Mariachi USA Don’t Miss it at the Hollywood Bowl on June 21st

Story By Ann Hazard

Everyone around here is familiar with songs like “La Bamba,” “La Cucaracha” and “Cielito Lindo.” On holidays like Cinco de Mayo, we expect to find Mariachis playing in the streets of Old Town and at Mexican restaurants. But how much do we really know about Mariachi music? We know it’s as Mexican as tequila. We know that Mariachis are strolling minstrels who dress in matching, colorful charro suits with sombreros and sing soulful, passionate songs about love, life, celebration and loss.

To me, Mariachi is one of the most enchanting types of music in the world. A blend of native Indian and Spanish music, it truly does define Mexico. Although the beginnings of Mariachi music go back hundreds of years, the music as we know it today originated in the state of Jalisco, near Guadalajara. In the complete Mariachi group today there are as many as six to eight violins, two trumpets, and a guitar. There is also a high-itched, round-backed guitar called the vihuela, which when strummed in the traditional manner gives the Mariachi its typical rhythmic vitality; a deep-voiced guitar called the guitarrón—or base, and a Mexican folk harp. In Mexico, Mariachis play for courting sweethearts, at weddings, birthdays, baptismals, quincineras, and on religious holidays.

Until 1934 Mariachis were virtually unknown on the world stage. That year Mariachi Vargas—Jalisco’s leading group—was invited to play at the inauguration of Mexico’s President Lázaro Cárdenas, who was committed to fostering his country’s native culture. The music was embraced by the people of Mexico City, and its popularity spread throughout the nation. Mariachi Vargas is credited with putting the music on the map, and professionalizing it by setting standards for songs, format and presentation.

Until recently, we in the USA had only a glimmer of the depth, breadth and joy to be found in Mariachi music. Enter Rodri Rodriguez. Born in Havana, Rodri stood out from the crowd early on. At age seven, she was already unafraid to speak her mind. “The nuns at my school hid me whenever the militia showed up, and I being mildly aggressive, yes, even at age 7, they feared I’d land everyone in jail!” During Operation Peter Pan in 1962, her parents sent her to the US, where she lived in a refugee camp in Miami until placed with foster parents in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rodri was finally reunited with her parents in Los Angeles in 1970.

It was in Albuquerque that Rodri fell in love with Mariachi music. She launched into the entertainment business at 19, working for a national Latin record company, Latin International. Briefly thereafter, she established her own entertainment firm and produced Julio Iglesias’ first US concert. She has been a pioneer in bringing Latin American music to the forefront in the United States, and additionally produced concerts for the likes of Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clark, Andy Williams, Bryan Adams, Eric Clapton and Engelbert Humperdink.

However, the music of Mexico—Mariachi—had captured her heart. In 1990, she decided it was time to bring that music to a world-class stage. She invested $250,000 and produced the event. Nay Sayers tried to discourage her with comments like: “You’ll be lucky if 2,000 people show up.” At the first MARIACHI USA concert at the Hollywood Bowl, 18,000 people turned out. “The LAPD told me there were at least another 2,000 outside that couldn’t get in,” she told me, laughing. “So much for losing a quarter of a million dollars!”

The Festival has grown in popularity ever since, and is now billed as “the preeminent Mariachi festival in the world,” drawing people to Hollywood from as far away as Ireland and the Netherlands. This year, the fourteenth annual MARIACHI USA will be held at the Hollywood Bowl on June 21st. Among the bands playing will be Mariachi Cobre from Florida, Mariachi Imperial de Mexico from California, Mariachi Campañas de America from Texas, Mariachi Las Alteñas from Texas and MARIACHI USA © Ballet Folklórico from California … with 26 members. It’s going to be a musical extravaganza, and I—for one—don’t plan on missing it! For information and to buy tickets, visit www.mariachiusa.com or call 1-800-MARIACHI.