Guadalajara native Alberto Alfaro’s parents describe how, as a baby, he was already imitating the bowing of his father’s violin playing. It wasn’t until age 9, however, that he began studying the violin seriously with his father, Florentino Alfaro. By age 12, Beto had become a full-fledged member of Mariachi Santa Cecilia. He spent his youth playing violin with a long succession of Guadalajara mariachis, the most memorable of which were Los Tecolotes, Internacional Guadalajara, Nuevo México, and Continental. He can’t remember a time when he didn’t sing.
In 1995, at age 21, Alberto obtained a tourist visa and went on an escapade to Los Angeles, California. Within a week of his arrival, he was invited to join Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, a group he remained with for five years. Mariachi Vargas saw him perform with Los Camperos, and, in June of 2000, they invited him to join. “Representing Mexican music around the world and working under the direction of legends like de Pepe Martínez and Rubén Fuentes has been an extraordinary privilege for me,” asserts Alfaro. “Nowhere else could I have learned so much. With Vargas I learned discipline, how to sing and play with more technique and style, and even how to write songs and arrangements.” One of his greatest satisfactions was when former Mariachi Vargas vocalist Heriberto Molina heard him and praised his singing. “It was the highest compliment I could receive, coming from someone of that stature.” Alberto’s advice to all musicians is that they take lessons in both instrument
