Once Emily Hinderer told Woodburn High School's Brian Gingerich she played the violin, she didn't stand a chance of backing out of the Bulldogs' mariachi band.

"His eyes got huge like he wanted to eat me," said Hinderer, who joined the group as a sophomore and is currently a senior.

Violin players are hard to come by at WHS, as the school doesn't have a strings program, but the instrument is an essential part of a mariachi band and Woodburn is one of only a few in the state with one of those. Mariachi music blends string, brass, wind, and percussion instruments with vocals in a melodic mix that belies its difficulty. At WHS, mariachi music is blending cultures as well.

"I've often found myself leaning on the kids to learn more about the culture surrounding mariachi music," Gingerich said. "That's the thing about mariachi, it's impossible learn it without falling in love with the culture."

Gingerich, or "G" to his students, started the group in 2003 after seeing an article on other high school mariachi bands in a professional trade journal. Several of the group's current 15 members first heard the high school's mariachi band play as middle schoolers.

"It was really cool to see someone playing the the music I'd been listening to from the time I was a little kid," said junior Aldo Solano, a guitar player and the group's lead vocalist.

From its inception the group attracted a mixed bag of students.

"I think when we started out the white students were attracted to the challenge of the music. Mariachi is truly some of the hardest music I've ever played," Gingerich said.

It wasn't long before the the group started forming deeper connections. Because of its novelty, the mariachi band's performances were in demand. That meant traveling. A lot. They have as many as 35 performances a year.

"We all spend a huge amount of time together on buses," Hinderer said. "We hang out, we eat together and spend a lot of time on buses."

Hinderer is still working on her Spanish skills, but with coaching from bandmates and friends, she's contributing to vocals as well as violin.

"I never would have thought we'd have Russian kids in a mariachi band, but you've got to respect anyone who appreciates our culture enough to learn the music," Solano said.

Other students discovered connections to the music that even they weren't aware of.

"I started with the band because I wanted to learn new instruments," said junior Hector Espinoza, guitarron player. "After I joined I found out I had relatives who were part of mariachi bands back in Jalisco."

Jalisco is the Mexican state where mariachi music originated.

"It's definitely been more than just music," said junior Feliz Bautista. "[The band] is like a family."

Several past members of the band have found reason to stay in school because it allows them to participate in the band.

"It can be difficult to keep them on homework, but I'm continually impressed by lengths to which each of the band's members will go to help out someone else," Gingerich said.

Directing the band has been one of the most rewarding aspects of Gingerich's teaching career.

"I'm pretty lucky in that I get to see a part of Latino and Mexican culture that many people don't get to see," he said.