Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlan. Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA — ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! proudly presents Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlán from Guadalajara, Mexico. The group of eleven women offer three free family concerts showcasing their traditional sound at Isla Vista School, Friday, April 28, at 7 pm; at Guadalupe City Hall, Saturday, April 29, at 7 pm; and at the Marjorie Luke Theatre at Santa Barbara Jr. High on Sunday, April 30, at 7 pm. Hear them at Studio Sunday on the Steps at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art at 2:00 pm on April 30. Even better, come watch them work with local musicians in a free community workshop at Franklin Elementary School on Thursday, April 27, 6:30 – 8:30 pm, co-presented with school. This visit will mark the end of Viva’s 12th season.
Representing a deep family tradition at the forefront of the mariachi scene in Mexico, Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlán is headed by Lupita Martinez, who directs and performs along with her sister, guitarist Adriana. Their father Fernando Martinez, co-foundeded Guadalajara’s well-known Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán with their uncle, Pepe, who was the esteemed director of Mariachi Vargas until he passed away last year. Mariachi Femenil has recorded two CDs – Lo Bonito de Jalisco and Ay mi Jalisco – including many arrangements by Carlos Martinez. Mariachi Femenil Nuevo Tecalitlán tours extensively in Mexico and worldwide. They have played at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, have appeared many times at the world famous Encuentro Internacional del Mariachi y Charerreria in Guadalajara, and in 2010 they appeared as ambassadors for Mexican culture at the Barbican Theatre in London. In 2016, they were among the more than 200 musicians who played during a mass celebrated by Pope Francis in San Cristobal de Las Casas.
¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! presented Mariachi Nuevo Tecailtlán in September 2013.
At first glance, mariachi would seem to be man’s world, but women have been performing mariachi for more than a century according to Dr. Leonor Perez, musician, researcher and director of the annual Mariachi Women’s Festival in San Gabriel. From 1948 through 1953, three, all-women groups took up performing in Mexico City – Las Adelitas, Las Estrellas de México, and Las Coronelas. During the Golden Age of Mexican cinema these groups, dressed in colorful traditional skirts and blouses, could often be seen playing in the background.
Meanwhile, in the U.S. Las Rancheritas formed in Alamo, Texas, in 1967, becoming the first known all-women group known in this country. Throughout the 60s and 70s, as mariachi instruction became available in schools and after-school programs, a new generation of girls and women became master musicians, some joining previously all-male groups or forming women’s groups. In 2008, Mariachi Mujer 2000, composed of members from several western states of the U.S., represented the Americas in the Olympic Games in Beijing. In 2009, the all-women Mariachi Divas and the all-male Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano shared the first Grammy awarded to mariachi musicians.
Appreciation and performance of mariachi music is on the rise worldwide. In 2011, the United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) recognized mariachi as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. According to the selection committee: “Mariachi music conveys values that promote respect for the natural heritage of regional Mexico and the local history, both in Spanish and in indigenous languages from the west of the country.”
¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! is sponsored by SAGE Publications, The Roddick Foundation, The Audacious Foundation, Anonymous, Elva & Byron Siliezar, Wells Fargo, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, UCSB Office of Education Partnerships, The Stone Family Foundation, the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission Community Arts Grant Program, with funds provided by the City of Santa Barbara, in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture. Additional support comes from The Marjorie Luke Theatre’s Dreier Family Rent Subsidy Fund. The program is supported in part by the Santa Barbara Independent, the Santa Maria SUN, El Latino CC, Radio Bronco, Univision, the Best Western South Coast Inn, the Hampton Inn, and Pacifica Suites. Viva is co-presented by The Marjorie Luke Theatre, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts & Education Center, the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center and UCSB Arts and Lectures, in partnership with the Isla Vista School After School Grant.
DETAILS:
- 11- member all-women ensemble, founded in 2006
- Free family concerts in accessible venues followed by receptions where you can meet the artists
- Friday, April 28, 2017 , 7:00 pm, Free Family Concert at Isla Vista School, 6875 El Colegio Road, Isla Vista, Information (805) 252-3493
- Saturday, April 29, 2017, 7:00 pm, Free Family Concert at Guadalupe City Hall, 918 Obispo Street, Guadalupe, Information (805) 343-2455
- Sunday, April 30, 2017, 7:00 pm, Free Family Concert at The Marjorie Luke Theatre at Santa Barbara Junior High, Santa Barbara (805) 884-4087 x7
- Thursday, April 27, 6:30 – 8:30 pm, Free Community Mariachi Workshop at Franklin Elementary School, 1111 East Mason Street, Santa Barbara, co-presented by Franklin Elementary School. The workshop is open to advanced students; observers welcome. Call 805 893-3382 for information.
- Special Studio Sundays set on Sunday, April 30, 2:00 pm, at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State Street, Santa Barbara, co-presented with the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
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