Music Analysis: Mariachi Fuego Directed By Michael Espinoza

Mariachi Fuego directed by Michael Espinoza it’s a band of 18 members, but unfortunately, only 4 of them could perform that day. One of the members was playing the guitar, the other a trumpet, the other a vihuela, and the last one a violin. They all present themselves as UIC students, except for Michael who is a High School teacher at Benito Juarez and teaches Mariachi music. He mentions that schools are now offering Mariachi classes to everyone who wants to learn, something that schools didn’t have. Mariachi de Fuego is open to anyone who wants to join, they teach and perform music to anyone, in and outside of school. Thanks to them they were able to perform eight songs.

The first song that they performed was a ranchera song called “El Rey” by Jose Alfredo Jimenez. This song had all members playing their instruments but one of them was the lead singer while the rest continue playing their instrument. The only time they would all sing was in the chorus of the song which was “Llorar y llorar” and “Rodar y rodar”. The instruments that stand out the most was the trumpet and the violin in this song. It was so clear and nice the way they sounded. “Caminos a Guanajuato” was the third ranchera song they performed by Jose Alfredo Jimenez. The vocalist of this song is that stand out the most along with the violin. Same goes for “Aca entre nos”, another

ranchera song by Vicente Fernandez. The vocalist and violin stand out the most throughout the song. As mention in class, the principal role of the mariachi is a leading vocalist of the ranchera (country) genre, which is Mexico’s most popular nationalistic musical expression” (Mariachi Music BlackBoard).
The next song that they performed was an instrumental waltz called “Alejandra” by Enrique Mora Andrade. This song has no lyrics at all, but instead, it has this beautiful melody that stands out. This song is more like a vals which makes it so nice and calm. The two instruments that stand out the most was the violin and the trumpet. My favorite part of the song was the plugging of the violin with the finger. Another song with an awesome melody was “Atotonilco” by Juan Jose Espinoza Guevara. This ranchera polqueada had no vocalist, but instead, it was all instrument. Making all the instruments stand out and sound so awesome. It wasn’t until the end that they performed traditional songs that many know.
One of the songs was “Las mañanitas” which is a traditional birthday song played with a beautiful melody.

Another traditional song that many have heard is “Cielito lindo” by Pedro Infante. Everyone knows the part where it says “ay, ay, ay, ay canta y no llores, porque cantando se alegran cielito lindo los corazones” (Pedro Infante). All members of the mariachi band were all singing which made some of the students sing making them feel happy. The last traditional song that they performed was “El son de la Negra” composed by Blas Galindo. Now all mariachis are playing this song making the violin, vihuela, trumpets stand

out.
Mariachi Fuego is a pretty good mariachi band. They know how to play these songs professionally. They make the music stand out with their beautiful melody and the leading vocalist. They played each song so clear that we were able to hear the different tempos, melodies of every song. Even though there were only four members performing that day, they did a pretty good job. Mariachi Fuego made it very clear that Mariachi is a lot more than just a band, it’s a band that brings people together, it’s a band where people can express how they feel by singing traditional songs. Today people can learn how to play mariachi, it is open to anyone who wants to learn.