Celebrating the mariachi tradition

Christine Carrillo

From Jalisco to California, Nati Cano has taken mariachi music to

the concert stage and earned a strong following to boot.

For more than 40 years, Cano, a musician since the age of 6, has

led Mariachi de los Camperos to becoming one of the most influential

and accomplished mariachi ensembles in the United States, all the

while remaining a conduit for Mexican culture and tradition.

“It makes me proud that I’m there -- it’s amazing,” he said. “I

think we make a contribution to the Mexican culture. We represent the

tradition of Mexico, and I think we’ve made an impact on the

tradition.”

And one of the most influential ways for him to do that is through

Fiesta Navidad.

With Christmas in the air, Cano intermingles the essence of Mexico

through every song and dance.

The show, now in its ninth year, will play at the Orange County

Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa for one night only -- Thursday

-- time enough to take audiences on a trip south of the border.

In collaboration with Ballet Folklorico Ollin, Mariachi de los

Camperos gives audiences a full scope of Mexican culture on a very

professional level.

“We’ve been around a while and we’ve had the experience to dance

in a lot of different venues here in the U.S. and in Mexico,” said

Virginia Diediker, founder and director of the dance company. “And I

have to say that Nati Cano, with his professionalism and his level of

creativity, has been able to uplift and keep alive the tradition and

folklore of Mexico.

“The experience I’ve had working with Mr. Cano has been very

positive, and you can’t get better musicians,” she said.

Between the colorful costumes worn by the Ollin dancers and the

engaging voices and sounds of the mariachis, the performance pulls in

audience members to the world of colonial Mexico year after year.

“We love working with Mariachi de los Camperos,” said Diediker,

who founded the dance company 30 years ago. “It’s always a delightful

experience and there’s a certain amount of creativity on stage that

the audience responds to. The color ... and the excitement; it just

creates a beautiful picture.”

Creating a beautiful, yet honest picture of the traditions of

Mexico has always been Cano’s goal. For him, that begins with the

children.

By teaching children how to embrace the music, the dancing and the

culture, he said he believes they will develop a newfound and very

relevant appreciation for it.

In line with that notion, Cano has incorporated a performance by

Mariachi Mestizo, a band of musicians ages 10 to 15, to emphasize the

importance of what they do.

With those young musicians, Cano has taken on a role like that of

Linda Rondstadt, who will return for the second year in a row as a

guest performer.

“We need her because she showed us the way,” Cano said about

Rondstadt’s influence. “She told us, ‘Look, this is your music.

Listen to it, preserve it.’”

That is just what he aims to do, and what audiences have come to

love.

“The audience feels that we give them our heart, and we really

want them to enjoy our traditions,” Cano said. “I say, long live the

tradition.”

For more information about Fiesta Navidad, call the Philharmonic

Society of Orange County at (949) 553-2422.