LOS ANGELES — Carlos Samaniego is an accomplished mariachero. He’s also a trailblazer in Mexican folk genre, a founding member of the world’s first-ever LQBTQ+ mariachi band, Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles — the Los Angeles rainbow mariachi.

When Cal State Northridge decided to launch its first-ever mariachi class in its music department, the university hired Samaniego to teach it.