Mariachi Vargas headlines benefit concert at Save Mart Center

When Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval was mulling the idea of a mariachi festival at the Save Mart Center as a fundraiser, he didn’t have to think much about having the iconic Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán headline the May 7 concert.

“The best mariachi of México, and the one with the most tradition and the most history is Mariachi Vargas,” said Jiménez-Sandoval during a recent telephone conversation. “This is the premiere mariachi of México.”

The mariachi that was founded 125 years ago by Gaspar Vargas and propelled to greatness by the group’s late director/songwriter Rubén Fuentes will headline the ‘Ay Amor’ (Oh Love) concert at the Save Mart Center.

“This is not just one mariachi that’s spearheading the concert,” said Jiménez-Sandoval. “It’s actually a mariachi festival.”

Mariachi Vargas, which is on a national tour in celebration of its 125th anniversary, will be joined by Mariachi Sol de México de José Hernández, Mariachi Femenil Divas de Cindy Shea, and Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlán.

“Mariachi music, with the characteristic resonance of violins and trumpets, has a deeply meaningful and culturally impactful history in our community, and the world,” said Jiménez-Sandoval. “What’s best is that the net proceeds from this event will support scholarships for our low-income, first-generation students.”

The concert will be the first in Fresno since 2011 when Radio Bilingüe hosted the final ‘¡Viva El Mariachi! Festival’ at Selland Arena featuring Mariachi Vargas and many other top mariachi performers.

Jiménez-Sandoval hopes the concert will be the first of many annual fundraisers.. This marks the first time that Fresno State has sponsored a fundraising concert at the Save Mart Center.

“I hope to establish an annual tradition in which we have the celebration of a concert that reflects the heritage in the Valley,” said Jiménez-Sandoval, who was born in Zacatecas, México in a two-centuries’ old family home where he grew up listening to the music of Mariachi Vargas accompanied by iconic artists like Pedro Infante and Lola Beltrán.

Future fundraisers might not include mariachi, he said.

“I think mariachi music is very iconic, but I do also understand that other forms of genres and other forms of music also resonate very greatly with the community.”

The Valley, he said, has a rich tradition with mariachi groups in middle school and high school, as well as Mariachi Fresno State under the direction of Donald Henriques.

“It’s a genre that connects people and creates bridges across communities and across demographics as well,” said Jiménez-Sandoval. “I’m very interested in showcasing what the music has done in our community.”

Mariachi Vargas’ rich history

When Don Gaspar Vargas founded the group in 1897, the guitarist was joined by a harpist and two violinists to create the sonido Tecalitlán, compared to another genre that used the guitarrón and vihuela in place of the harp. A trumpet player was added 16 years later, but briefly because audiences didn’t like it.

Silvestre Vargas joined his father’s group as a violinist in 1921 and took over as director in 1931 with the goal of making the group México’s greatest mariachi. He also introduced the charro outfit to the group.

Mariachi Vargas won a mariachi contest in Guadalajara in 1933, and another in México City the following year. President Lázaro Cárdenas hired them as the official mariachi of México City police department.

Mariachi Vargas went on to appear in more than 200 movies.

Rubén Fuentes, who died 10 days short of his 96th birthday in February, was a classical violinist with no knowledge of mariachi music when he joined Mariachi Vargas as a violinist and later became its director. That’s when the group took off, gaining fame in movies alongside Infante and Jorge Negrete and recording sones and huapangos with Miguel Aceves Mejía.

Fuentes wrote ‘La Bikini,’ ‘Cien Años,’ ‘Las Alazanas’ and ‘La Culebra,’ among other hits that eventually became standards for all mariachis.

Fuentes made Mariachi Vargas shine

Henriques, a music professor at Fresno State and director of its mariachi, interviewed Fuentes as part of his dissertation while at the University of Texas.

“So he had to write the arrangements and teach the musicians the parts that they needed to play,” said Henriques about how Fuentes professionalized Mariachi Vargas.

Henriques said Fuentes told him he would write down the music while José Alfredo Jiménez dictated it and made the music notations.

Fuentes, he said, took ‘El Son de la Negra,’ which was a regional song, and wrote a different arrangement.

“Now that’s the one you hear most times,” said Henriques.

Henriques said Fuentes revolutionized mariachi music.

“When people hear mariachi globally, it’s that sound they hear.”

Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 29 de abril de 2022, 10:39 a. m..