SAN ANTONIO — You can feel Augustin Ortiz’ passion when he’s performing mariachi music with Mariachi Los Amores.

His performances at the Historic Market Square alone can add up to an entire calendar year. 

“At least 10 times a year, through my lifetime, over 200, 300, since I was — de chiquito (since I was a kid),” Ortiz said.

For 12 years he’s shared that passion with students at San Antonio ISD’s Poe Dual Language Middle School. 

He built the Los Tigres Mariachi program from scratch. Group photos of him and his former students are posted in the mariachi classroom. 

“There’s some kids in these groups that are in college, that have their families. I have some kids in here that have passed away,” Ortiz said. “It’s just a reminder of where I started.” 

Ortiz was named Teacher of the Year in 2023 and a year later he felt blindsided when he received a letter stating he was being displaced. 

“A shocker, especially when you built a program, and you want to know that it will keep going, but it’s not,” Ortiz said. “The district has done a great job of ensuring we are going to have a position, but to know where?” 

That still hasn’t been determined. 

SAISD recently voted to close 15 schools to save money and create more resources.

The district told Spectrum News 1 that student enrollment determines the amount of personal needed and added this analysis is a standard part of its budgeting process and is a standard used by districts across Texas. 

“It gives me a lot of anxiety. It’s kept me up at night,” Ortiz said. “When I found out I had to go back to the classroom and teach, that was a difficult day. Because how do you get up there and teach knowing what you are working towards is not going to apply for next year?”

This is felt across the state as Fort Worth ISD and Keller ISD are also planning to cut jobs. 

Augustine now remembers the words of his late mentor, the “Madre of Mariachi" Belle San Miguel Ortiz, who attended and taught at SAISD. 

San Miguel Ortiz fought for mariachi education and in 1970 brought the first mariachi course elective in the country. Last month she was honored with a music building named after her at Lanier high school. 

“In 2017, she goes, 'Mijo (son), too many people are quitting, and that’s not how we do things. That’s not how we did things in the '80s. We didn’t quit, we buckled down and we used our resources.' Those were her exact words,” Ortiz said. 

Words he’s leaning on in the difficult transition.