Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights of the Traditional Mariachi Festival.
Open-air recitals, called Fandango Mariacheros, are a new feature this year. They are scheduled Monday, August 17, 8:30 p.m. at the Patio de la Casa de la Cultura Jalisciense Agustin Yañez (across from the entrance to the Agua Azul park); Wednesday, August 19, 8:30 p.m. in the Jardin de las Nueve Esquinas (Leandro Valle and Pedro Rioseco); Thursday, August 20, 8 p.m. in the main plaza in Tequila; and Friday, August 21, 8 p.m. in the Plaza de las Americas in Zapopan (facing the Basilica).
The regal Teatro Degollado will be busy throughout the week with festival events. In what promises to be an emotional occasion, the first gala concert featuring traditional mariachi groups composed of entirely of children takes place at the theater on Tuesday, August 18, noon. Wednesday, August 19, 8 p.m. sees a didactic concert featuring mariachis from the north of Mexico titled “Ser Mariachi: Un Honor.” The Degollado hosts “Cantos Peregrinos,” a homage to the late Mexican actor, composer and singer Miguel Aceves Mejia (“King of the falsetto”), at the theater on Thursday, August 20, 8 p.m. The musical play “Soy Mariachi” by Jose Lira and featuring Paloma del Rio and Juan Miguel Portillo runs on Friday, August 21, 8:30 p.m. And Guadalajara’s premier theater will stage the festival’s two traditional mariachi galas on Saturday, August 22, 7 p.m. and Sunday, August 23, 10 a.m.
Meanwhile, the Plaza Fundadores behind the Degollado Theater will showcase a procession of traditional mariachi bands from Wednesday, August 19 through Friday, August 21, starting 4 p.m. on all three days. The plaza will blossom into a feast of color as it hosts the first Children’s Sones and Jarabes Dance Festival on Saturday, August 22, from noon. And the Plaza Fundadores has also been chosen to host the festival’s closing performance – a concert honoring the Mariachi Los Toritos on their 57th anniversary on Sunday, August 23, 7 p.m.
The festival branches out to the town of Tequila this year, not only with a Fandango Mariachero, but also a musical homage to famed hometown singer Matilde Sanchez “La Torcacita” on Thursday, August 20, 6 p.m. at the Foro Jose Cuervo. An hour earlier, the Tequila Museum will open an exhibit in her honor titled “La Torcacita, la joven del falsete.” (See sidebar this page.)
Other festival highlights include the exhibit “Tapame con tu rebozo,” featuring superb examples of Mexico’s distinctive shawls, at the Casa de la Cultura Jalisciense Agustin Yañez. Tlaquepaque city hall will be home to the photographic exhibit “Mariachi de mi tierra.”
Screenings of films with mariachi themes are scheduled at the Ex Convento del Carmen, the Instituto Cultural Cabañas and the Museo de Arte de Zapopan.
For a full schedule of festive events, go to sc.jalisco.gob.mx.
Entry to the Degollado shows is free with courtesy tickets, available at the door.