Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor —

For 25 years, Mexico’s beloved Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan had visited San Antonio in the fall to perform for their fans and tutor mariachi students during a week-long event known as the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza.

 But this year everything is different. Though many performing arts events have been cancelled due to COVID-19, the annual mariachi concert will still be presented but in a different format. Instead of taking place at the Lila Cockrell Theater as in previous years, the producers have turned it into a drive-in concert in the enormous parking lot of the Freeman Coliseum. It will take place Friday night, starting at 8 p.m.

“I hadn’t planned on producing a concert this year because of COVID and the fact that the Lila Cockrell Theater is still closed,” explained Cynthia Munoz, owner of Munoz Public Relations, the Extravaganza founder and organizer. “Then, the Mariachi Vargas manager called to tell me that a couple of promoters wanted to have an outdoor concert and suggested I speak with them… I also spoke with the sponsors, the Gonzaba Medical Group and H-E-B, and everyone was interested in supporting an event that would help people ease back into the live concert experience.”

Vargas vocalist, Jonathan Palomar, is happy to be back in San Antonio, regardless of the format. “I am very excited to be back in San Antonio. It’s a like a home to me,” he said during a recent interview. “We are all happy that something like this was possible to arrange.”

The reference to home is not just a nice turn of phrase. In addition to previous performances in the Alamo City, Palomar actually lived here for several months in 2004 while spending time with his dad, Rafael Palomar, himself a former Mariachi Vargas musician. When not on tour, he currently divides his “home” time between Los Angeles, where his family is, and Mexico City, where the Mariachi Vargas company is based.

Before joining the number one mariachi ensemble in the world, Palomar was a member of LA-based Los Camperos, a multiple Grammy Award-winning group that has performed in prestigious places such as Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Theater in Washington, D.C. But when the call came from Mexico City, he could not say “no.”

“This was my goal, my dream to be part of this group,” said the singer/guitarist. “So many people around the world love the Mariachi Vargas. I am now a part of the mariachi music history; I am enjoying everything about this experience.”

Including unexpected encounters like the one the group had in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2010. Geneva was the last place where they expected to have an enthusiastic Latino audience, but to their surprise, “lots of people,” from Spain, Argentina, Mexico and other countries, showed up to enjoy the show, applaud the performers and just spend a little time together chatting.

On Friday night, he and his fellow musicians will entertain the audience with songs from their latest album, Concierto Sinfonico de Aniversario – which features some well-known melodies reinterpreted in a style that blends mariachi and symphonic music – as well as traditional favorites “everyone always wants to hear,” as Palomar put it. The latter are likely to include Las Mananitas, Mexico Lindo, Malaguena and El Mariachi Loco, a cumbia written by Palomar’s grandfather, Roman Palomar. Almost certainly, Palomar will also sing llamarada, the song that he’s best known for. It premiered at the San Antonio Film Festival earlier this year.  

“But we pay attention to what people want to hear and ‘we plan as we go,’ “noted Palomar, meaning they won’t follow a strictly pre-determined program to allow them to respond to the audiences’ wishes.

As for Munoz, this year’s visit by the Vargas group, is likely to be quite memorable.

“I’ve been producing the Mariachi Vargas concert for 25 years but this is the first year that the event falls on my birthday week,” she said. “My birthday is Thursday and my team and I are spending the day with the musicians who will be conducting Zoom classes with mariachi students and producing online educational materials. I can’t think of a better way to spend the day. The concert on Friday will be icing on the cake…. The fact that almost all of the 13 members of the group have stunning voices is one of the reasons why they are the best in the world.” She’s especially fond of Popurri de Vicente Fernandez because the piece features so many of those “phenomenal vocalists.”

Concertgoers will have the option to watch the performance from their cars or by setting up chairs near their vehicle. Cars will be spaced ten feet apart and handwashing stations will be available. You are allowed to bring your own refreshments. Altogether, about 500 vehicles and 2,000 people can be accommodated. Opening for the big guys is San Antonio’s accomplished Mariachi Azteca de America led by Gino Rivera.

Tickets are $100-$300 per vehicle with up to four people and can be purchased at www.LJConciertos.com The concert is co-produced by L.J. Productions, La Gran Audiencia and Munoz Public Relations.