Old music finds new voices
Mexico's traditional mariachi music is a hit again - with Hispanic youngsters in the US. It connects them to their roots.
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Today a traditional mariachi group may include trumpets, violins, a vihuela (a traditional Spanish stringed instrument), a guitar, a guitarrón (oversized guitar), and a harp. All members are usually accomplished singers as well.
Learning to play an instrument or train a voice for mariachi is no small task. It takes dedication, so children have to be serious about pursuing the music. Many take voice lessons from trained teachers, and begin learning an instrument in junior high school.
"Mariachi music takes skill and study and practice," says Jeff Nevin, the leader of Mariachi Champaña Nevín and an assistant professor of music at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, Calif. "The quality of the music is on par with classical music. It's not just four guys playing 'La Bamba' in a restaurant. These musicians are the best of the best."
Dr. Nevin is working hard to offer the nation's first mariachi degree at Southwestern. A growing number of colleges offer mariachi programs, though not degrees. And many predominantly Hispanic school districts offer mariachi programs in addition to band and choir programs.
"This musical genre is absolutely not dying. If anything, it's experiencing a resurgence," he says. "That's evident in the surge of mariachi programs in high schools all over the United States."
Indeed, many high school students at the San Antonio competition say they are planning their college careers around universities with strong mariachi programs, such as the University of Texas-Pan American in Ebinburg or Texas A&M International University in Laredo.
Abiel Hinajosa says he hopes to attend A&M International, because of its outstanding mariachi program.
Currently a junior at Roma High School in south Texas, Abiel began learning to play the harp in the sixth grade - along with most of the members of his mariachi band.
While he's not planning to make a career out of playing mariachi, Abiel says the music is in his blood, and he doubts he will ever give it up.
A fellow mariachi performer, Jorge Perez, was not so culturally motivated when he first started playing the guitarrón.
"I had to learn to like the music," he says, donning his felt hat, grabbing his instrument, and heading for the stage. "My grandpa used to play the guitar and sing. And when he found out I was playing in a mariachi band, it surprised him a lot.
"Don't ask me why, but when I'm playing, I feel a lot closer to my Mexican roots."
Originally the music of country people, mariachi was never meant to be mere idle singing, according to "Mexico, The Meeting of Two Cultures."
Rather, it drives a foot-stomping, floor-splintering dance technique called the zapateado, in which dancers pound their boot heels into the floor in a loud, clipped rhythm stressing the songs' weak beats.
A complete mariachi group includes six to eight violins, a guitar, and two trumpets, along with Mexican variations on the instruments: a round-backed guitar for catchy rhythm, a deep-voiced guitar for bass, and a Mexican folk harp for both bass and melody.
The contrast in sounds combines with a shifting beat and syncopation for lively music and a swift, driving pace.
By Christina McCarroll
