The artist behind the music
A life
becoming
song.
Meet MARIANA BE. An artist shaped by many cultures, and a journey of faith that found its voice in the Holy Land.
Her story ↓
01 / The roots
An artist
between worlds.
Born in Mexico, raised in the United States and rooted in Middle Eastern heritage, Mariana creates where cultures and languages meet.
A singer, songwriter, composer and producer, she brings Pop, Latin and Classical influences into songs about lived experience, faith and human connection.
Her background includes advanced choral performance as a first soprano, studies in Music and International Affairs, and postgraduate composition studies at Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
That meeting of worlds would take on a new meaning in the Holy Land.
02 / Magdala
Twenty days.
A different
life ahead.
While in London for a music showcase, Mariana contacted a priest she knew from retreats in the United States. With Holy Week approaching, he invited her to Magdala to contribute to its music ministry.
In 2022, Mariana arrived in the Holy Land planning to stay for twenty days and write two or three songs. Her first journey became nearly three months in Magdala and Jerusalem.
By the Sea of Galilee, making music became part of daily life: writing, recording and sharing songs through Magdala’s music ministry.
In Magdala’s Encounter Chapel, one word became the beginning of a song: Sáname. Heal me. A melody recorded on her phone grew into Heal Me, O My Lord / Sáname, Señor.
Days in Magdala
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03 / Jerusalem
Music made
in company.
The journey also brought new collaborators. At the Jerusalem Music Center, Mariana joined the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir in recording a Mary Magdalene hymn by Monsignor Marco Frisina, a composer and mentor she also met in Loreto, Italy.
A second journey, a new rhythm
Returning the following year, Mariana spent long days recording vocals and instruments, shaping arrangements and creating English versions of songs first written in Spanish. The first visit gave her the experience. The second gave it musical form.
While making By Your Side, corrupted recording files forced her to rebuild her work. A conversation with a consecrated woman helped her see the connection: a song about trust was asking her to practise it, too.
In and around the studio
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04 / Walking the Holy Land
The places
behind the songs.
Palm Sunday in Jerusalem. Prayer at the Jordan River. The stillness of the Judean Desert. These encounters became part of the experience she carried into her music.
During Holy Week, her path led through the Cenacle and Gethsemane, to the Holy Sepulchre on Good Friday and the Easter Vigil at Notre Dame Jerusalem Center.
Palm Sunday in Jerusalem
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The river, the desert, the journey
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Holy Thursday to Easter
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The spaces that became music
Listening
to a place.
In Magdala’s boat-shaped chapel, a homily inspired the melody of Duc in Altum. Later, the resonance of the Women’s Atrium helped shape an unaccompanied composition in Latin.
“The acoustic was so beautiful that the space seemed to ask for an a cappella piece.”Mariana BE
Her years of choral singing and composition found a new home in these spaces, where architecture, Scripture and sound met.
Inside the chapels
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05 / The people
A Holy
Land family.
The story lives in people as much as in places. Musicians, volunteers, consecrated women and priests at Magdala and Notre Dame became part of Mariana’s life in the Holy Land.
Between rehearsals, ministry and shared meals, her photographs hold the friendships that accompanied this time of faith and transformation.
The Holy Land family
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06 / Beyond the Holy Land
The songs
travel onward.
What began beside the Sea of Galilee reached new audiences. In 2025, New Life won Best Evangelization Song at the Vatican Catholic Music Awards. That same year, Mariana sang at the Jubilee of Youth in Rome.
Memories from Rome
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The story continues
Made to
be shared.
Across two journeys, Mariana created 27 songs inspired by the Holy Land. Pre-release concerts have brought the experience to audiences in Barcelona, Rome, the United States, Mexico and Israel.
The Holy Land Experience carries those places and encounters into music, inviting listeners into a story of faith, healing and hope.
Explore the music
On stage and in conversation
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In her own words
The stories
inside the songs.
Hear Mariana reflect on Heal Me, O My Lord and Into Deep Waters. Press play to watch with sound.
Mariana’s musical reflections
Two reflections from Mariana. Use the player controls to watch.
“I want the music to leave them with hope and faith, but also with joy, peace and a sense of rest—in the heart, the mind and the soul.”Mariana BEListen to the music