Personal Awards
Two-Time Grammy Award Recognition
Cultural Contributions
Film & National Cultural Consulting
About
Dr. Lauryn Salazar is an Associate Professor of Music and Director of the Mariachi Programs at Tarleton State University. Through archival and field-based research, her work focuses on mariachi music in Mexico and the United States and its institutionalization vis-à-vis American academic programs at the primary, secondary, and collegiate levels.
Utilizing the frameworks of postcolonial and practice theories, her research explores the ramifications of mariachi’s formalization in terms of pedagogy, performance practice, and meaning.
She is a practicing mariachi musician performing on the mariachi harp and is a member of the all-female, two-time Grammy award-winning Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea. Dr. Salazar has served as a cultural advisor on the Oscar and Golden Globe-winning Disney Pixar film “Coco” (2017), and as the mariachi consultant for the United States Postal Service Mariachi Forever Stamp series (2022).
She holds a BA from Carleton College (Magna Cum Laude) in Music, and her MA and PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Prior to teaching at Tarleton State University, she taught at Texas Tech University, UCLA, UC Santa Cruz, and the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).
Current Position
Associate Professor & Director of Mariachi Programs — Tarleton State University (2025–present)
Education
Ph.D. & M.A. in Ethnomusicology, UCLA B.A. in Music, Carleton College (Magna Cum Laude)
Grammy-Award Winning Performer
Mariachi Harpist — Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea (Two-Time Grammy Winners)
Cultural Consulting
Disney Pixar's "Coco" (Oscar & Golden Globe Winner) · USPS Mariachi Forever Stamps (2022)
Adjudication
UIL Mariachi Competition (since inception) · TMEA Mariachi Program Evaluator
