paredes has taught his students to be competent musicians, and has given them encouragement to be able to succeed in what they do.