Mexican Mandolin

[Jim Abrams]

Does anyone have recommendations for Mexican mandolin music? I'm looking for both books/sheet music and representative CDs. Thanks very much.

Jim

[Samjessin]

Many of Lydia Mendoza's recordings feature some really great mandolin playing.

[Paul Hostetter]

There's a Nonesuch sampler album called The Real Mexico, really music of Michoacán, which features a couple of lovely mandolin pieces. And it has other music I think you'll find applicable or at least inspiring.



Click on the LP cover to find out more. (Don't worry, it's now a CD and downloads)

[Fretbear]

Ronny McCoury's Loar was found south of the border.

[earnest]

check out paul anastasio's website. swingcatenterprises.com (or something like that). He's got some recordings and transcriptions of Juan Reynoso, great mexican fiddler. Paul taught a workshop last week at Ashokan fiddle and dance camp on Juan's music. He plays a lot of Juan' tunes on a uke tuned GDAE.

[delsbrother]

Ronny McCoury's Loar was found south of the border.

Wow, really? What is the story behind that?

[Jim Abrams]

I did some searching around and found that the Mexican guitarist/mandolinist Sergio Lara has contributed to Mel Bay's Mandolin Sessions with a transcription and recording of the Mexican classic La Llorona. Sergio Lara's playing/transcription is accompanied by a nice explanation of the famous legend of La Llorona. http://archive.mandolinsessions.com/feb05/latin.html

By the way, Google's doodle for today commemorates the 103 birthday of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. I just spent a pleasant few minutes listening to Lara play La Llorona and scrolling through Kahlo's paintings on google images.

And thanks for all the suggestions regarding Mexican music on the mandolin.

[barney 59]

I know a city in Mexico where the cars drive through catacombs so people can get dressed up and walk on the street and at night the children of the city come out of the hills and play mandolins in the town square. Then they run off through the streets with no cars drinking wine and playing music and later you find little groups of them into the wee hours of the night playing music in 16th century alcoves just for themselves. You can go there---

[Paul Hostetter]

In a city?? Who's your tour agent?

[barney 59]

Guanajuato,in the State of Guanajuato. It's a 16th/17th century Unesco Heritage City where the children really do come out of the hills and play mandolins and the cars really do drive under the city. Considered by some, and that would include me, as the most beautiful city in North America.

[gus garelick]

There is an Arhoolie CD featuring the music of Tex Mex fiddler Jose Moreno, called "El Fidelero del Valle" (Chris Strachwitz coined the Spanglish word Fidelero for fiddler). The CD contains 18 great tunes, 2 or 3 of them featuring the mandolin. Moreno lives in San Antonio and I believe he taught at the Fiddle Tunes Festival one year. He has a couple other albums out, too, but this one is the only one I know of containing some mandolin, and really great tunes.
Another source for Mexican tunes is the band Bayou Seco, from Silver City, New Mexico. They have done a lot of research into old New Mexico music and the fiddle music of the Tohono o'odham people in Southern Arizona. Much of that music is Mexican in origin, and fits the mandolin quite well.
Finally, the late great Sicilian mandolinist Tony Flores recorded a complete CD called "Canciones Latina" containing some beautiful Mexican tunes, and his own unique arrangements for mandolin. Don't know if you can still find that CD, but it's a terrific collection.

David "Gus" Garelick

[Paul Hostetter]

Tony Flores and I played for years in a lovely restaurant in San Juan Bautista that was owned by Manuel Santana, who was born and raised in Guanajuato. Manny painted the painting we used on the cover of Ricordo San Vito.