By DANIEL BUCKLEY
Citizen Music Critic
Now and then a show comes along that transcends being a mere concert and
becomes a landmark event in and of itself. Julie Gallego's "Viva Arizona!"
did just that this past weekend.
For six years now, the local folklorico director's music and dance
history of Tucson has been putting a nostalgic human face on the Old Pueblo's
Hispanic past, educating as it entertains with neither side of the equation
shortchanged. Last year, with the research help of her father, Rafael
Gonzalez, and a network of musical elder statesmen, Gallego paid tribute to
Tucson's Spanish language radio pioneers and the musical greats of decades
past. This year even more was unearthed about local bands as the focus
shifted to the great ballrooms of the city's past.
That would have been enough, but Gallego seized the opportunity to
create ancillary events in the newly reopened El Casino Ballroom that served
as a community-uniting bridge between past, present and future. Immediately
following the sold-out early Saturday night main event at the Tucson
Convention Center Music Hall, the dance floor and tables of the El Casino
swelled to the breaking point with revelers grooving to the bodacious beats
of local Tejano greats Ritmo Suave. The crowd was decidedly youthful, and
fully engaged as the air-tight combo invited players from other bands to join
them on the packed stage.
On Sunday, veteran Tucson big band the Mocambo Orchestra turned the
bandstand lights back on, reuniting after decades for what became a nostalgic
reunion for Tucson's older Hispanic population. Again, the dance floors
brimmed with elegant dancing couples moving gracefully to the tunes that
brought couples together in their youth. Gallego and her crew had blowups of
images from the Viva Arizona! show hung around the El Casino - historical
photos of bands from the '30s-'70s, and the popular nightspots in which they
played. Throughout the afternoon, one saw folks smiling and pointing at the
photos, seeing the faces of old friends and recalling the days of their
youth. It was touching beyond belief.
Despite a smattering of technical glitches in the early part of the
program, the Viva Arizona! TCC concert was the best yet. Energetically emceed
in dual languages by Tucson bilingual radio pioneer Raul Aguirre, the
three-hour show went by in a flash.
As always, the dance component was first rate, as top performers from
Gallego's troop and other local groups rendered lively, stylistically superb
accounts of a sampling of regional Mexican folklorico dances, in full
regalia. But what sets Gallego's vision apart is her broad view of dance
traditions. In addition to the traditional folklorico steps, her dancers
served up dazzling production numbers of hoe-downs and can cans from our wild
west days, scenes from the Zoot suit era, the heyday of the big bands, the
dawn of rock and roll, the big-hair disco days and our own times. The
choreography by Mia Hansen, David Rodriguez and Miguel Perez was spectacular
- athletic, audience-involving and strikingly true to the times depicted.
Likewise the sets, backdrops and costumes completed the experience to
cinematic effect.
The live musical highlights were equally large, spotlighting the
continuum of homegrown talent that spans all eras and genres. Tucson-born
father of Chicano music Lalo Guerrero brought down the house with his musical
remembrance of his Barrio Viejo childhood, then strutted around the pachuco
dancers, singing his Zoot suit classic "Vamos a Bailar." Big band the Tucson
Orchestra brought waves of memories back with its 1940s medley, while Los
Hermanos Perez wowed the crowd with its pure vocal harmonies and passionate
guitar leads in boleros reminiscent of the famed Trio Los Panchos. Mariachi
Tierra Del Sol represented its tradition proudly - no mean feat in America's
mariachi capitol, while the Sabro Sa (accent on 'a') band delivered a killer
disco medley. Singers Adalberto (Gallegos) and Nydia Rojas dazzled the crowd
with powerful, passionate singing in a range of styles, culminated by a
sensational duet.
If you missed it, you've got another shot via the small screen. KGUN-TV
(channel 9) was on hand videotaping for an hour-long broadcast to air April
22 at 9 p.m. Mark your calendar!
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Mariachi Festival.com
