ezpz Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 I am so glad to have very positive report of a fine musical performance here in the newly remodeled old Chapala Town Hall downtown (where the museum used to be). The event was sponsored by the Chapala chapter of the American Legion and was also performed at LCS. Featured were 2 wonderful mariachis - Las Estrellas de Chula Vista, from CA, near San Diego, which had 6 women playing violin and singing as well, plus one mariachi gringo male on violin - in addition to the rest of the group. They were followed by the Mariachi International Guadalajara, also with 7 (male) violinists, a star harpist and fabulous trumpeters. I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that the Chula Vista, CA group was actually formed from a public school program!!! Mariachi is actually in the school curriculum in a few areas of the West Coast where there are lots of Mexicans. It is wonderful that these young people can still study and excel at their cultural traditions. In a public school, this would be open to anyone, as well. Take THAT, Donald Trump!! Nearly all of them traded off excellent lead vocals and provided choral harmonies. The strings provided lushly finessed arrangements, giving both groups a truly orchestral quality which was a delight to hear. What a treat to hear the great musicianship and the sound quality offered by both groups! This little auditorium - capacity around 300 - is a great little gem. Major bonus - very comfortable seating! I hope it is very well utilized for many more such cultural occasions. I spoke with the audio engineers who did a fantastic job of balancing the complex arrangements of around 20 tracks of sound, with nothing too loud!!! Major kudos for that! They told me they were from Guadalajara, and I asked them if they could possibly teach a course around here in audio technology, where there is a crying need. Operating sound equipment is a professional job skill - it is not for inexperienced amateur hack wannabes! A little Show Business Math: If you can fill a hall half way at x pesos per ticket, you could pack the place by charging x/2 for the tickets - and bring in the same amount of revenue. The hall was only around half full and I'm sure that lots of Mexicans would have loved this program. But $150 pesos is a lot for the local communities. My little video barely conveys the highlights - every moment was fantastic, and I regret that my video could not feature each soloist. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 The two concerts were sponsored by both LCS and the American Legion. The concert at LCS was more than sold out and consensus seems to be that the 1PM start time at Chapala was conflicting with comida - and WAS planned to appeal to the entire population. The LCS concert started at 4PM on Saturday. Don't know about Chapala but certainly the Ajijic audience was mixed. Great comments from all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVGRINGO Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 Thanks for the video. We miss the local performances at the cultural center but are glad to see the old city hall being put to use too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdmowers Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Fabulous concert. Many kudos to the American Legion and Chapala govt. for putting this on. Got my Mariachi fix. Many excellent singers but the woman who sang Cucucuru gave me chills. A fine inauguration of a new 180-seat state of the art performance space. This was called the First Annual International Mariachi concert so here`s hoping for more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaykay Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 Felt it was neat that this post appeared right next to the thread about Mariachis being crap and the same as Bandas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdmowers Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 Most local Mariachi bands are out of tune. The best are perfectly in tune and play like angels so depends on the band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barcelonaman Posted January 14, 2016 Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 I must say there is a world of difference between the stuff i hear around town which is totally crap and this concert. It is pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdmowers Posted January 15, 2016 Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 I once thought that out of tune playing was part of the Mariachi concept but then I heard finely tuned instruments and in-tune singing in other Mariachi bands. Which begs questions like, "Do some Mariachi musicians not hear that they are out of tune with each other?", "Do they not know how to properly tune their intruments?", "Do they not care about the quality of music they are producing?". It is a mystery to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barcelonaman Posted January 15, 2016 Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 they all seem to play a completely different tune as well ! the group on the video are something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezpz Posted January 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 Mariachis, like any musicians, can play and sing as well as their training allows. These fine Mariachi groups obviously had classical training, which is rare in these small towns. So, please give the local musicians a break! They probably apprenticed under their fathers or uncles. Same with the banda musicians. They all do the best they can with what they've got. A mariachi singer lives in my neighborhood, and I've seen him out there doing hard labor. Being poor, their instruments might not be of high quality either, so that might contribute to poor intonation. What they do offer the listener is a lot of gusto! I enjoyed hearing the town banda rehearsing near my house when I was new here. Yes, they were a little - raggedy - but the drummer sounded like a rock star, and their cheerful exuberance was contagious. I always enjoy them at the fiestas. On Carnaval Day coming up soon... I think the bandas purposely play a little out of tune to be funny. They also make funny sounds with the trombones. All lots of fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdmowers Posted January 15, 2016 Report Share Posted January 15, 2016 Sure, it`s all in good fun, just a bit hard on trained ears! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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