The chance of a mariachi band being able to play a Metallica or Britney Spears song is about as likely as an all-women’s mariachi group appearing on stage. But such are the unusual requests—and anomalies—that the all-female members of Mariachi Pasion deal with as performers.

Although mariachi bands are typically male, Mariachi Pasion wanted to develop their own style and share the passionate Mexican folk music they enjoyed as youths. The group formed in 2002 after several current members met while taking a music class at Arizona State University.

Mariachi music is characterized by high-pitched string instruments such as guitars, flutes and violins, and trumpets with high- and low-energy tempos that convey the emotional gamut from love to grief, and everything in-between. It evolved in rural towns and ranches in western Mexico around the mid-1800s.

While the band sings in Spanish, the story-telling nature of mariachi music is universal and celebrates the singular moments of everyone’s life, according to Betty Duarte-Matwic, one of the group’s founding members, who plays the guitarrón, a six-string acoustic bass that resembles a guitar.

“It’s like country-western music. The lyrics express everything from joy and heartbreak, to baptisms and farewells,” explains Duarte-Matwick. “You don’t have to know every single word to enjoy the music. Sometimes the translation isn’t exact, but it’s more about the sentiment of the song.”

Today, the band has 14 members who all sing and play instruments. By day, they work as educators, engineers, financial planners, IT and marketing experts, and healthcare professionals, balancing hectic family responsibilities and being a musician.

Despite cultural perceptions that expect an all-male mariachi band to show up for gigs (the band was recently released from an event after the organizer realized they were an all-female group) Mariachi Pasion is still booked almost every weekend.

They’ve played for dignitaries and statesmen, including Vincente Fox, former president of Mexico, and Arizona Senator John McCain, as well as the Phoenix Suns, Australian national swim team, and comedian George Lopez. Most recently, they performed at the inauguration of newly elected Arizona governor Katie Hobbs.

“We keep our culture alive through ‘backyard’ events. And anybody and everybody is welcome at the table,” says Duarte-Matwick, who manages the band’s bookings.

Over the years, Mariachi Pasion has put their own twist on the arrangement of several traditional mariachi songs, which is a testament to their creativity, resilience and commitment to musicianship.

“We’ve taken our knocks. We were an anomaly when we started, but we’ve been tireless in rehearsing and making the songs come to life in our own way,” says Duarte-Matwick. “We soften a lot of it and play hard at other times.”

Their stage look is also a departure from what traditional male mariachi bands wear for performances. Instead of wide-brimmed sombreros and three-piece suits with sharply creased tight pants, Mariachi Pasion wear long skirts and adorn themselves with colorful ties, sashes and flowers in their hair. The feminine touches make a bold statement but the details of their custom outfits, much like those of a male mariachi group, are important symbols of cultural pride.

“You have to earn your uniform. It represents a sense of respect and tradition,” Duarte-Matwick says of their handmade ensembles that are referred to as a uniform (traje) rather than a costume.

Yet, at the end of the day, the artifice and notes on the page don’t matter, according to Duarte-Matwick.

“It’s not about A, D or G. It’s how you feel about the piece. We play with passion. The words to the songs have meaning for us. We touch people’s hearts and make people cry sometimes. If it’s done well, there is nothing more healing than music,” she says.

“If you can’t convey that someone’s hurt you, left you or whatever the emotion is that people experience, you might as well sit down. The tradition and lyrics resonate with the audience. That’s the beauty of it all—keeping our culture and mariachi alive.”