Lakeport >> It’s not every day that a Latin music group comes to town. But tonight at Library Park in Lakeport, Jarabe Mexicano is bringing their blend of traditional and popular dance music from Mexico, along with their own renditions of reggae and old rock and roll hits. If this seems like a pretty broad category, that’s because the five musicians who make up Jarabe Mexicano learned from a diverse range of musical influences, including classical training.
“It’s a result of the combination of who we are as a band,” said lead vocalist Gustavo Alcoser.
They don’t play traditional mariachi music, but the group did begin as an off-shoot of a mariachi band. Band leader Mario Equina played with mariachi bands for 15 years and brought that wealth of knowledge to Jarabe Mexicano when they began. They also infuse a style that was popular in Latin America from the ‘30s-’50s called the triple, which was a simple combination of guitars and three or four singers harmonizing for love ballads. And Jarabe Mexicano is especially focused on a dance music called Cumbia. A popular choice for Mexican parties, each band member grew up listening to Cumbia.
Don’t mistake them for a mariachi band, though. They don’t have trumpets or flashy instruments, instead opting for a stripped-back vibe. “Because we play it in an acoustic way it gives it a very bare bones version of something to where the focus becomes less about the instrument and more about the music and the words,” Alcoser explained.
Paying tribute to their background is at the heart of Jarabe Mexicano. Though there’s a big movement to incorporate traditional Mexican music with the popular styles of today, the group strives to preserve the integrity of certain genres, while experimenting with others. “For us every time we play the music it’s just celebrating our roots that are very much alive,” Alcoser said. “We’re not forgetting the past but always incorporating it into our lives.”
Jarabe Mexicano is a relatively new group to the Latin music scene. The band came together last August after being approached by their manager, a professor at San Diego State University, where most of the members were studying music. Three of the musicians, Alcoser, Equina and Kevin Lomez (on the vijuela), had been playing in a small trio for some time, but it wasn’t until then that they kicked their music into high gear, filling out their group with bassis Oskar Beckmann and percussionist Alex Tapia.
Students themselves, the members of Jarabe Mexicano are as passionate about education as they are about music. Not only do they bring a style of music to people who may not have had much exposure to it, they also teach. And tonight’s stop at Library Park marks the beginning of Jarabe Mexicano’s first tour, during which they will be performing youth outreach. They’ll be stopping at a school in Salt Lake City where they’ll give a performance. Then in Durango, CO they’re visiting a Boy and Girls Club.
Their goal is to expose kids to music — and many types of music — at a young age. They hope to teach the value of obtaining not only a music education, but an education in general.
In partnership with their manager, Jarabe Mexicano is also working to create sustainability for world music bands.
“In essence our tour is becoming kind of field work do research on how bands can take advantage of opportunities that are out there,” Alcoser said, “what they can do to develop as a band and make a living and live comfortably, through education and through performance.”
The group may have been together for less than a year, but they’ve already accomplished something major: a performance at the Independence Day Celebration of the Mexican Consulate. And it was only their second gig — ever. They scored the job because the mariachi group who was slotted to perform pulled out. Jarabe Mexicano were admittedly nervous, seeing as people were expecting a mariachi band. But not long after they started playing, they had the crowd on their feet. “That was a defining moment for all of us and our manager when we realized we were onto something,” said Alcoser.
They’re anticipating tonight’s show at Library Park, which is from 6:30-8 p.m., and they hope to see dancing fill the grassy park on the water. “We’re really excited to be in Lakeport,” Alcoser said. “For us it might be just as new as it is for you, in the fact that it’s our first stop on the tour and we’re just very excited to share what we love to do and the music we love to listen to with you guys.”
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
