A Nght At The Museum
From examiner.com
By Gil Sperry
"Visitors to the Museo del Tequila y Mariachi should probably know what to expect. Author Camille Collins, in her expository article ('What is
Mariachi?'), summed up expectations quite succinctly when she said "...the only thing more Mexican than tequila is mariachi and it seems a shame to
have one without the other." Just as sure as there is no crying in baseball, there will be no tequila without mariachi at this newly renovated shrine
to both in downtown Tijuana.
The Museum used to be the site of the highly popular 'Tijuana Tilly's,' a restaurant-cum-nightclub located on the famous Avenida Revolucion right next
to what used to be the equally popular Jai Alai Fronton. It is now solely dedicated to dissemination of two of the country's most popular commodities
which have attracted world-wide devotees.
A recent event which had twelve of the United States and Mexico's most popular cross-border musical ensembles serenading the 91 year-young honoree,
don Miguel Martinez (considered the first mariachi trumpeter) , was also an excuse for the standing-room-only crowd to sample some of the country's
finest agave-based alcoholic beverages, including Baja's own, El Cachanilla.
It was also a book signing where Senor Martinez' long awaited memoir, "Mi vida, mis viajes, mis vivencias: Siete decadas en la musica del mariachi"
(My life, my travels, and my adventures: seven decades of mariachi music) was introduced to the area. Jonathan Clark, the Curator of theSilvestre
Vargas Museum in Tecalitlan, Jalisco...who collaborated on the biography...was also on hand for a multi-media presentation covering a most incredible
life. His earlier in-depth interview at the Martinez family home provided us with much needed background.
Doctor Jeff Nevin, the Director of Mariachi Music at Southwestern College in Chula Vista (CA), had recounted this prior anecdote about his first
meeting with don Miguel. "Back in 1996, while preparing for my Ph.d examination at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), I spent almost
twelve months studying 200-300 mariachi recordings, including the new, the old, the local and the most iconic mariachis. In everything I read and in
the opinion of everyone I spoke to, the prevailing wisdom was that the best mariachi trumpet player of all time was thought to be Miguel Martinez.
Then, as luck would have it, I went back to Tucson, Arizona during their Mariachi Conference that year and bumped into my former trumpet teacher Ruben
Moreno who said to me ...'I want to introduce you to some one: Miguel Martinez!' It was an electrifying moment for me to note that the acknowledged
best of all time, 'the Bach of mariachi trumpet players,' a true legend who people speak about with the same reverence as George Washington or Mozart,
was still alive."
Fast forward sixteen years and listen to what the maestro himself had to say when queried by his erudite biographer, Jonathan Clark:
"After my father died when I was eleven (circa: 1932), I had to work to help support my family. One day I followed a lowly five-man mariachi to a
local cantina. The leader suggested that I buy an instrument and come play with them. I asked him what I should play and he felt that, since most
groups didn't have a trumpet player, that would be my best bet. It took a few months for me to convince my mother and finally, after much insistence
on my part, she borrowed forty pesos from my uncle and bought me my first trumpet from a pawn shop. A year later, after I learned the scales from a
local clarinetist and built up a repertory on my own, I began playing in the Plaza Garibaldito help support my family."
"When the food stands closed at 7:00 PM, the drink stands opened (until midnight). The drinks were for the poor folk...coffee and cinnamon tea, both
spiked with sugarcane alcohol. They were served by beautiful girls who were the barmaids.You know how centers of ill repute use women as hooks to lure
customers. Those customers with more money, on the other hand, would drink pomegranate punch inside the legendary Salon Tenampa bar."
"Outside in the Plaza there were only five mariachi groupos and only two of them had trumpet players (don Pedrito, also known as 'Scarface' and me).
Inside, in the Tenampa, was the exclusive domain of don Concho Andrade. His trumpet player was Candelario Salazar who was by far the best. 'Scarface'
and I were street musicians; we were in the gutter in every respect, from the way we played to the way we dressed. The acknowledged best was
Candelario's brother, Jesus who played with Mariachi Tapatio led by the legendary Jose Marmolejo. Tapatio had gone beyond performing in Tenampa and
was already playing in feature films; they seemed like gods to us."
"Seven years later, after much practice and hard work on my part, Silvestre Vargas arrived in Plaza Garibaldi looking for a trumpet player. His hope
was that by adding a trumpet he could convince radio station XEW to put his group on the air every other week. At the time, Tapatio was actually on
the air three times every week. Vargas was looking for don Pedrito, the best available trumpet player, who turned down the offer as he was about to
return to his home town. I was standing four or five steps away, listening to their conversation, but Vargas didn't even notice me before he left."
"Three months later, after talking to almost every other trumpet player in the area, Vargas returned to Garibaldi and finally spoke with me. He hadn't
realized how difficult it was to find mariachi trumpeters. Most trompetistas played classical, danzon, tropical, or banda, but they had never
performed mariachi and didn't blend in with the music that I had now been playing for over seven years. This may be hard for you believe but even
after my initial performances with Vargas on XEW, I still didn't know how to read music.I took my first formal trumpet classes in 1945 withMaestro
Luis Fonseca at the Escuela Libre Musica y Declaracion, a private music school in Ciudad de Mexico."
The rest, as they say, is history...gloriously played out for the next almost seventy years by this incredible musician who was also directly
responsible for adding the multiple-trumpet-harmony sound to the mariachi ensemble. From a young boy inspired by itinerant street musicians to an icon
of this world-renowned music, which was recently honored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as
"...Mexico's premier cultural musical contribution to the world," Miguel Martinez's life is worth far more than just 'A Night In The Museum." However,
if you want to see what all the excitement is about...and have a great time while doing so...we recommend that you visit the 'Museo del Tequila y
Mariachi,' and also read don Miguel's amazing memoir. And, if you've never seen or heard Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan in action, treat yourself to a
most memorable experience at the next opportunity."
[Edited on 12-7-2012 by Gypsy Jan]
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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