*Recognized at the CMA Percussion Forum 2026, the musician reflects on more than two decades of teaching and remembers the generations who found a path to training in percussion*
Before specialized forums, masterclasses, and a new generation of young people capable of moving between drums, band music, and orchestral percussion, there were teachers who started practically from scratch. Manuel Rocha was one of them.
That’s why, when he received an award during the CMA Percussion Forum 2026, the tribute transcended the name written on a plaque. Before him stood some of the consequences of a story that began decades ago: teachers, students, professional percussionists, and young people who now find training opportunities that were practically nonexistent before.
Maestro Manuel Rocha received the award with surprise.
“I honestly didn’t expect it. I felt very honored to be recognized in such an important forum, so musically significant,” he expressed.
Rocha has received other distinctions throughout his career, including awards related to his contributions to band percussion. However, this one held special significance for him: it was bestowed by the percussion community itself, during a gathering dedicated entirely to the instrument that has shaped his life.
“It was a very important recognition because it was given to me on behalf of percussion,” he noted, expressing his gratitude for the initiative of Maestro Max Carreón.
A Recognition Belonging to Several Generations
Manuel Rocha insists on sharing the credit. He speaks of Ricardo Montes. He acknowledges Max Carreon. He remembers colleagues and teachers. He speaks of his students at the CMA.
He recognizes the institutions that currently train percussionists and mentions the CMA, the UAS, and the UAdeO as part of a community that must continue collaborating. And he thanks those who made the forum possible.
To understand the significance of that moment, we must go back many years.
Manuel Rocha taught percussion for over two decades at the Municipal Center for the Arts and participated in an early stage of the educational project that would later become the CMA.
Newspaper articles from that time and from the center itself document his role in training generations of percussionists.
Rocha remembers a Mazatlán that was musically different.
The educational offerings were fewer, there were fewer opportunities for specialization, and teaching was constantly intertwined with practical experience. Over the years, other teachers began to arrive, and new institutions and academic options emerged.
Later, others would come, among them Max Carreón.
Rocha recognizes Max Carreón as a talented and intelligent teacher, part of a generation that continued to strengthen what others had begun.
For Rocha, that is precisely the explanation for what happened:
“This grew a lot, and percussion began to flourish.”
He doesn’t take credit for the outcome. On the contrary, he insists it was the product of a collective effort: the teachers who arrived, the students who passed through the classrooms, and those who later became teachers and professionals themselves.
And therein lies perhaps one of the greatest dimensions of his legacy. The student ceased to be merely a student. He became a musician. Then a professional. In some cases, a teacher. And the cycle began anew.
A Generation That Learned to Take the Stage
When Maestro Manuel Rocha began to gather a considerable number of students, he decided to create an ensemble. He called it Escala de Percusiones (Percussion Scale). He didn’t want the teaching to remain confined to a classroom. The young musicians needed to experience something that no exercise can fully replicate: being in front of an audience.
He recalls around 15 members and performances in various venues in Mazatlán. The young musicians played the tambora, cowbell, marimba, and other instruments. The repertoire allowed them to work primarily on rhythm and improvisation.
“La Cachita,” “La Cocaleca,” “Brasil,” “Mambo No. 5,” and “Rico Mambo” were part of that sonic universe.
It’s not just oral history.
Newspaper articles document the CMA Percussion Ensemble, directed by Manuel Rocha, performing in neighborhoods of Mazatlán and participating in cultural outreach programs. In 2015, for example, the ensemble brought tropical and popular music to the Francisco I. Madero neighborhood; other performances included them in programs like Cultura en tu Casa (Culture in Your Home).
Those venues served a different purpose. Parents watched their children play. People applauded. Students discovered that what they had learned during hours of rehearsal could have an audience. Teaching ceased to be an exercise and became an experience.
From those ensembles to the Percussion Forum
Decades after those early experiences, the CMA held the Percussion Forum 2026 from August 3 to 8, conceived as a free event for training, exchange, and interaction among students, teachers, and professionals. The program included specialized classes, collaborative work, reflection, and performance activities.
For Manuel Rocha, his existence represents a unique space for percussion.
“I hope it continues and expands” to reach more people.
Manuel Rocha helped teach percussion in Mazatlán. But his true work was helping to create the conditions so that others could continue teaching it.
