By: Marcus H. Royo

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Mariachi musicians from all over the U.S. and Mexico will arrive in the Mesilla Valley for several days of music, dance, food, friends and culture for the 18^th annual Las Cruces International Mariachi Conference, beginning November 10.

The conference is the culmination of a month and a half of weekly mariachi performances on the Mesilla Plaza. On any given weekend in Las Cruces, it is common to go out to a Mexican restaurant and hear local mariachis playing. One can go to a neighbor’s backyard party and see a Las Cruces mariachi entertaining. Mariachis are practically a staple of wedding receptions in Las Cruces as well.

It is hard to imagine a time when Las Cruces had no mariachi groups to call its own. But as recently as 17 years ago, that was the case.

1994: In the beginning…

In November of 1994, Las Cruces hosted its first mariachi conference in modest fashion. Headlining that first concert were Lola Beltran, along with Mariachi Cobre from Orlando, FL, and Mariachi Los Camperos of Los Angeles.

Although a mere 239 students attended the music and dance workshops, it was clear that Las Cruces was ready to establish its own mariachi scene.

Sally Vega was from El Paso, but she was living in Las Cruces at the time, attending school at New Mexico State University. Vega saw a potential for Las Cruces to have its own professional mariachi group, so she formed Las Cruces’ first mariachi group: Mariachi Real de Las Cruces.

The musicians learned quickly, and began to pick up on the mariachi style. Although they hadn’t played mariachi music before, they would set the stage for all of Las Cruces’ mariachi groups to come.

Jesus Padilla, a violinist, was one of Real’s founding members. When Padilla started out, he didn’t know the history of mariachi.

“I enjoyed the music and how joyful it made me feel,” Padilla said. “Mariachi Real was a group that was not only inspired by a local church, it was started by individuals that gave their hearts to the music.”

Shortly after Real de Las Cruces was founded, two of the local high schools established mariachis of their own. They organized because of the popularity and impact of the first mariachi conference. Mariachi Diamante of Las Cruces High School, and Mariachi de Oñate of Oñate High School each built a small core of talented musicians.

Padilla recalled playing with the group at LCHS as they started out.

“LCHS had the most diverse group I have ever experienced,” Padilla said. “We came from many backgrounds and groups.”

Due to conflicting interests, and some clashing egos, in May of 1996, the decision was made to end Real de Las Cruces. Some of the former members of Real de Las Cruces formed a five piece group and called themselves Mariachi Los Rebeldes. At the same time, a mariachi was forming for the first time at New Mexico State University.

The mariachi at NMSU had many players trying mariachi music for the first time. When they weren’t playing functions for the university, they began playing gigs on their own.

David Sanchez, a NMSU student from El Paso, was called upon to direct the NMSU group. According to Sanchez, when he accepted the position, he needed to find musicians open to the idea.

“It was just phone call after phone call,” Sanchez said. “My goal was to pick up as many musicians as I could get to build a group.”

1997-1998: Growth and evolution

After one school year, in 1997, the first generation of the mariachi at NMSU dissolved, but most of the musicians went on to form Cruces de Oro, also under the direction of Sanchez. NMSU did not have a mariachi again until the fall of 2000.

The winter of 1997 saw the birth of a new group of musicians, mostly current and former members of the Oñate High School group. Mariachi Los Consentidos was formed under the direction of Patrick Lucero and Marco Gutierrez. A friendly rivalry ensued between Los Consentidos and Cruces de Oro, because they were the only two professional groups in Las Cruces. This friendly competition helped both groups of musicians to improve dramatically.

“We helped each other out,” Sanchez said. “It was an effort to promote the music, culture and style.”

On a cool September evening in 1998, a group of musicians met to begin rehearsing at the Court Youth Center. Mariachi Espuelas de Plata was formed to become the first community-based youth mariachi in Las Cruces. Though they came from humble beginnings, as many mariachis do, they went on to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with, and have produced dozens of talented musicians over the years. Mariachi Espuelas de Plata and Espuelas de Cobre continue to perform to this day, and many former members now play in many of Las Cruces’ semi professional mariachis.

According to former Espuelas artistic director Casilda Provencio, the youth mariachi released their first CD on May 6, 2004.

1999 – 2004: The new millennium

The new millennium arrived and the LCIMC was going strong. In November of 2000, they capped the number of workshop participants for the first time, at 750 students. More than 200 people were turned away.

The following year, the nation was still in a state of shock from the events of September 11. At the LCIMC’s Spectacular Concert that year, Mariachi Cobre performed a moving rendition of the Star Spangled Banner before a full house at the Pan American Center.

