Mariachi Concert Critique

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Thursdays at Cal State L.A. seemed like any other typical day- warm, busy, and tiring. However, on December 2, 2015, something was particularly different; not only was it the last day of class before finals, but there was also a Mariachi concert directed by Cynthia Reifler Flores. As I was walking towards the State Playhouse, I thought about how the music would be composed. The first thing that I expected was the music to have a quick, upbeat tempo, something that would be played at a festival or a party. I walked through the screen door and was given a pamphlet. In it contained detailed information about their programs, musicians, Flores’ biography, and the prodigious mariachi group. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the doors …show more content…

In this piece, two male musicians took turns during the performance to sing their parts. It starts off slow, as opposed to most of the music played that afternoon. During the middle of the piece, the guitarron continued strumming while Stacy Lopez, the vihuela player, made noises that sounded as if the vihuela itself was being struck. “Para Que Me Haces Llorar” soon came to a close; at least, it sounded like it was. As immediately as that song ended, the next piece started just as quickly and it had a song that had a familiar rhythm- and sure enough, it was the song “Stand by Me” but in Spanish. This part starts off with violins being plucked and with a calmer tone with a pace that builds up. Later on, all the musicians snapped their fingers as one of the singers were singing. After the singer finished his part, the violinists took over the microphones and made a deeper sound than what was heard out of the eight pieces …show more content…

The third piece, on the other hand, had a faster and more upbeat tempo. “Para Que Me Llorar” had to have a build up before it can start moving quicker. Something that both songs had in common was that they were both played in a triplet format. I also noticed that in most of the songs sung, the singers were able to high pitches. Because mariachi music originates from South America, they all had a formulaic beat that, if it were to be played at a party, would be something to dance to. If there were one specific are in which I learned in class that would relate this type of music, it would be African American music because there were repeated melodies and rhythmic patterns in some of the pieces along with community parties.
As I expected, mariachi music was indeed fast paced and an upbeat tone. What I did not realize was that some mariachi music does not have to start off quick it can be slow or sad. All in all, I found this experience to be both fun and

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