Caption by Ashmar Mandou
Photos by Fernando Chavarria

Thousands of music lovers converged onto the Jay Pritzker Pavilion Sunday afternoon for the inaugural Chicago International Mariachi and Folklorico Festival, presented by Mariachi Heritage Foundation, National Museum of Mexican Art, and the City of Chicago. According to the Mariachi Heritage Foundation a record-breaking 18,000 people delighted in a sunny afternoon of song and dance. The festival was in support of mariachi education in Chicago public schools.