2001 saw two new mariachis form: In April, Mariachi Aguilas, Las Cruces’ longest-playing professional group, and in June, Rayos del Sol.

In January of 2002, two area musicians, Adam Amador and Michael Chapman had grown tired of driving back and forth to El Paso to play with mariachis. The obvious decision for them was to stay in Las Cruces and form their own group. The result was Mariachi Sombras de Seda.

While still playing the traditional “sones” and “rancheras,” the musicians of Sombras de Seda worked hard at learning the classic “boleros,” and even some classical pieces. This group existed less than a year, but they gained a small, loyal following, and proved that mariachi musicians in Las Cruces were capable of playing some of the great concert pieces performed by Mexico’s best groups.

“We were able to take people to a place they wanted to be with our music,” Amador said. “We made people’s lives better, even if it was just for that hour.”

In November of 2002, Chapman left the group. Sombras de Seda became Mariachi El Dorado, and those who split off joined some other musicians to form Mariachi Los Viajeros.

One trumpet player, Juan De la Cruz, had been playing with Mariachi Aguilas. At the end of 2002, he took over direction of Aguilas, a position he still holds today.

“Taking over Aguilas was a learning experience,” De la Cruz said. “I started with three members, including myself. Mariachi Aguilas now has grown into a hard-working group of talented people. We continue to entertain and bring the heart of Mexico’s tradition to our audience.”

The following summer, all the mariachis were busy with gigs, which is usual for the summer months. In June, things seemed to come to a halt when Chapman passed away suddenly before a Friday restaurant gig. Everything seemed to freeze. Chapman’s passing shocked the mariachi community in Las Cruces and El Paso to its core. To this day, many of the musicians who had the pleasure of knowing him still remember the trumpet player fondly.

2005: Another group emerges

Jesus Morales had left Mariachi Palenque at the end of 2004. He wanted to continue playing, so he made a decision that many before him had made. He wanted to form his own mariachi.

Jesus Morales and Wendy Martinez were former members of Mariachi Palenque. Martinez had previously played with many groups in Las Cruces, and Morales had played guitar and sang for most of his life.

Morales and Martinez formed Mariachi Real de Chihuahua in January 2005, a group that continues to play today. Real de Chihuahua was comprised of musicians who had all played mariachi before, many with Espuelas de Plata.

“It was a collaboration between the two of us. (Jesus) said ‘can you imagine starting our own group?’” Martinez said, “and I told him he’d read my mind.”

“When this group was started, we knew that Real could be a group that Las Cruces would be proud to call their own,” Morales said. “With hard work and perseverance, we have achieved just that.”

2009 – 2011: A new era

In November 2009, shortly after the conference ended, Ari Crawford, a student at Las Cruces High, formed Mariachi Alma de Las Cruces comprised of mostly Las Cruces High School students. In January 2010, Robert Palacios, along with several other former members of Espuelas de Plata and other groups, formed Mariachi Sueños. One of the newest groups to join the scene is Mariachi El Herradero, directed by Gilbert Maldonado, which formed in 2010.

These mariachis join the existing groups such as Real de Chihuahua, Aguilas, Cuerdas de Oro (NMSU), Diamante of Las Cruces High School, and others.

All over the Mesilla Valley, these musicians are excitedly preparing for several days of music and dance. This year Las Cruces welcomes Vikki Carr, Mariachi Cobre and Mariachi Sol de Mexico of Los Angeles.

On Sundays after they are finished performing at the Mesilla plaza, the musicians greet each other with big hugs and plenty of laughter and reminiscing. There are shared memories of playing together in Espuelas de Plata, Rayos del Sol, Cruces de Oro, Aguilas and so many other groups. Who can even begin to count how many combined years of mariachi music these musicians possess?

It is such a far cry from Mariachi Real de Las Cruces, who came together with no mariachi experience, with nothing more than a desire to play music together. Little did they know they had laid the foundation for so many over the next 17 years and beyond.

Adam Amador summed up his feelings about continuing the musical tradition of mariachi in Las Cruces.

“We’re in a renaissance era of mariachi,” Amador said. “If these musicians don’t keep it up, promoting the culture and heritage, then we’ll lose it. We need to relive the passion and beauty of mariachi.”

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Marcus H. Royo has played mariachi music for more than 16 years. He began playing with Mariachi Real de Las Cruces, and is currently Co-Director of Mariachi Real de Chihuahua. Royo is a Journalism student at New Mexico State University.