Jul. 26—"It's not the music we play, it's what we live," says mariachi performer Elias Garcia.
Garcia plays private events in a group named Mariachi Norteño, along with accordion player Miguelito Romero and vihuela/guitarron player Cuco Juarez. But Garcia and Romero recently joined forces with another local mariachi, Mariachi Euforia, which was looking for players to fill in for a performance earlier this month.
Mariachi Euforia — consisting of vihuela player Joanna Alvarez, violin player Maegan Pacheco, guitarron player Reyes Montoya, and accordion player Marcos Cano — performs at Tomasita's restaurant every Sunday between 6 and 8 p.m. Each of the four members has more than 20 years of mariachi experience, but they have been playing together at Tomasita's since 2006.
Despite being short on members for the July 7 performance, Alvarez, Romero, and Garcia still filled the room with their powerful voices, eliciting claps, smiles, and shouts of enjoyment.
"I thought they were awesome," says Samantha Rivera of Seattle, Washington, who was in town recently to visit her grandparents. "I love their gritos [shouts], and they added a good vibe to the atmosphere here."
Rivera says she and her family had considered going somewhere else due to the long wait time at the popular restaurant, but the wait ended up being shorter, and after hearing the mariachi, Rivera says, "We were really glad that we stayed."
Olivia Killough, who grew up in Santa Fe and now lives in Denver, appreciates the fun and joy the musicians brought when the group played her family's unusual (for mariachis) request, "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown.
details
6 p.m. Sundays
Tomasita's
500 S. Guadalupe Street
505-983-5721; tomasitas.com
Mariachi Euforia: 505-204-2618
Mariachi Norteño: miguelitoromero.com
Romero, 67, who has been playing music since he was 7 years old, says it's an example of the unique nature of mariachi musicians: to be people pleasers.
"I play only to please people," Romero says. "I never play to please myself."
Alvarez has always loved mariachi music and got into it in high school, but didn't really learn what it was all about until she started playing gigs. "You kind of have to adapt to everybody," she says. "They expect us to be mariachi and then they expect us to be a little bit more."
"I can honestly say he's a jukebox," says Alvarez of Romero, referencing his rendition of the James Brown song. Romero says he knows he does not sound like James Brown, but that he isn't singing it to please James Brown; he is singing it for the person who asked for it and to make the audience member feel like he sang it just for them.
"They say, 'He did that for me,' and that's the best," Romero says.
Alvarez says they typically do not get together to rehearse songs in particular because they never know how the night is going to go or what the audience may want to hear. Mariachis need to be quick on their feet and are always on their toes.
Alvarez says despite stereotypes or misconceptions that mariachis are "rinky dink" or that they "live under a cactus," Alvarez says, "We're actually extreme musicians. We get asked whatever, and we're ready for it."
The extreme musicianship entails lots of individual practice and knowing the traditional mariachi songs by heart while also constantly learning any new songs or popular hits they hear on the radio.
"There's a hit on the radio," Romero begins, "and we got to get it covered," Alvarez finishes.
The performers must also memorize and know different keys, chords, key and chord switches, and music theory by heart.
"A mariachi's mind, seriously, is like in a different world," Romero says.
"You throw whatever you want at us," Alvarez adds. "We got it, because that's our job. Mariachi is to know every key, every genre, at least a little bit, and every rhythm."
The other constant for mariachis is the "essence," or stage presence. Garcia, who started playing guitar at age 5, says the "signature of mariachi is playing various styles of music but with the mariachi flair."
One aspect of that "flair" that cannot be rehearsed is the grito, an element popular in Mexican and Spanish music that translates as a shout or cry.
"It's not part of the show, it's a part of the feelings," says Alvarez, adding that the meaning of the grito is that "you can't take it any more. You hear the music, you hear him doing his thing, and I just gotta let it out."
Alvarez "does her thing" on the vihuela, a Spanish guitar unique to mariachi. Garcia does his thing on the vihuela and guitarrón, a large bass guitar. Romero plays the accordion, which adds a touch of Norteño style to the performances. Norteño combines Mexican and Spanish ranchera music with Germanic polka music, a sound commonly found in South Texas and northern Mexico.
The members of Mariachi Euforia and Mariachi Norteño perform full-time. Mariachi Euforia also plays at the Flying Tortilla on Thursdays and Pecos Trail Cafe on Fridays. The groups also perform at private parties, events, and two to three funerals a week. Mariachi Norteño performs only private gigs.
But mostly the performers play to ensure mariachi music is never lost.
"It's the music, it's the culture," Romero says. "I'm in love with my culture. I love Mexican music."
Alvarez hopes the young mariachi groups coming onto the scene continue to balance preserving the traditional music with being open to new music and giving the audience what they want.
Garcia says he hopes mariachi music continues "to inspire people to not forget their own traditions, where they're from, and who they are."
