The name of the legendary Belle Ortiz will forever grace the music building at Lanier High School. The newly named Belle Ortiz Music Building was revealed at a celebration Thursday, Feb. 8. Friends, family, and local dignitaries attended the ceremony to dedicate the facility to the Mother of Mariachi Music Education.

“Belle Ortiz was a trailblazer and her work ensuring that the tradition of mariachi music not only flourished but spread across the land was unmatched,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “Dedicating the Lanier High School Music building for Belle is a wonderful recognition of her vision, and determination, and I don’t think I know of a single building named after an individual that is more appropriate.”

Ortiz, who passed away in July 2023, introduced mariachi curriculum into public schools – first in SAISD. Ortiz pioneered the nation’s first high school ballet folklórico program at Lanier High School and introduced the first high school mariachi program at Jefferson High School. The genre spread across the city, state, and eventually the nation.

“We will forever cherish the cultural gifts Belle Ortiz has bestowed on us,” Superintendent Jaime Aquino said. “She was a barrier-breaker. She kept the Spanish language alive in our schools during a time when only English was spoken.”

The evening featured performances by the De Zavala Ballet Folkórico, Lanier Mariachi Engranaje Azul and the SAISD All-Star Mariachi. Mariachi Campanas de America, of which Ortiz was a co-founder, provided a special performance.

Today, Ortiz’s legacy lives on as five high school mariachi programs qualified for state. Brackenridge, Burbank, Fox Tech/ALA/CAST Tech, Jefferson, and Lanier high schools all received straight 1s (first division) at UIL Feb. 3 and have qualified for the state UIL mariachi festival Feb. 22-24 in Seguin.