Steppin' Out
Cover Story
Ozomatli headlines the Feria on Sept. 29.
Horns of Plenty
Mariachi festival has diverse offerings
By Heather Zimmerman
The San Jose International Mariachi Festival has something for everyone, so it's no wonder that the festival, now in its 16th year, has become one of the largest events of its kind in the nation.
About 50,000 people are expected at this year's festival, which takes place Sept. 26-30 at various venues in downtown San Jose. The event, presented by the Mexican Heritage Corporation, is the organization's biggest fundraiser for its arts and education programs.
The festival begins Sept. 26 with Mariachi music and dance workshops led by top artists Mariachi Cobre and Tlen Huicani.
Audiences can see these two groups in action, and some of their students, as well, at the Noche de Serenata Gala Concert on Sept. 29 at the San Jose State University Event Center on the SJSU campus. Students' performances will open the concert; headliners are Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos.
"The entire program is being created just for this event," Marcela Davison Aviles says. Aviles is the executive producer of the festival and president and CEO of the Mexican Heritage Corporation. She notes that the concert is unique in having traditional acoustic son jarocho, Mariachi and contemporary Latin music on the same bill, especially with the finale, which features all three bands. "The song that everyone knows as 'La Bamba' was originally a son jarocho piece played without the brass instruments," Aviles says. "So we decided to have the finale of the concert be a performance of 'La Bamba' done three ways: son jarocho-style, which is how you might have heard it performed 200 years ago in rural Mexico, and then Mariachi-style, and then Ritchie Valens-style rock'n'roll."
A second big-name show, the Mostly Mariachi Concert, closes out the festival on Sept. 30 with Latin pop star Marco Antonio Solis performing with Mariachi Sol de Mexico at the HP Pavilion, 525 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose.
A broad musical scope is also key in the festival's expanded outdoor music events, the Feria del Mariachi, which takes place Sept. 29-30 at the Arena Green, next to the HP Pavilion.
The Feria offers a lineup on Sept. 29 that features Latin alternative music groups, while the bill on Sept. 30 will be all-Mariachi. Bruce Labadie, festival production executive, says there was a twofold aim in offering a hybrid schedule. "We looked at the festival and we said that we'd like to go back to the roots and make sure we have great Mariachi and folkloric dancing, make it more of a traditional, cultural activity," Labadie says. "But we thought that there may be an additional audience that could come to this event, an audience that likes Latin alternative music. We think there's a huge future for that, especially in San Jose."
Labadie is a veteran Bay Area music producer who currently serves as director for the San Jose Jazz Festival. He joined the Mariachi Festival this year.
Saturday's bill boasts diverse Latin-influenced contemporary acts, from the hip-hop/funk of Ozomatli to the bluesy Tex-Mex of the Iguanas. Sunday's performances include Mariachi Internacional Guadalajara, Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, as well as student groups, such as the Lincoln High School folkloric dancers. Mariachi Sol de Mexico and Tlen Huicani will also perform.
Tickets for Feria del Mariachi are $5 per day; tickets for Noche
de Serenata with Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos are $40-$125;
tickets for the Mostly Mariachi concert are $55-$90. For information, call 800.MHC.VIVA or visit www.mhcviva.org.
