MUSICA LATINA : Mexican Artists Hit the Jackpot in Las Vegas

Although live entertainment has always been a staple of Mexican celebrations, Latino music scored a knockout during the recent fiestas de independencia held in the nation’s gambling capital, Las Vegas.

The Julio Cesar Chavez-Hector (Macho) Camacho super- lightweight championship fight was the main attraction during the Sept. 11-13 weekend, but the musical performances were more than mere supporting acts.

Most hotels booked the best in Mexican music entertainment. Glittery hotel and casino marquees announced their main attractions: pop crooner Luis Miguel at Caesars Palace; Vicente Fernandez and his son, Alejandro, at Bally’s; Veronica Castro and Guadalupe Pineda headlining the Second International Las Vegas Mariachi Festival.

The entire city resembled a Mexican resort. Spanish was spoken almost everywhere. Some Latino visitors from both sides of the border were there to see the fight, while others sought to enjoy the top-notch musical talent. They had come to the right place.

The only disappointed people were latecomers who found “sold-out” signs at most shows or long lines of people waiting for cancellations or SRO tickets.

And, although music business analysts cite the sluggish economy for poor record sales and concert attendance nationwide, the opposite was evident in Las Vegas, where the price of entertainment was steep: $50 for the Mariachi Festival and $100 for a seat at the Luis Miguel show. Travel, hotel accommodations and other expenses added up to a very expensive weekend.

On the same Mexican Independence Day weekend, other top Latino stars, including Angela Carrasco, Little Joe and Ricky Martin performed--at free events--in the Los Angeles area. But for many Angelenos the Latino shows in Las Vegas took priority.

“I’m a Vicente Fernandez fanatic,” said Leticia Maldonado, 23, a cashier in a Hollywood restaurant. “I heard about his show on the radio and decided to splurge.” Maldonado pooled her money with two other friends and rented a room at Bally’s. “My girlfriends knew Vicente and his son, Alejandro, were staying there, too.”

The young Mexican-American saw no conflict in spending money when free entertainment was available locally. “It’s one thing going to (a free street festival) and another going to Vegas and treating yourself to a good time. It sends out the message to business people in Vegas that Latinos support their own entertainers, especially in first-class places with cachet.”

Maldonado’s only regret was not being at the Thomas and Mack Center to see Vicente Fernandez sing Mexico’s national anthem before the fight, in which Chavez defeated Camacho. “I saw him (Fernandez) on the Hilton’s giant TV screen, but it wasn’t the same thing as being there live,” she said. Later that evening, Fernandez’s three-hour show at Bally’s pushed her earlier disappointment aside. “I felt more Mexican that night than ever before. Viva Las Vegas! y Viva Mexico!” she said.

Despite the distance and economic hard times, “mariachi-mania” also lured many Angelenos to the second annual international Mariachi Festival at the Aladdin Hotel, which featured, among others, Jose Hernandez’s Sol de Mexico group.

“My wife and I and another couple bought tickets for the mariachi festival months before the Chavez fight was announced,” Art Barragan, an administrator at a Cypress Park junior high school, told Nuestro Tiempo.

Barragan had no trouble deciding which event to attend. “I’d drive anywhere to see El Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan,” he said. “It’s a way to connect with my Mexican heritage, nuestra cultura. “ Despite a car breakdown on the return trip to Los Angeles, Barragan said, “it didn’t put a damper on our spirits.”

While U.S. Latinos were reconnecting with their musical roots in Las Vegas, what were people in Guadalajara, the birthplace of the mariachi music, listening to?

A recent “Siempre en Domingo” TV broadcast during Guadalajara’s Festival de Octubre, gave one good indication: rock en espanol.

Despite the presentation of traditional mariachi music and dance that opened the show, about 20,000 jaliscienses gave their best reception to a rock en espanol group, Maldita Vecindad. Mexican youths sang Maldita’s lyrics with enthusiasm usually reserved for pop stars, such as Pablito Ruiz, who danced and lip-synced to his new music, or L.A.’s Gerardo, who gyrated with his latest sexist rap on stage.

