Sergio “Checo” Alonso is a master of the Mexican folk harp traditions from the southern coast of Veracruz and the western states of Jalisco and Michoacan, the jarocho and mariachi traditions, respectively. Alonso began studying and researching Mexican folk music in 1993 in the ethnomusicology department at UCLA, studying with Jesus Guzman of Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano and other Mexican and Latin American master harpists including Alberto de la Rosa, Delfino Guerrero, Ivan Velasco and others. A teacher at San Fernando High School and instructor for the Mariachi Master Apprentice Program, Alonso also performs regularly with Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano (with whom he‰’s received a Grammy), Mariachi Nuevo Cuicatlan, and Grupo Aves.