A Memorable Mariachi Moment
Whataburger turns competitors into collaborators
In January 2025, after a high school mariachi competition in Houston, the Sam Houston High School Mariachi band filled up a nearby Whataburger to feed a bus full of hungry musicians.
“The kids were so excited,” Daisy Zambrano, director for Sam Houston High School ‘s mariachi band, told The Kelly Clarkson Show. “And suddenly, we have another bus pull up.”
Turns out, that bus was carrying the mariachi band from Klein Collins High School in Spring, Texas, who had also been competing that day.
“The place just turned into grandma’s house,” said Carlos Lara, Klein Collins’ mariachi director, on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “They just took care of us with open arms and wide smiles.”
The students grabbed their instruments and came together to play a traditional mariachi song, proving once again that fierce rivals become fast friends at Whataburger.
Watch Daisy and Carlos on The Kelly Clarkson Show:
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