Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan

Artist: Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan

LP: 7" single
Song: "La Negra"
[ listen ]

Mariachi Vargas is the best mariachi band in the world! Founded in 1897 by Don Gaspar Vargas, the group has gone through five distinct phases throughout its 112-year career. You can read about Mariachi Vargas and its phases here (this 4-track EP must have been recorded during phase 3) and for more info and photos, visit the band's official website here. I've included the Spanish-language notes from the back of the record below, along with an English translation courtesy of Babelfish.

[ Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan — then ]

[ Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan — now ]

EL MARIACHI VARGAS DE TECALITLAN ha logrado al transcurso
de los años, colocarse en el envidiable sitio de ser el mejor
Mariachi de México. Los grandes intérpretes de la música folklórica
mexicana siempre escogen a este mariachi para servir de
acompañantes a sus mejores interpretaciones, y él siempre ha
respondido a esta confianza con bellos y originales arreglos e
impercable interpretación. Sin embargo, en donde verdaderamente
luce el MARIACHI VARGAS DE TECALITLAN, es en sus
interpretaciones de los alegres sones y polkas, cuatro
de las cuales hemos acoplado en este disco.

* * * * * * *

THE MARIACHI TECALITLAN VARGAS has obtained to the
course of the years, to be placed in the enviable site of being
the best Mariachi of Mexico. The great interpreters of Mexican
fokloric music always choose this mariachi to serve as companions
their better interpretations, and he always has responded to this
confidence with beautiful and original adjustments and impercable
interpretation. Nevertheless, where truly the MARIACHI shines
TECLATLAN VARGAS, he is in his glad interpretations of sones
and polkas, four of which we have connected in this disc.

Mariachi de Román Palomar

Artist: Mariachi de Román Palomar

LP: Navidad Con Mariachi
Song: "Blanca Navidad"
[ listen ]

After my piano lesson Thursday night, I realized I needed to buy some milk and some cereal, so I pulled into the Safeway (grocery store) parking lot.

Suddenly out of nowhere I was overcome by the festive holiday scent of fresh pine needles! then the smell went away and I got out of my car and looked around. there, propped up in the far corner of the lot, was a bunch of Christmas trees just waiting to be taken home. I was amazed that the smell of the trees could enter my car with such force from such a distance, and determined it must be the magic of Christmas.

or maybe it was because I had the car heater on full blast. the temperature in Seattle has dropped about 25 degrees in the past 24 hours. In any case, the glorious smell of those trees hit me across the face with the Christmas spirit, which had so far eluded me this holiday season. It also made me realize that I should be mixing some Christmas music in with my postings over the next few weeks.

I looked for something on YouTube that featured the Mariachi de Román Palomar in action, but all I found was [this] instead.