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North Side High Mariachi Director Ramon Niño Dies at 60 After Rapid Cancer Battle
Ramon Niño, the beloved mariachi director at Fort Worth's North Side High School, died Nov. 5, just six weeks after being diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma. A candlelight vigil is set for Thursday at 6 p.m., with attendees asked to wear his favorite color, yellow.
FORT WORTH â Ramon Niño, the longtime mariachi director at North Side High School whose ensemble earned an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall, died Thursday, Nov. 5, just weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. He was 60.
His wife, Imelda Martinez, said the diagnosis came suddenly. Doctors initially struggled to identify the type of cancer before confirming cholangiocarcinoma, a cancer that forms in the bile ducts. Only about six weeks passed between his diagnosis in late September and his death.
Niño spent 24 years as an educator in Fort Worth ISD, most of them shaping the mariachi program at North Side High School. Under his leadership, the school's mariachi ensemble received an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall â a rare honor for a high school group and a point of pride for the predominantly Latino North Side community.
Born in the small South Texas town of Falfurrias, Niño had little exposure to mariachi music when he began his teaching career. "He had never taught mariachi. He had never played mariachi," Martinez said. But his students became his teachers, making him CDs and introducing him to the genre. "He let his students teach him," she said.
Both Niño and Martinez initially pursued engineering before realizing their true passion was music. Martinez played violin; Niño played trombone. Their shared love of music brought them together at Fort Worth ISD.
Martinez said her husband's legacy extended far beyond music instruction. "I think everyone's first instinct is music educator. He is such a great teacher. And yes, that's true. But I think more than anything, it was him being able to make you feel seen," she said. "His legacy was allowing you to realize what you were capable of doing, even when you weren't sure if you could do it."
She expressed gratitude to the students and community members who have joined the family in mourning.
North Side High School will host a candlelight vigil at 6 p.m. Thursday to honor Niño. Organizers are asking attendees to wear his favorite color, yellow.
Niño's death leaves a void in a district where arts education has long served as a lifeline for students, and in a neighborhood that saw its mariachi program become a source of identity and achievement under his direction. Community members are expected to gather Thursday not only to grieve but to celebrate a teacher who, by his wife's account, believed in students until they believed in themselves.