Dear CMT readers, I think you're really going to appreciate this one:
One thing I don't get to talk about too much on these blogs is my upbringing in the American SouthWest. I grew up in a border town in Arizona where you were more likely to hear Spanish than English and the major industry was agriculture. Looking back on it, culturally is was dramatically different than the Pacific Northwest where I live now, but back then it was simply home.
During my years in that small border town, I was first exposed to Mariachi music. At first, it was just the music performed in the Mexican restaurants while my family and I ate fried ice cream as dessert from our enchiladas (green for me please, thank you) dinner. But later, as I got more and more devoted to music (and especially singing) I started listening more carefully to the numerous Mariachi bands at various cultural festivals and events in town.
These days I love Mariachi and everything about it. I love the deeply passionate singing, the unique instrumentation, the cultural mix of German horns, and Italian strings, blended with Spanish singing and love poetry. I love the romanticism of a dreamy scene: a picturesque Mariachi singer serenading a beautiful young woman. Above all, the long history that all these things are drenched in.
And with that long history, you wouldn't think there was anything new to be done in the "genre," and that's what I thought too, until I came across Mariachi Quinto Sol, a California-based young ensemble led by the commanding presence of Roberto Diaz; the band is happily traditional, but with a modern twist that is as much fun as it is innovative. If you have a look at their website/YouTube, you're just as likely to see songs like "Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos" a gorgeous ballad filled with Latin Jazz chords as you will a video of a Mariachi version of the Pokemon theme (A+ for having a sense of humor folks, seriously).
I listened to their new song "Tennesee Wisky" - a waltz-y ballad with a sly and brilliant trumpet part. Lyrics in English, with vocals that echo a bit of SouthWestern country plus a dash of blues. The subject matter makes the bends in the brass and strings sound almost drunken. The laid-back nature of the tune gives the listener a feeling of sympathy with the singer. An innovative violin solo halfway through the track really makes the song! (I wrote that line before I watched the video above - now I'm afraid I have the world's biggest crush on the violinists :-D )
Speaking of skill, can we talk about the singers? Both the gentleman and the ladies are first-rate vocalists. But I'm not that surprised, one thing I forgot to mention in my interest in Mariachi music is that it is a technically demanding style. You can't really fake your way through singing "Por Un Amor." First off, you'd never make it through the song, second, Mexican audiences wouldn't stand for someone who didn't know what they were doing.
Another track available on the Mariachi Quinto Sol is a cover of the song "TUYO" from the Narcos soundtrack. It's much more an Argentine Tango, but again, this just shows the stylistic breadth of the band. Of course, as mentioned before, the vocals are awesome, with tight harmonies; distinct lines that blend beautifully. It's very much a candle-light song, it's sweet and feisty, I suppose like a tango ought to be.
I suppose this band might give me another reason to visit Southern California - it would be awesome to catch one of their live shows as it seems they've made quite the rounds (the Whiskey, etc). With all doors hopefully open to them it will be interesting to see where their talents take these young people. In the meantime though, check out their website here, and their YouTube page here.
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