HOLLYWOOD HILLS—In April 2020, after reading an article about how coronavirus halted LA mariachi bands, William DeVry, 52, threw a birthday party featuring authentic Mexican music. The Canadian television actor hired a full mariachi band and invited the entire neighborhood for a block party to raise awareness for the mariachi performers.
DeVry is known for his roles on the daytime soap opera, “The Bold and the Beautiful’ where he portrayed Storm Logan, and “General Hospital” where he currently portrays Julian Jerome. In an interview with Spectrum News 1, DeVry said, “Yeah, I just felt that with the struggles that these mariachi musicians are dealing with now, especially at this time, with the city being locked down and essentially their livelihood locked down and not having access to a lot of these social platforms that we do for survival, I just wanted to be a part of the solution.”
The Canadian transplant was able to support Mariachi performers and music and develop bonds with his neighbors.
On April 16, The Los Angeles Times wrote an article titled, “Coronavirus unemployment halts L.A. mariachi bands,” and another article titled, “How coronavirus muted LA mariachi music,” on April 18. Musicians have been struggling to find ways to make money during the pandemic. Those who primarily perform at live events such as weddings, private parties and community events are being hit the hardest during this time.
Mariachi player Jose Diaz explained in an interview with NBC Los Angeles, “We were booked until October and then everybody canceled.” He went on to say, “It’s been really really tough especially because this is all we do and although I am legal…I don’t qualify for all the unemployment and stuff like that so for me it’s been tough too.”
The Mariachi-inspired soap star can be found on social media via his Twitter @WilliamdeVry1 and his Instagram account, @therealwildevry1.
