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Mariachi Tradicional de Nayarit
Feria del Mariachi | Sunday, Sept. 28th
Main Stage: 11:10am – 11:50am
Mariachi is one of the most dynamic and ever-changing cultural institutions of Mexico. It has deep roots in the music of Europe, Africa, and Asia, but those roots were also enriched by the cultural heritage of the Native American peoples of northern and western Mexico.
Major studies agree that the rise of mariachi has been a multicultural process. The earliest records come from the state of Nayarit, one of the richest areas in Mexican musical events. Some of the most popular and representative forms of the nation's music seem to have originated there.
Our mariachi, born as a synthesis of mariachi traditions from all Nayarit’s regions and ethnicities, had its beginnings in 1963. It was formed by Mr. Arnulfo Andrade Sánchez for the National Institute of Fine Arts, with the following participants: Castulo Márquez on the guitar, Refugio Díaz on the double bass, Manuel Flores on the guitar, Ramón Hernández on the violin, and Pedro Cruz on the vihuela. In 1979, the following people joined the mariachi assemble: Trinidad Ríos Aguayo on the guitarrón, Silvano Elías Zepeda on the vihuela, and, in 1980, Juan Ríos Martínez on the violin.
Like everything in life, these comings and goings created turnovers in which some elements were abandoned while others were incorporated. Daniel Pulido Escareño on violin, Teodoro López Rea on the violin, and Genaro Osuna Osuna on the vihuela, when they joined the mariachi, increased the repertoire and contributed ethnic sounds that they knew well. For example, Juan Martínez Ríos, a member of the indigenous Huichol culture, knew serranas versions. Similarly, Teodoro Rea brought resonances of southern Mexico, since he was originally from the municipality of Ahuacatlán.
Important mariachi players, who are now regarded as a cultural treasure of Nayarit, have been part of this group, including Juan Ríos Martínez, Genaro Osuna Osuna, Francisco Alvarado Rosales, Salvador Delgado Martínez, Silvano Elías Zepeda, and many others. Some were members until they died. Others have gone on to demonstrate their talent in other groups; we can still hear them today in canteens, bars, and stages all over the Nayarit region.
Mariachi Directors (conductors)
Silvano Elías Zepeda, 1963 - 1974
Juan Ríos Martínez, 1975 - 1978
Daniel Pulido Escareño, 1979 - 1983
Trinidad Ríos Aguayo, 1984 - present
The Nayarit Traditional Mariachi has accompanied various groups and folkloric ballet companies of the region, and it has represented Nayarit around Mexico and around the world. Its sonoros, minuets, potorricos, polkas, chutes, corridos, and Brazueliados produce in the listener a sense of paused time, in which the future of Nayarit is drawn brilliant and colorful.
In 2003, in the city of Guadalajara, the First National Meeting of Traditional Mariachis filled the Teatro Degollado to its full capacity. The Nayarit Traditional Mariachi, led by Don Trinidad Ríos Aguayo, won first place. It was a landmark event for the popular music of Mexico. At that same meeting, Don Trini was awarded with the medal of Cyril Marmolejo, for being the oldest Mariachero of Mexico.
The Nayarit Traditional Mariachi is a cultural project of the State Council for Culture and Arts, with a clear and specific mission: the rescue and revaluation of the popular music of the region, by the society as a whole, promoting recognition of the values which gave us identity. Its cultural preservation depends on instilling, in new musicians, the spirit that inspired and encouraged the traditional creators of mariachi. At the same time, it seeks to stimulate the traditional creator so that his creativity and taste can adapt to the needs of a society that grows more diverse every day.
Currently, Nayarit Traditional Mariachi is working hard to start the first school of traditional mariachi. It will open in 2009 with help from the state government.
The Nayarit Traditional Mariachi is composed of:
- Trinidad Ríos Aguayo – Honorary Director
- Ignacio Estrada Serrano – violín
- Joel Torres Rodríguez – violín
- Jesús Lara Gómez – violín
- José Isiordia Mojica – vihuela
- Asunción Isiordia Mojica – guitarrón
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