Mariachi Vargas guitar player and vocalist Arturo Vargas and violinist/vocalist Andres Gonzalez arrive in San Antonio today for the 15th Annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza. The two members of Mariachi Vargas will spend the next 3 days visiting students from the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD). The SAISD has an estimated 3,400 students from 17 schools participating in mariachi music programs making it the number one school district in Texas with the largest number of students enrolled in mariachi music programs.
Continue reading ‘Mariachi Vargas Visits Schools’
Featured as opening acts for Mariachi Vargas will be California resident and Texas favorite Nydia Rojas who will reunite with Tejano music artist Ricardo Castillon to sing their beautiful rendition of “Hay Unos Ojos” which still tops the Top 50 Best Songs of All Time. Accompanying the two artists will be a Texas favorite – Mariachi Los Caporales who performs under the musical direction of Roy Quintero. Mariachi Los Caporales is the exclusive mariachi for the international celebrity cooking segment “Estrellas de la Cocina” airing on Univision Network’s Despierta America. They’ve recorded 2 CDs Corazon de Papel and Jamas Jamas and have accompanied Latin America artists including Aida Cuevas, Christian Castro and Pedro Fernandez.
Pages: 1 2
Previous Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza “Best in the U.S” vocalist and Odessa native Esteban Velasquez has spent the past 8 months working on his first CD Ladron de Amores. The CD was produced in part by Fernando de Santiago, Pepe Aguilar’s musical director, and Raul Carballeda, vocal director for the international televised vocal competition “La Academia.” Esteban and Raul met in Mexico while Esteban competed on the TV AZTECA program last year.
Ladron de Amores features Esteban singing both mariachi and banda with mariachi musical arrangements written by Alberto Alfaro of Mariachi Vargas and the banda arrangements by Jose Luis Arreguin. Alberto Alfaro wrote 2 songs for the new CD Broma del Destino and Ladron de Amores.
Continue reading ‘Esteban Velasquez Launches New CD’
Nydia Rojas and Ricardo Castillon scored a beautiful rendition of “Hay Unos Ojos” and benchmarked their career with sales of upwards of 50,000 units of that recording and video. Tejanos throughout South Texas can’t get enough of that song which still tops the Top 50 Best Songs of All Time. “Nydia and Ricardo’s chemistry was like placing lighting in a bottle and it continues to resonate with music lovers everywhere,” says Ruben Cubillos, Manager for Ricardo Castillon and president of A Big Chihuahua. “Today, “Hay Unos Ojos” is still part of Ricardo’s repertoire at almost all his presentations,” he says.
Continue reading ‘Nydia Rojas reunites with Ricardo Castillon’
Yening Qin and his twin brother Yelun have one thing in common as students at Harvard University– mariachi music. Both are violinists with the award winning Mariachi Veritas de Harvard and are preparing to compete in the 15th Annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza Mariachi Group Competition. Yening and Yelun are part of a 10-piece mariachi group who will compete against other colleges and universities with mariachi music programs for a chance to win first place and open for the internationally acclaimed and Mexico City based Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán.
Pages: 1 2
Participants of the 15th Annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza will have a chance to extend a warm welcome to Mariachi Vargas’ newest member and trumpet player Fernando Velazquez. Fernando has performed with Mariachi Vargas for more than a year and will visit San Antonio for the first time in November. He joins Federico Torres and Gustavo Alvarado as Mariachi Vargas’ third trumpet player. Fernando played trumpet for Mariachi Sol de Mexico and Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano prior to joining Mariachi Vargas. He’s established a reputation as being one of the greatest trumpet players of mariachi music today.
Pages: 1 2
The Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza is host to the largest mariachi group and vocal competitions in the US. The vocal competition attracts the most talented vocalists from elementary school age through college to compete in what is recognized as the most competitive student mariachi vocal competition in America. Hundreds of CDs were submitted and screened by a panel of professional mariachi experts who selected finalists to compete in one of 4 categories: Elementary school, middle school, high school and college/university. Finalists will vie for “Best in the US” vocalist and are judged by the internationally renowned Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán.
Past “Best in the U.S.” vocal winners have been awarded scholarships, touring opportunities and even television specials but “the greatest honor is having the opportunity to open for Mariachi Vargas in concert and being around world-class vocalists and musicians,” says Selina Elizondo, 2008 “Best in the US” mariachi vocalist. “It’s an experience beyond the imagination,” she added.
Click here http://www.mariachimusic.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=254&Itemid=87 to see the list of finalist selected to compete in the 15th Annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza Vocal Competition Saturday, November 21 at the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium. The vocal competition is open to the public with advance registration by calling 210-225-3353. Tickets may also be purchased on Nov. 21 at the Municipal Auditorium.
Pages: 1 2
Experience live mariachi music entertainment this week with a concert tonight featuring Campanas de America at the Scottish Rite Temple, mariachi serenades along a running/biking path near the Mission Trails tomorrow morning or breakfast with Mariachi Mexico de Noche at Estella’s on Sunday.
Pages: 1 2
“It’s a huge responsibility for me to prepare my children to be part of the next generation of mariachi and Mariachi Vargas,” says Jose “Pepe” Martinez, Jr., violinist and vocalist for “el mejor mariachi del mundo,” Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán. “My wife and I shared the responsibility of standing in line for one week to register our children in the Escuela de Iniciación Artística Número 3 del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes en Mexico D.F.,” he explained as we chatted in my home during his one week stay in San Antonio this summer.
Pages: 1 2
The tradition of performing mariachi music in Mexico is often passed from one generation to the next through family members or close friends. This is the case of Steeven Sandoval, vocalist and violinist for Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán. As a child, Steeven watched his father play the trumpet with Mariachi Chapala in a restaurant in Guadalajara where great musicians and vocalists like Lucha Villa and Mariachi Vargas often performed. “I watched Mariachi Vargas and dreamed of being part of the group even as a young man” says Steeven. “I had great admiration for the group (back then as I do now) and especially enjoyed watching Mario de Santiago who played with Mariachi Vargas for more than 40 years. Mario had a distinct voice and style especially when singing the most traditional form of mariachi - the ’son(es)’.” Mario was one of the most influential people in my life and is now retired and living in Mexico,” he says.
Photo is of Steeven Sandoval and Alberto Alfaro who will be in San Antonio November 19-21 as part of the 15th Annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza. He is one of 13 members of the internationally acclaimed Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan who will conduct mariachi music workshops with students at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. More information is available at 210-225-3353 and mariachimusic.com.
