A Celebration of Women in the World of Mariachi in Vancouver

In a rare showcase of female-led Mexican music, Las Estrellas de Vancouver join forces with Los Angeles-based guest singer Melinda Salcido, and the dancers of Nahualli Folklore for an evening of melodic rancheras, intense sones, and romantic boleros during ¡Viva México! a celebration of women in the world of mariachi.

¡Viva México! is a Celebration of Women in the World of Mariachi in Vancouver

Where: Vancouver Playhouse (600 Hamilton St, Vancouver)
When: Friday, November 15, 2019 at 8:00pm
Tickets: Available online now for $25 »

More than just a concert, this not-to-be-missed experience is a journey through the contributions women have made to the world of mariachi.  

From the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema—beginning in the 1930s and lasting until the 1960s—to Las Adelitas, the first all-female group in Mexico City in the 1940s, the impact of women on Mexican mariachi music has been extraordinary.  

“I decided to create a show that kind of gives you a bit of everything in the culture and tell the story about mariachi and the contribution that women have made in mariachi music,” classical guitarist and Las Estrellas de Vancouver founder Michelle Cormier told me over the phone this week.

The genre is typically dominated by men but there is some change coming about. Cormier says she loves to see women in the forefront of male groups, which she says is really empowering — and really impressive.

“At Plaza Garibaldi, Mariachi Plaza, you may see one group of women amongst all the men. They have to really carve their way and work extra hard to be there and to be accepted.” She has traveled extensively to Mexico and Los Angeles over the years, and is bringing her cultural knowledge and musical expertise to the Vancouver Playhouse stage, with a lineup of special guests.

Melinda Salcido will perform with the group, while Vancouver’s Nahualli Folklore Ensemble highlight the connections between Mexican folk dance (baile, or ballet, folklórico) and mariachi music. 

Cormier’s goal is to give the Vancouver audience they story of mariachi, through this performance, and provide examples of all its different styles. “It’s very broad, it usually plays and presents the music of every region of the country and sometimes it’s rancheras, the songs and the love stories, sometimes it’s more virtuosic pieces.”

Based on the experiences of living musicians, and informed by research of Mariachi Women’s Festival producer Dr. Leonor Xóchitl Perez, Las Estrellas de Vancouver will perform pieces that capture this evolving musical genre.

“It’s a medley of songs,” Cormier says that she wants to present the way the big mariachi groups do in Mexico and the United States, with sometimes one song containing four others. “I wanted to create this to make the story that much more complete, exciting and authentic.”

Win Tickets

I have a pair of tickets to give away to this groundbreaking and entertaining evening. Here’s how you can enter to win:

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I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 9:00am on Tuesday, October 29, 2019. UDPATE: The winner is Edwin!