Arts Alive San Antonio

By D.F. SALVADOR, Contributor

There was a moment during Mariachi Lab at the Pearl in mid-September when a five-year old boy was invited to sing on the stage crowded with high school performers. It was one of those moments where the level of anticipation could be easily measured by the number of smart phones lighting up to record the performance. The boy did not disappoint, as the audience delighted in all the sustained notes and musical swells.  

While calling such a young singer onstage might seem like a gimmick to build excitement, it actually serves a greater purpose of celebrating and reinforcing tradition. Mariachi music is a bridge connecting the current generation with the past. 

Gino Rivera, the founder of Mariachi Azteca, recalls a similar moment when he was eight years old. His stepfather, a musician himself, introduced him to the music, and when his cousin was getting married, Rivera decided he would learn the difficult Son de la Negra on the violin so he could perform it at the wedding. His dad taught it to him by rote, breaking it down into sections, and by the time the wedding day had arrived, Rivera had it down. “I walked in and I played it and thought I was done. My high lasted for about ten seconds, he recalls. “Then I found out I had to play for fifty-five more minutes.” Since he hadn’t learned any other songs, he had to do his best to play along. “It was awful,” he says now with a laugh.

By the time he was in high school, Rivera was playing in his grandfather’s group, and when he graduated, he began teaching in local schools. He is currently the Traditional Music Director at the Guadalupe Cultural Art Center. Rivera understands that part of the mariachi tradition is not just playing the music but also passing it on to future generations. He’d like to leave a legacy behind. “I’m always learning. I want my musicians to feel like they’re learning, too. It’s a brotherhood,” he notes.

He recalls a pivotal experience in his life when as a young player, he went to see the famous Mariachi Vargas. His father warned him one of two things would happen after seeing the group: “You’re either going to want to quit or it’s going to inspire you.” For Rivera, the inspiration from ensembles like Mariachi Vargas, has propelled him to become one of the most prominent mariachi musicians in San Antonio. Rivera occasionally looks back at some classic performances by Mariachi Vargas, noting again the tempo changes, intricate rhythms, and tightness of the overall performance. “Those tempo changes are not accidents,” he says.

The 15-member Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan has remained a powerhouse and an inspiration for six generations of musicians, and they’re the highlight of the Mariachi Extravaganza festival coming to the Lila Cockrell theater December 1-7.

“Mariachi Vargas is the equivalent of the New York Philharmonic,” says Cynthia Muñoz, the organizer of the Extravaganza. “What makes them the best is that they are the ones who actually write the arrangements other groups follow, they’re writing the music, touring. When you see the group of fourteen musicians, you’ll see at least half of them have phenomenal voices, and the musical director is great at putting the voices together. Most people who come to the Extravaganza leave the performance commenting that they never knew mariachi could be this good.”

A lot of people might associate mariachi with table performances by small groups at Mexican restaurants. These groups know the classics and perform reliably, but it’s an altogether different experience watching a full ensemble of twelve to fifteen musicians. Rivera says, “Sometimes the perception of mariachi as cantina music is our fault. A lot of old movies reinforced this idea of mariachi being cantina music. But there’s another side, a virtuoso side, a side with artistry.”

For others in the San Antonio community, mariachi is deeply embedded in the fabric of everyday life. There are performances at Mass, weddings, parties, or other festivals. As Muñoz points out, the busiest day for mariachis is Mother’s Day weekend when the tradition of midnight serenatas with trumpets blaring at one in the morning, is alive and well.

Despite being deeply rooted in tradition, mariachi music, like other musical forms, is always evolving. English versions of songs are being recorded, and where mariachi was once male dominated, all-female groups have become a mainstay on the mariachi scene. Eighteen years ago, Valerie Vargas started Las Alteñas right after she finished high school. “At the time there were only a few female mariachi groups in San Antonio,” says Vargas. “We had a lot of support and the group became successful in a short amount of time. It’s great to see how far women in mariachi music have come and we strive to continue to empower and inspire other young females who are considering pursuing it.”

Another founder of an all-female ensemble, Debra Torres, leader of Mariachi Flor de Jalisco, points out that her band provides a fresh experience for the audience. “It’s a different touch to the music. A lot of people say, ‘We’ve never seen an all-female mariachi before.’” Despite requests to occasionally add a male vocalist or two, they’ve stuck to their female core and pride themselves on catering to their audience.

Torres is supportive of the continual change in in the tradition. “I’m for anything in mariachi as long as it keeps the instrumentation.” For traditional mariachi music, this includes the essential guitarrón, the vihuela, the violin, the trumpet, and the harp. “Mariachi is a genre that encompasses lots of genres with so many regions coming together,” Torres says. “Sometimes it’s taking a modern song and making it mariachi, so it evolves depending on the audience. As long as people like what we’re doing, I’m going to keep doing it.” Whereas the mariachi style is commonly associated with traditional song forms such as boleros, ballads, joropos, or valses (waltzes), popular music adapted for a mariachi band has become part of the repertoire alongside the classics.

2019 is a milestone year for mariachi music in San Antonio. To begin with, it’s the 50^th anniversary of the Mariachi Mass at Mission San Jose. In the 1960s, when the Catholic church allowed Mass to be in Spanish, the music of Mexico came with it. The spread of the mariachi tradition in San Antonio can be traced back to the Orta family who trained hundreds of musicians, and their influence continues today.

This year is also the 40^th anniversary of the first mariachi festival in our city; the 30^th anniversary of the introduction of mariachi in San Antonio public schools, and the 25^th anniversary of the Mariachi Extravaganza fest.

The latter will showcase international talent, with a thousand musicians coming together. Competition is a huge part of the festival, and the soloists and high school and college groups will be judged by none other than the Mariachi Vargas themselves. “Musicians want to come because we host the most competitive competitions,” says Muñoz. Like Rivera, she also recognizes the importance of involving young people. “Our mission has always been to utilize mariachi to promote higher education and cultural preservation for our youth,” she points out.

For some, like Debra Torres, the Extravaganza is like bringing together a large family. “Words can’t describe the energy that resonates through the auditorium. If you haven’t seen it, how do you explain it? It’s a way of connecting with each other, connecting with generations. It connects everyone.”

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The Mariachi Extravaganza begins at noon Dec.1, with the Mariachi Mass at Mission San Jose, and continues through Dec. 7. The Mariachi Vargas concert is scheduled for Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. For complete list of events go to mariachimusic.com. Tickets through Ticketmaster.

The Mariachi Azteca perform regularly at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. Upcoming performance takes place Dec.6 as part of the monthly “Celebrando Tradiciones” Event. www.guadalupeculturalarts.org

Mariachi Las Altenas can be reached at MariachiLasAltenas.com

Debra Torres, Mariachi Flor de Jalisco: 210-885-8364 or debra@mariachimusic.com