Now a seminal figure in the Austin mariachi music scene, Ezekiel (Zeke) Castro, 75, didn't begin playing the genre until he was 30 and a friend invited him to a mariachi class while he was living in California. 
He had had extensive experience playing symphonic works, but mariachi music was a new challenge for him at the time. In this conversation with Austin American-Statesman reporter Nancy Flores, Castro describes the first mariachi class he took, and how he was drafted to play his first gig after only learning two songs. 

nflores