Both sales and concert attendance of rock en espanol groups, mostly Mexican roqueros, have been on the rise. While the Latin divisions of major recording labels have done relatively little to promote rock en espanol artists here, the broad acceptance and success of these groups in Mexico after years of struggle and their popularity at concerts as well as word-of-mouth endorsements are making these domestic divisions take notice.

While Maldita Vecindad’s album “El Circo” appears on many music critics’ lists as the best Spanish-language album of the year, other groups such as El Tri, Caifanes, Los Amantes de Lola and Cafe Tacuba made inroads into U.S. Latino youths’ listening and buying preferences.

The Latino music scene has also seen an increase in the signing of Latino rappers, especially from the Los Angeles area, by major record companies. Proper Dos released “Mexican Power.” Another, Latin Timebomb, offered “A.L.T. and the Lost Civilization.” Cypress Hill, a rap group with Latino members, used bilingual and Spanglish elements in their current hit, “Latin Lingo.”

Other “veterano” Latino rappers left their mark. A Lighter Shade of Brown remixed “On a Sunday Afternoon,” Kid Frost’s “East Side Story” album included a radio hit titled “Thin Line,” and Gerardo followed his monster hit album from last year with another, “Dos.” Yet, despite the signing of artists and the emergence of Latino rap concerts, the sales of Latin rap music have remained flat.

Many new artists and musical trends have emerged during the last year. Among the highlights:

- Jon Secada struck gold in 1992. His debut album, “Jon Secada,” which includes the No. 1 song, “Just Another Day,” earned him gold records (for U.S. sales exceeding 500,000) for the single and the album. Originally a member of the Miami Sound Machine, the Cuban-born singer’s album was produced by MSM’s Emilio Estefan Jr., while Gloria Estefan contributed background vocals and lyrics for the Spanish-language version of the album “Otro dia mas sin verte.”

- Luis Miguel’s “Romance,” a collection of classic boleros (ballads) co-produced by Armando Manzanero, has been on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart for a year and has earned a gold record. The album has gained a new, more adult, audience for him as well and led to a new album, “America y en vivo.”

- Linda Ronstadt has produced her third Spanish-language album, “Frenesi,” a collection of mambos and boleros.

- Los Lobos’ newest album, “Kiko,” is being called the group’s masterpiece by critics.

- Flaco Jimenez’s “Partners” pairs the Tex-Mex accordionist with Ronstadt, Los Lobos, and his Texas Tornado compadres in a mixed but enjoyable ride.

- In what may be a first for Latin music, a father and son have albums on the music charts. Vicente Fernandez’s latest album, “Que de Raro Tiene,” topped a recent Billboard’s Regional Mexican charts, while his son, Alejandro Fernandez, reached into that top 10 list with an album that bears his name.

- Mijares’ blend of Mexican popular classics on his latest release, “Maria Bonita,” pays homage to Agustin Lara and Jose Alfredo Jimenez, but most of all to Mexican film icon Maria Felix, known as La Dona, who is celebrating her 50th anniversary in films.

- Pandora, the female trio from Mexico, scored again with “Ilegal,” a collection of U.S. ballads.

- Ana Gabriel is ever more popular. Her “Mi Mexico” album has been a regional Mexican charts staple for more than a year, and her latest Latin pop album, “Silueta,” flirted near the top of Billboard’s Latin pop chart.

- Columbia House, acknowledging that Latin music is coming of age, announced a Latin music division of its mail-order music club: Columbia House’s Club Musica Latina, based in Terra Haute, Ind.

- Live albums are in vogue again. Last year started with Juan Gabriel recorded live at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and ended with the group Mazz’s “Live--Una noche juntos,” recorded in San Antonio. This year Rocio Durcal’s “El concierto . . . en vivo” included a few duets with Juan Gabriel. Also, El Tri’s live album recorded at the Hollywood Palace and Franco de Vita’s “En vivo 16 de marzo” have scored big with Latino music fans.