Younger performers prove their worth

Juan Contreras, director of Mariachi Los Arrieros, acknowledges the exuberant crowd after performing before about 7,500 people who attended the Mariachi Conference Espectacular last night at the Tucson Convention Center. Below, Griselda Perez of Mariachi Mujer 2000 performs last night at the Tucson Convention Center.
Photos by FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson Citizen

DANIEL BUCKLEY
Citizen Staff Writer
April 28, 2001

MORE MARIACHI
In one of the best concerts here in years, the Bank One Tucson International Mariachi Conference Espectacular's rich tradition moved forward with a new generation echoing the past as it carves a place for itself.
Only the venerable Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, which has played the conference since 1986, had ever performed at the annual Super Bowl of mariachi music.
Headliners Herencia Mexicana - the sons and daughters of many of the music's most important pioneers - did their fathers proud before an audience of 7,500 last night. Likewise El Paso's Mariachi Los Arrieros and Mariachi Mujer 2000 proved themselves worthy of a spot on the stage that has, over the past 19 years, presented such giants of the music as Lola Beltrán, Linda Ronstadt, Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán and Mariachi Cobre.
Herencia Mexicana was a big question mark coming in to the conference. The mariachi grapevine had confirmed that all the others were world-class performers, but even the most devoted international mariachi fans knew little of the Herencia Mexicana group apart from their bloodlines. But on balance, the six vocalists proved very capable, and in the end, they left the audience wanting more.
Several were standouts. Juan Mendoza Jr., son of "El Tariacuri," proved masterful in every sense. Blessed with a rich, powerful voice that supplely caressed a tender lyric as easily as it belted to the heavens, Mendoza proved a top-notch showman. His expressive passion coursed through every song like blood in the veins, working the crowd at the Tucson Convention Center Arena to a fevered pitch.
Irma Infante, daughter of movie and music star Pedro Infante, got the crowd in her corner with her energetic delivery and rainbow of vocal colors. From tender numbers to raucous, gritty rancheros, she seemed to have the right sound for every occasion.
Brother and sister Laura and Juan Záizar, offspring of Juan Záizar, had the sibling harmonies down to a science and each was a fine singer. Laura was a hair sharp on occasion, but one wondered about the effect the rotating stage and moving monitors had on performers' ability to hear each other clearly.

About 1,000 students perform at the Mariachi Conference Espectacular last night at the Tucson Convention Center.
FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson Citizen

Gabriel Solís, son of "Bolero Ranchero King" Javier Solís, was, in my opinion, not quite up to the others. He'd be a good ensemble member of a mariachi and would turn in some fine solos, but while he had a supple and graceful voice, it was not spectacular. Maria Elena Leal Beltrán is a tougher call but I liked her. Though she lacks the gritty passion of her famous mother, Lola Beltrán, she at least has the courage and good sense to just be who she is.
And backing group Mariachi Nuevo Jalisco, filling in at the last minute for Mariachi Juvenil Tecalitlán after some of the latter group's members could not get travel visas in time, proved it had both the chops and the sensitivity to ably complement every voice. Keep an eye out for them too, in the future.
The decision on the part of the conference to name Herencia Mexicana this year's Hall of Fame member in honor of their parents is a mixed one. There is no doubt that their parents deserve the recognition for their efforts, but while the sentiment is right, it's a little premature to give the award to their children.
Mariachi Los Arrieros made its Tucson debut an impressive one. Sharp, crisp, virtuosic and sporting a stable of lead singers that could easily have solo careers, the group took on everything from mariachi roots music to a suite from Bizet's "Carmen" and a Spanish version of "My Way." The group's lead violinist acrobatically zipped out sizzling riffs from the son huasteco tradition, while the band's harpist was also one of the night's most potent singers. The trumpeters, too, proved sensational artists. The violin ensemble needed more refinement and a bit better joint intonation, though in fairness, the fact that they were the first to follow the full, nearly 1,000-strong student mariachi contingent may have shorted them tuning time.
Female mariachis always have to play twice as well as the men to be acknowledged, and Mariachi Mujer 2000 did just that. Its rhythm section was air-tight, its violins creamy and its front-line vocalists up to any and every style. The group's arrangements were among the evening's best, and were executed with utmost skill and taste.
Nati Cano and his group once again proved what a deep and soulful ensemble they are. Cano took the spotlight off himself and his players to showcase top folklórico dance talent at the conference in a medley of dances from the West Coast state of Colima. Machetes clanked with precision in these athletic dances, while the footwork and body propulsion was as intricate and well executed by the women as the macho stuff was by the men.
The added stage time for the folklérico component of the conference underscored the close relationship of the music and the dance. Moreover, these particular dances are not often featured. It was a great move.
Having all the students start the conference with their music and dance was likewise an excellent choice. In a year that emphasized the best new blood in an important tradition, it was the right first step with the right weight placed on it.
Emcee Josß Ronstadt announced that Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán and Mariachi Sol de Mexico have been signed for next year's 20th anniversary Espectacular, and that there are negotiations already with Mariachi Cobre in hopes of bringing the festival founders back, too. That's exciting news.