A local mariachi group is celebrating a decade of showcasing the best Mexican folk music with a welcoming flair. Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles, or Rainbow Mariachi of L.A., is an all-LGBT mariachi group, the first of its kind. At the helm is Carlos Samaniego, the group’s founder and director. “I’m an openly gay man who performs mariachi music,” Samaniego told KTLA 5’s Carlos Saucedo. “I needed to have a space, a safe space where I wasn’t going to be bullied or made fun of.” He originally started the collective while in college after experiencing homophobic remarks from some of his peers where “machista” or sexist attitudes have traditionally frowned upon gay culture. The group didn’t take off until 2014 blossoming into what it is today.